By Hannah Carver
NKyTribune reporter
Kentucky is a place that nearly 4.5 million people call home. It’s a Commonwealth full of rolling hills dotted with horse farms, a unique and booming bourbon industry, and a proud basketball nation. However, it’s also a state that’s ranked 45 in the country for overall health, according to America’s Health Rankings for 2018.
The consequences of this sobering statistic are far too familiar for many Kentuckians, yet the state has stayed among the worst since the 1990s. So the question remains: How can Kentuckians work to make their home a healthier place?
Some may see this as a question for regional health professionals or lawmakers, but Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Brent Cooper sees the region’s overall health as very much a business-related issue.
Brent Cooper
“Northern Kentucky is not a very healthy place,” Cooper said. “We smoke too much, we’re overweight, we have an opioid epidemic with needle sharing that spreads disease… pick your poison, we’re not a very healthy place. But we’re trying to connect the dots as to why that matters.”
As an example of the costs that poor health have on the community, Cooper pointed out the effect of Hepatitis C on Northern Kentucky.
“It takes $40,000 to treat one case,” Cooper said. “We’ve seen an increase of 1,000 cases of Hepatitis C in the last number of years. That translates to a $40 million hit to the region, and that’s just one of the diseases that affect this area.”
For Cooper, these issues are matters of public safety, and ultimately, they’re about maintaining a healthy workforce. He sees business policies and common sense approaches as solutions to heading off these health problems.
“People are surprised to learn that in this day and age, there are still businesses that allow smoking, and not only does it hurt their workers,” Cooper said. “From an economic development stage, it hurts our image. How can we be the worst in the country for smoking and not even have common sense laws that promote good health?”
According to a 2017 Centers for Disease Control report, Kentucky has the highest cancer death rate in the U.S. For Cooper, that’s no coincidence.
“If we don’t recognize that and take meaningful steps to change that dynamic, we’re never going to get better.”
Cooper says these are the reasons the Chamber is encouraging businesses to do on-premise screenings and wellness challenges, why they’re supportive of Sen. John Schickel’s bill to remove smokers as a protected class in Kentucky — so businesses can have the ability to incentivize smoking cessation in a meaningful way, right from the start of the hiring process.
The Chamber is also supportive of more trails, bike paths, and living communities, all of which are not only tied directly to better health but also increased economic development.
“It’s about connecting the dots,” Cooper said. “Health affects the bottom line.”
Even transportation plays a role in overall health, according to Cooper. An employee who is spending an inordinate amount of time stuck in traffic has far less time for things like exercise and preparing a good meal, resulting in an employee who is far less likely to have a healthy lifestyle.
“These things don’t just happen in a vacuum; they have a domino effect,” Cooper said.
“Health impacts our insurance costs, it impacts our workforce, and it ultimately affects productivity for businesses.”
All the “Chamber of Non-Profits” wants to do is funnel more money into hospitals and raise costs. Don’t care about small business or private business. Its a cultural issues, not a business issue.