NEWS RELEASE
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 17, 2016) – Visitors to the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville this month can get information and expert guidance on health, wellness and family assistance programs at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) exhibit.
The fair is Aug. 18-28 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, and the CHFS exhibit will feature information to help support the strategies of Gov. Matt Bevin’s Kentucky HEALTH (Helping to Engage and Achieve Long Term Health) initiative, his Medicaid transformation proposal, which empowers individuals to improve their health and well-being through healthy lifestyle habits.
CHFS Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson said CHFS’ fair exhibit will encourage visitors to follow healthy patterns like choosing nutritious foods, getting regular physical activity and regularly seeing a doctor.
“In the spirit of Kentucky HEALTH, our CHFS staff at the state fair will encourage individuals to take meaningful steps toward improving their health with the help of our programs,” Glisson said. “There is so much we can do on our own, too, like choosing to stop smoking, buying ingredients for meals at the local farmers market and fitting in walking or other exercise every day.”
Glisson said that for many guests at the fair, meeting with an expert and talking about health concerns in such a relaxed environment can be a first step toward meeting wellness goals.
“Lifestyle modifications can contribute to chronic disease prevention, savings in health costs, and ultimately, a longer life,” she said. “Every day, our exhibit will offer new information about how to ensure a healthier lifestyle by making good decisions about nutrition, daily activity and behavioral health. It’s not easy, but many of our programs offer families help toward better well-being.”
The interactive display, which will be located in the Health Horizons section of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center’s South Wing B, will feature learning activities for children and adults, free screenings and on-site health educators who can speak one-to-one about wellness and prevention.
Visitors to CHFS’ fair display can learn about other services from an array of rotating program exhibitors – the programming is different every day. Here are a few highlights:
- On Thursday, and Friday, Aug. 18 and 19, experts will educate guests about Zika prevention and how to “Fight the Bite – Day and Night.”
- On Senior Day, Tuesday, Aug. 23, staff will offer an array of information on topics of interest to senior adults, including aging and independent living; osteoporosis, arthritis and falls prevention; the long-term care ombudsman and reporting suspected abuse, neglect or financial exploitation.
- On Thursday, Aug. 25, staff from Kentucky’s nationally renowned KASPER (Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting) program will be available to answer questions about controlled substance abuse and KASPER.
- On Friday, Aug. 26, health experts will discuss the need for daily physical activity and encourage guests to pledge to be a part of the “Step It Up, Kentucky!” project and commit to daily walking or other physical activity.
Free blood pressure screening and education will be offered every day.
Glisson said staff working at the fair will offer a five-minute health assessment and encourage guests to make good lifestyle choices. Guests can learn more about chronic disease prevention and management, child support enforcement, foster care and adoption, nutrition, immunization recommendations, finding quality child care, infection prevention and more.
Health screenings are not a replacement for regular doctor visits, but, paired with education, they may indicate a concern to discuss in greater detail with a health care professional.
In the South Wing, the cabinet’s Nutrition Services Branch staff will assist visitors with the Rock and Relax room, sponsored by Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness and Baptist East Hospital. Parents can stop by to privately and comfortably nurse, feed or change their infants and learn about breastfeeding and baby safety.
Also in the South Wing, staff from the Kentucky Adult Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control Program will be on site volunteering at the KentuckyOne exhibit, where they will partner with the University of Louisville Gastroenterology/Liver Transplant and Hepatitis C Clinic to provide HCV education, screening, confirmatory testing and referral for high-risk individuals. This group includes anyone who has injected drugs, even once, and individuals born between 1945 and 1965.
Listed below is a calendar of CHFS’ featured programs.
Exhibit buildings at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center are open daily at 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Advance discount prices are available through 10 p.m., Aug. 17, at Kroger and online at Ticketmaster until midnight, Aug. 16. Admission at the gate is $10 for adults, seniors and children; free for children 5 years and under. Advance tickets are $6 for adults, seniors and children; free for children 5 years and under.
Parking in advance is $5 per vehicle (car and bus), and available at the Kentucky Exposition Center Ticket Office and all Kroger outlets through August 17 at 10 p.m. Advanced parking rates are also available through Ticketmaster when ordering advance admission tickets.
Parking at the gate is $8 per car and $20 per bus.
Free parking is available weekends beginning Friday at 5 p.m. through Sunday: Prestonia Lot, across from Gate One, Phillips Lane. This is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Free parking will not be available at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium this year.
To learn more about Kentucky HEALTH, visit http://chfs.ky.gov/dms/kh.
To learn more about CHFS programs, log on to chfs.ky.gov.
For more information about the fair, visit kystatefair.org.
Cabinet for Health and Family Services 2016 State Fair Calendar
Featured Daily
- Free Blood Pressure Screening and Education
Thursday, Aug. 18
- Zika Education (Media Event at 2 p.m.)
- Preparedness
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Nutrition
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program
Friday, Aug. 19
- Zika Education
- Finding Quality Child Care
- Women’s and Adolescent Health
- Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Special Needs Adoption Program (SNAP) and Foster Care and Information
Saturday, Aug. 20
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program
- Special Needs Adoption Program (SNAP) and Foster Care and Information
Sunday, Aug. 21
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Immunizations
- Tobacco Cessation Support and Information
- Special Needs Adoption Program (SNAP) and Foster Care and Information
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program
Monday, Aug. 22
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program
- Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
- Immunizations
- Volunteerism and AmeriCorps Service Programs
- Colon Cancer Prevention
Tuesday, Aug. 23 (Senior Day)
- Adult Protective Services
- Kinship Care
- Aging and Independent Living Information
- Kentucky Long-Term Care Ombudsman
- Osteoporosis Arthritis and Falls Prevention Information
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program
Wednesday, Aug. 24
- Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- HIV Prevention
- Child Protective Services
- Free Body Fat Analysis
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program
Thursday, Aug. 25
- KASPER – Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Asthma
- Child Support Information
- Disability Determination Services
- HIV Prevention
- Diabetes Management and Prevention
Friday, Aug. 26
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Child Support Information
- Disability Determination Services
- Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
- Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs
- Safe Sleep for Babies
- Physical Activity
Saturday, Aug. 27
- Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) and Medicaid Information
- Infection Prevention
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs
- Safe Sleep for Babies
- Free Body Fat Analysis
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program
Sunday, Aug. 28
- Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs
- Safe Sleep for Babies
- Health benefits and family assistance enrollment and eligibility information
- Abuse Reporting and Prevention Information
- Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program