Health News
- Uk, Not Questioned Mental-health Agency, Will Run Eastern State
Herald-Leader photo by Mark Mahan: Hospital nears completionThe University of Kentucky will manage the new Eastern State Hospital, replacing the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, which has operated the current facility since 1995....
- Herald-leader Dislikes Mental Health Agency's 'clubby Glow'
In an editorial today, the Lexington Herald-Leader criticized the "clubby glow emanating from the inner circle" of the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, whose financial status was featured in Sunday's issue of the newspaper....
- University Hospital's Trust To Pay For Indigent Care Lacks Oversight, State Auditor Finds
An audit of the trust that disburses more than $30 million in state and local funding to provide indigent care at University Hospital has found there is a lack of oversight. There is no evidence taxpayer dollars were abused, however. "The audit, released...
- State Auditor Will Examine University Hospital's Indigent-care Trust
After the Jefferson County attorney said the fund lacked oversight, state Auditor Adam Edelen said he will audit and review the indigent-care trust in Louisville through which $32 million tax dollars flow. (Courier-Journal photo by John Rott) The audit...
- Federal Supervision Of Oakwood Mental-health Facility Ends
The federal supervision of Oakwood, the long-beleaguered Somerset facility for the mentally disabled, is no longer necessary and will end, officials announced yesterday. The move means the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the U.S....
Health News
State Auditor Edelen faults Bluegrass mental-health agency for executive compensation, lax management and board oversight
The Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, a nonprofit agency that gets two-thirds of its money from taxpayers, "paid more than $2.8 million in executive-benefit contributions since 1997 to the president/CEO and various other employees solely at the discretion of the President/CEO with no scrutiny by board members," state Auditor Adam Edelen said in a press release this morning. "The contributions, which are designed to retain talent within an organization, were largely awarded to a core group of central office administrative staff while health-care employees received either no contributions or less significant amounts."
Edelen's release said the audit, made in response to "news media reports and anonymous concerns," also "found problems with . . . spending without supporting documentation and lax management practices." For example, Bluegrass spent $172,025 on lobbying from January 2011 to September 2012 without adequate documentation, and President/CEO Shannon Ware, right, and a consultant "spent nearly $38,000 on credit cards during an 18-month period without detailed receipts to document the business purposes," the release said. The full report is available here. It confirmed several findings by the Lexington Herald-Leader; for the H-L story on the audit, by John Cheves, go here.
- Uk, Not Questioned Mental-health Agency, Will Run Eastern State
Herald-Leader photo by Mark Mahan: Hospital nears completionThe University of Kentucky will manage the new Eastern State Hospital, replacing the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, which has operated the current facility since 1995....
- Herald-leader Dislikes Mental Health Agency's 'clubby Glow'
In an editorial today, the Lexington Herald-Leader criticized the "clubby glow emanating from the inner circle" of the Bluegrass Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation Board, whose financial status was featured in Sunday's issue of the newspaper....
- University Hospital's Trust To Pay For Indigent Care Lacks Oversight, State Auditor Finds
An audit of the trust that disburses more than $30 million in state and local funding to provide indigent care at University Hospital has found there is a lack of oversight. There is no evidence taxpayer dollars were abused, however. "The audit, released...
- State Auditor Will Examine University Hospital's Indigent-care Trust
After the Jefferson County attorney said the fund lacked oversight, state Auditor Adam Edelen said he will audit and review the indigent-care trust in Louisville through which $32 million tax dollars flow. (Courier-Journal photo by John Rott) The audit...
- Federal Supervision Of Oakwood Mental-health Facility Ends
The federal supervision of Oakwood, the long-beleaguered Somerset facility for the mentally disabled, is no longer necessary and will end, officials announced yesterday. The move means the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the U.S....