Upcoming & Past Meetings
Click on the Coalitions below to view upcoming meeting details, as well as summaries of past meetings. While the counties are divided into coalitions, all are welcome to attend any of the meetings.
The next KY1 Community Coalition will meet again in May 2026. Stay tuned for the agenda and calendar invite!
Counties in KY1: Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, and Trigg, but all are welcome to attend!
KY1 Community Coalition met virtually on Tuesday, February 24, at 8:00 AM CT. Claire Arant, Director, Community Outreach and External Communication for the Kentucky Hospital Association, presented on the community coalition framework for the years ahead. The mission of the coalitions is to build stronger, healthier communities across Kentucky. The coalitions will accomplish that goal by bringing together health care and community-based organizations together to discuss gaps in transitions of care, empowering community members to self-manage their chronic illnesses, address social drivers of health, and mental health and substance use disorders. Coalition members discussed current efforts and coalitions in the area that are working on various parts of the framework.
Myrna Vazquez, Program Assistant Senior, Nutrition Education Program/SNAP-ED for the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the Calloway County Extension Office, shared information on the Family and Consumer Science programming focused on improving the quality of life for individuals and families. The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service offers two programs, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-Ed), to target limited resource families and individuals with nutrition education. Through these programs, the Calloway County Extension Office has been able to partner with the local Calloway County Health Department to offer educational cooking classes for individuals with diabetes and/or cancer diagnoses. In addition to these programs, the Extension Office offers an opportunity for families and children to learn to cook together though the “Cook Together, Eat Together” program, as well as a nutrition program for persons who are recovering from substance use disorders, “Healthy Choices for Your Recovering Body.”
William Brandon, Community Engagement Coordinator with Paducah Cooperative Ministry (PCM), shared information on their food pantry and shelter programs with the coalition. Community members in need of food assistance will find a low barrier to access with PCM. Regardless of meeting SNAP criteria, community members coming to PCM for food are served with dignity through PCM’s effort to offer choices in their food selection. In 2025, PCM served 4,782 sets of groceries to local families! In addition to the food pantry, PCM offers assistance with utility and rent payments and housing through Fresh Start Village. Fresh Start Village is a shelter offered to mothers and children, who have had their housing status change and are in need of temporary housing. Fresh Start Village served 157 individuals in 2025. PCM continues to meet the community needs by planning to offer a grocery store experience for folks at a location located across the street from their current headquarters.
KY2 Central Community Coalition will meet virtually on March 17, from 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET. The agenda will kick off with a presentation on the community coalition framework that will guide the coalition work in the coming years. In addition to this topic, the Community Farm Alliance will present on how to utilize SNAP benefits at participating farmers markets through the Double Dollars Program. To round out the meeting, Baptist Health Hardin and Feeding America will co-present on their collaboration and partnership to offer a food box program at Baptist Health Hardin.
Counties in KY2: Breckinridge, Bullitt, Grayson, Hardin, Jefferson, Larue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, and Washington, but all are welcome to attend!
KY2 Central Community Coalition met virtually on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 1:00 pm ET. Catherine Hines, Research Project Manager at the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC), educated the coalition on how to navigate and utilize FindHelpNow.Org. FindHelpNow.org is a website designed to assist community members looking for services around substance use, mental health, behavioral health, recovery housing, and community-based supports. The website searches for the services closest to the zip code of the person seeking services and showcases the services currently accepting new patients. Once a service is selected, the website shows what the application process looks like, what supports are provided by the service, which population is served, and how to get connected. The website can be utilized by case managers, family members, friends, or any member of a community who requires assistance for themselves; no referral needed!
Next on the agenda was highlighting local organizations that can be a resource to community members. Rebecca Stutsman, Director of Advancement with Seven Counties, kicked us off with discussing their holiday meals and community events that support families and children during the holidays. As a reminder, Seven Counties is a Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) which provides mental health, addiction recovery, developmental disabilities, and other services to the community. Christa Shouse, Chief Executive Officer with United Way Central Kentucky, shared the ways her organization supports the community through providing funding support to community-based organizations and connecting community members with support services through 2-1-1. Residents located in Hardin, Breckenridge, Grayson, LaRue, and Meade counties can dial 2-1-1 to receive free, 24-hour information about community health and social services. 2-1-1 provides information on basic needs services, mental and physical health resources, counseling, employment assistance and more!
Melanie Landrum, KHA Senior Vice President, Data, Operations and Innovations, drew the coalition meeting to a conclusion by sharing the workforce recruitment resources KHA has developed to encourage high schoolers to consider a health care career upon graduating. To watch the video shared during the meeting, visit: https://www.kyha.com/workforce/put-me-in-coach-campaign/ and check out KHA’s workforce website to see all the ways KHA is engaging in health care workforce recruitment and retention.
KY3 Taylor/Lake Cumberland Community Coalition will meet in-person on April 28, from 11:00 – 12:30 PM CT, at TJ Health Columbia. For this meeting, KY3 is focused on mental health and substance use disorder resources! Caroline Hines, Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, to highlight the FindHelpNow.org website, to show how any Kentuckian can go on the website to find help for mental health, naloxone, substance use disorder, and recovery housing. Peer Support Specialist, Tabitha Hardin, will present the benefits of having a peer support specialist integrated into your organization to help patients with substance use disorders. A speaker has also been invited to present on 988’s Raising Hope program specifically for farmers. Stay tuned for more details!
Counties in KY3: Adair, Casey, Clinton, Cumberland, Green, McCreary, Pulaski, Russell, Taylor, and Wayne, but all are welcome to attend!
KY3 Taylor/Lake Cumberland Community Coalition met virtually on January 27, 2026, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET. Claire Arant, Director, Community Outreach and External Communication for the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA), presented the Community Coalition Framework and the priorities for the years ahead. The mission of the coalitions is to build stronger, healthier communities across Kentucky by bringing together health care and community-based organizations to discuss gaps in transitions of care, empowering community members to self-manage their chronic illnesses, and address social drivers of health, and mental health and substance use disorders. The coalition expressed support for the framework.
Bryon Ellis, KHA’s Associate Vice President of Government Relations, shared with the coalition a brief summary of bills proposed during the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly that could impact the health care landscape in Kentucky. Some of these bills relate to topics such as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), Certificate of Need, and Medicaid. For more information on important legislative happenings, please reach out to Mr. Ellis at bellis@kyha.com.
Jillian Shaw, Program Coordinator for kynect Resources, presented an overview of kynect resources to the coalition. Kynect Resources, in partnership with United Way, was developed with the primary mission of bringing together community partners and commonwealth agencies into a comprehensive, single platform that connects Kentuckians to needed services. Kynect Resources is a free, online, statewide director available to those living in Kentucky and assists with a referral management system to ensure close loop referrals for residents and organizations. To access the website and see the services offered, please visit https://www.kynect.ky.gov/resources/
Melanie Landrum, KHA’s Senior Vice President of Data, Operations, and Innovations, presented the KHA workforce recruitment videos. The custom media offering is especially geared toward middle and high school students to encourage them to consider health care as a career choice when they are finished with high school. This video has been shared on social media and has already received several thousand views. Please feel free to share with your colleagues and friends.
Put Me In Coach Campaign – KYHA
Additionally, KHA has worked to build promotional videos and career pathways for Medical Laboratory Technicians and Medical Laboratory Scientist and Respiratory Therapists to encourage students to consider a career in allied health professions. Links to those resources are provided below.
Medical Laboratory Technician and Medical Laboratory Scientist Website
KY4 Bluegrass Community Coalition will meet in person on March 11, from 8:00 – 9:30 AM ET, at Morning Pointe of Lexington. The agenda will kick off with a presentation on the community coalition framework that will guide the coalition work in the coming years. Then Morgan Bray, Food is Medicine Program Coordinator, will educate the coalition on the Food is Medicine program, the goals and benefits of which we are already seeing across the state. The Community Farm Alliance will then present on how to utilize SNAP benefits at participating farmers markets through the Double Dollars program. To carry us home, a community diabetes educator has been invited to present on the community diabetes education programs offered and how to utilize foods to help manage diabetes.
Counties in KY4: Anderson, Boyle, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Rockcastle, Scott, and Woodford, but all are welcome to attend!
KY4 Bluegrass Community Coalition met virtually due to inclement weather on Wednesday, December 3, 2026, at 8:00 am ET. This exciting meeting was packed with incredible speakers, with the first being Austin Roush. Austin Roush, Advanced Practice Paramedic, Market Director of Paramedicine, for CHI Saint Joseph Health presented on their Community Paramedicine program. This program focuses on being more than just a visit to patients; it helps with in-home patient needs and assessments, medication reconciliation with the patient’s provider, disease-specific education and post-discharge support. In addition to these points of focus, the program has seen success with decreasing 7-day and 30-day readmissions and significant financial savings through the interventions employed. As the program continues to grow, it is looking to expand into rural areas, take advantage of technology where appropriate, increase referral pathways and add to their current funding sources.
After this insightful presentation, we invited behavioral health leaders from various backgrounds to share their community resources and services on a Behavioral Health Panel discussion. The panel was made up of Dr. Tiffany Arrows, New Vista, Caroline Kruer, SUN Behavioral, Jerian Petry, UofL Health – Peace Hospital, and Brook West, Voices of Hope. During the panel, the wide range of behavioral/mental and substance use support services available and needed within the community were both illuminated. In addition to sharing their organizations’ services and supports, the leaders gave the coalition attendees actionable advice for addressing holiday stressors, talking with patients/colleagues/loved ones on how to seek needed supportive services and utilizing self-care strategies to help us show up as our best selves for others.
Melanie Landrum, KHA Senior Vice President, Data, Operations and Innovations, drew the coalition meeting to a conclusion by sharing the workforce recruitment resources KHA has developed to encourage high schoolers to consider a health care career upon graduating. To watch the video shared during the meeting, visit: https://www.kyha.com/workforce/put-me-in-coach-campaign/ and check out KHA’s workforce website to see all the ways KHA is engaging in health care workforce recruitment and retention.
KY6&8 Eastern Kentucky Community Coalition will meet on April 22, from 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET. The coalition meeting will kick off with UnitedHealthcare presenting on their member value benefits to close out the Medicaid Managed Care Organizations presentation from last meeting. In addition to this, speakers have been invited to discuss screenings conducted at community events and farmers markets as well as the type of screenings taking place. A speaker has also been invited to share their diabetes education program that is open to community members. Stay tuned for more details!
Counties in KY6&8: Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike, and Whitley, but all are welcome to attend!
KY6&8 Eastern Kentucky Community Coalition met Tuesday, January 20, 2026, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET via Teams. Claire Arant, Director, Community Outreach and External Communication for the Kentucky Hospital Association, presented on the community coalition framework for the years ahead. The mission of the coalitions is to build stronger, healthier communities across Kentucky and how the coalitions will do that is by bringing together health care and community-based organizations together to discuss gaps in transitions of care, empowering community members to self-manage their chronic illnesses, address social drivers of health, and mental health and substance use disorders. The coalition rallied around the shared ideas being exactly what the community needs.
Up next, Managed Care Organizations (MCO), Aetna, Molina by Passport Healthcare, and Wellcare, shared their member value benefits that Medicaid members have access to. The benefits span from assistance with food and wellness to gift cards for going for annual health care services. For a full list of the MCO’s benefits, please reach out to Claire Arant, carant@kyha.com, for their presentation.
KY7 Northern KY Community Coalition will meet virtually on March 5, from 9:00 – 10:00 AM ET. The agenda will kick off with a presentation on the community coalition framework that will guide the coalition work in the coming years. Jerrod Wright, Director Emergency Preparedness for Kentucky Hospital Association, will also share local and state resources, considerations for policy development, and ways to partner with your local community members to effectively prepare for emergencies. Jerrod will walk the coalition through ideas for preparing for an emergency before it happens and ways to respond to an emergency as they occur.
Counties in KY7: Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Henry, Kenton, Owen, Pendleton, and Trimble, but all are welcome to attend!
KY7 Northern KY Community Coalition is kicking off with a virtual meeting on Thursday, December 4, 2025, from 9:00 – 10:00 AM ET. The coalition hit the ground running with Morgan Bray showcasing Food is Medicine. Food is Medicine is an initiative between the Kentucky Hospital Association and the Kentucky Department for Agriculture to utilize locally grown foods as a resource for chronic disease management and access to healthier food choices. Ms. Bray educated the coalition on how hospitals have partnered with their local cooperative extension offices to host farmers markets onsite, giving access to local, healthy food for patients, staff and the community. In addition to farmers markets, has been identified by hospitals across the state that growers, leaders in agriculture, and food purchasing/service companies are coming together to have roundtable discussions to talk through partnerships at the local level. Since this work began, one hospital system shared that they have launched their hospital-branded burger made from lean Kentucky raised ground beef. The work continues to grow through food demonstration videos and networking events to spread the impact the program is having at a local level.
Next on the agenda was Tara Johnson-Noem, Executive Director for Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD), presenting their Aging and Disability Services Food Insecurity programs for seniors. Within the last fiscal year, NKADD has home delivered ingredients to 842 seniors, who are unable to grocery shop but are able to stand long enough to prepare their meals. For seniors who aren’t able to prepare their meals, NKADD has brought congregated meals to 356 seniors in the last fiscal year. NKADD has two commodities programs: Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and The Emergency Food Program (TEFAP). Through these programs, NKADD has supported 42 food panties and soup kitchens in the local area and processed 62,103 cases of food, valued at $2.2 million. To utilize these programs, community members are encouraged to call NKADD to find out more information or visit their website, nkadd.org.
The coalition concluded after a presentation from Dr. Erek Majka and Lacey Lykins on Advanced Care Planning, Medical Order for Scope of Treatment (MOST). Coalition members learned the importance of advanced care planning in honoring a patient’s values and goals while maintaining their quality of life. The MOST document assists with this by allowing a conversation between a patient and their physician to determine the patient’s preferences to receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), medical interventions, artificially administered fluids and nutrition and antibiotics. Patients appropriate for the MOST document have an advanced chronic progressive illness and a life expectancy of less than one year and feel strongly that they want to further define their treatment preferences for end-of-life care.
Interested in learning more and getting involved?
KHA is collaborating with hospitals, health care providers, and community-based organizations to build stronger, healthier communities across Kentucky. In a shared effort to share resources on discuss how to improve transitions of care, chronic disease self-management, social drivers of health, health literacy, mental health and substance use disorder concerns within the community.
Community Coalition partners include but are not limited to area agencies on aging, area development districts, clinician practices, community mental health centers, community organizations active in disasters, EMS providers, faith-based organizations, fire departments, food pantries, federally qualified health clinics, health departments, home health, hospice agencies, hospitals, housing shelters, libraries, nursing homes, patients/families, patient advocacy organizations, pharmacies, research institutions and universities, rural clinics, senior housing, state and local agencies, substance use recovery organizations. If you or your organization make an impact on a community member’s life, we want to invite you to the coalition meetings.
Have questions? Want more information? Reach out to Claire Arant, carant@kyha.com.