By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
Gov. Matt Bevin was in Northern Kentucky Wednesday, participating in a community forum in Newport, then heading to Northern Kentucky University to cut the ribbon on a new Health Innovation Center.
Governor Matt Bevin addresses an overflow crowd at a community forum Wednesday in the Campbell County Fiscal Courtroom in Newport (photos by Mark Hansel).
Campbell County Judge/executive Steve Pendery introduced Bevin and credited him for an improved relationship between Northern Kentucky and Frankfort.
“I think all of you realize, however prosperous we have been and are today in Northern Kentucky (it) depends in large part on our relationship with the governor,” Pendery said. “I’m here to tell you that under the administration of Matt Bevin, Northern Kentucky has unprecedented access and a very deep partnership that reaches areas that have never been reached before. We have cabinet-level access, we meet with the governor’s people and the governor himself when we go.”
Bevin credited the region’s judges/executive, Pendery, Gary Moore in Boone County and Kris Knochelmann in Kenton County for speaking with one voice when they travel to Frankfort.
“There has never been anything like that, in the history of this state, where there has been this much collaboration among the judge executives up here,” Bevin said. “The fact that they come as a united front is good for this community.”
Bevin fielded questions from an overflow crowd at the Campbell County Fiscal Courtroom for more than 90 minutes, discussing a host of topics, including pensions, taxes and the Brent Spence Bridge.
Bevin said for the first time in recent memory, the state has looked at all of the options available simultaneously, to try to identify a solution for the functionally obsolete Brent Spence Bridge.
Gov. Matt Bevin answers a question at a community forum in Newport Wednesday.
“In the past we looked at the Brent Spence corridor, we looked at a bypass, we looked at some other alternative routes, but they were always done at different times, by different engineers, using different studies, different metrics,” Bevin said. “We need to do all of the above…we cannot be small-minded. We have to look at the fact that this is going to be one of the fastest-growing regions of the country.”
The common denominator for the Brent Spence Bridge, as well as all of the Commonwealth’s and the nation’s challenges, Bevin said, is funding.
“Where is this money going to come from?” Bevin asked. “More money for ‘x’ means there is going to be less money for ‘y,’ that’s the reality of it. We have a finite amount of money, it’s as simple as that.”
A teacher who lives in Campbell County, but teaches in Ohio, asked Bevin that, with the current pension issues, what reasons would he give Kentucky educators to stay at home.
The governor responded that from a cost-of-living standpoint, there are only six states in America that pay their teachers more than Kentucky does.
“Ohio may be an exception (but) the wonderful thing about America is that you have the freedom to go wherever you want,” Bevin said. “Just as you have done, and I am encouraging my children (to do), follow your passion. If you want to be a teacher, if you want to motivate young people, if you want to change lives, then do that and do it wherever you can be the most capable of accomplishing it.”
Bevin went beyond the allotted time to answer additional questions before heading to Highland Heights for the NKU ribbon-cutting. He was joined by a host of elected officials, NKU faculty, staff and students and community stakeholders.
He called the construction of the $105 million Health Innovation Center (HIC) a collaborative effort.
Gov. Bevin addresses the crowd at Wednesday’s dedication of the NKU Health Innovation Center.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGNPBO2EJ80&feature=youtu.be
“This is how it’s done; people come and represent you,” Bevin said. “Your legislators work hard, they bring legislation forward that matters. So many people are involved in making this day possible.”
The Kentucky General Assembly allocated $97 million toward construction of the HIC and St. Elizabeth Healthcare invested $8 million to construct and equip a Simulation Center at the facility.
For more information about the Health Innovation Center at Northern Kentucky University, click here.
Bevin said as the lifespan of people in the state, and the country, continues to increase, more than anything else, health care is going to define what our futures look like and facilities such as the HIC give Northern Kentucky an advantage.
“You have 45 beds in there – this is bigger than a lot of hospitals we have in rural parts of our state,” Bevin said. “It isn’t just the traditional medicine, it’s the things that are very forward thinking and the ability to be trained on these things.”
St. Elizabeth Healthcare CEO Garren Colvin (left) and Northern Kentucky President Ashish Vaidya were among those who addressed the crowd at Wednesday’s dedication of the NKU Health Innovation Center.
Others who spoke at the ribbon-cutting included NKU President Ashish Vaidya, who became the university’s sixth president in July, and St. Elizabeth Healthcare President and CEO Garren Colvin.
Vaidya called the dedication of the HIC a milestone event for the university and the surrounding communities. He thanked the state legislators for helping secure the investment in Northern Kentucky’s future.
“We know our responsibility when you make that kind of investment and that is to provide outstanding educational experience for our students,” Vaidya said. “As a result of this Health Innovation Center, our students will graduate and go in to their communities as nurses, therapists, radiologists, social workers, athletic trainers, and so much more,” Vaidya said. “We really appreciate your continued support of NKU.
Colvin called it an honor and privilege to partner with NKU on the HIC.
“From day one, this was an investment in our community,” Colvin said. “St. Elizabeth Healthcare wants to lead this community into becoming one of the healthiest in America, this would not be possible without a great partner like NKU. We hope to continue this partnership well into the future.”
St. Elizabeth Healthcare will break ground today on a 70,000-square-foot St. Elizabeth Physicians medical office building located at the main entrance to NKU.
Wednesday’s ribbon cutting was followed by a reception and tours of the Health Innovation Center.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
