The Foundation convenes the Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum annually in memory of Dr. Howard L. Bost, notable health economist and founding member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. The aim of the free annual forum is to raise awareness of the health issues impacting Kentuckians and highlight model strategies and policy opportunities to improve Kentucky’s health. We welcome a range of audiences, inside and outside the health industry – including health care advocates, providers and educators, business professionals, civic leaders, policy makers and more.    

 

2021 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM 

  

The 2021 Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum will explore growing vaccine hesitancy in America and in Kentucky, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speakers will share effective strategies that health advocates, health care providers, civic leaders, and public agencies can use to increase vaccine uptake in Kentucky.

The virtual forum is scheduled for Sept. 20 - 21, 2021. The forum will be free, and open to the public, but registration will be required. 

Monday, Sept. 20: 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET

Tuesday, Sept. 21: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET

Speakers and a registration link will be announced later this spring.

During the forum, the Foundation will share the results of its second-round poll of Kentucky adults regarding their attitudes and opinions about immunizations and policy around vaccines, including vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for early childhood, youth and adults. Initial results from the first-round poll, which focused on COVID-19 vaccines in particular, showed that half of vaccine-hesitant Kentucky adults were open to getting a COVID-19 vaccine given more time and information.

The forum also will feature a panel discussion on improving the Kentucky Immunization Registry to ensure all vaccines administered in Kentucky are recorded in the registry, to prevent duplication and help inform policy.

 
2020 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM WEBINAR SERIES
Moving Kids Toward Natural Highs: Kentucky Opportunities to Prevent Youth Substance Use, Suicide and Risky Behaviors 		The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky's 20th annual Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum will highlight policies and programs that reduce the chances of disease and unhealthy behaviors that often begin in childhood, including substance use, suicide and vaping. The in-person event originally scheduled for September 21, 2020 has been CANCELLED to help protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic and has become a monthly webinar series this year. See webinar registration information below.
2020 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM

Moving Kids Towards Natural Highs: Kentucky Opportunities to Prevent Youth Substance Use, Suicide and Risky Behavior

Webinar 5: Stopping Vaping and Substance Use
January 11, 2021
Click here to views the webinar recording.

Programs to help reduce risky behaviors involving substances including drugs, tobacco and alcohol are the subject of the fifth webinar in the 2020 Bost Forum Series. Speakers will share programs that are effectively steering youth away from taking risks that could impair their long-term health and toward healthier alternatives.

Panelists:
 
Van Ingram, Executive Director, Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy
 
Devine Carama, Community Coordinator, Lexington FEND Movement and Founder, Kingtucky, LLC
 
Moderator: Eva Stone, District Health Coordinator, Jefferson County Public Schools
2020 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM

Moving Kids Towards Natural Highs: Kentucky Opportunities to Prevent Youth Substance Use, Suicide and Risky Behavior
 
Webinar 4: Understanding Youth and Building Good Mental Health
December 14, 2020
 

The focus of this fourth webinar in the 2020 Bost Forum Series is on understanding youth from a behavioral health perspective. Speakers will address statewide and community-based youth mental health programs, internet and social media safety, and suicide prevention.

Panelists:
Child & Adolescent Development.... Disrupted - Felicia Smith, PHD, Child/Adolescent Psychologist 

Understanding Youth and Building Good Health - Allen Brenzel, M.D., MBA, Medical Director, BHDID, CHFS, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of Kentucky


Bullying and Cyberbullying Prevention: Strategies and Resources for Parents & Educators - Kerry Gallagher, Director of K-12 Education, ConnectSafely


Bost Health Policy Forum Presentation - Beatrice Roussell, youth speaker, Manual High School STAMINA Suicide Prevention Group

Moderator: Dr. Sheila Schuster, Executive Director, Advocacy Action Network
2020 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM

Moving Kids Towards Natural Highs: Kentucky Opportunities to Prevent Youth Substance Use, Suicide and Risky Behavior

Webinar 3: Promoting Healthy Lifestyles Through Nutrition & Physical Activity
November 9, 2020
Click here to view the webinar recording.
 
In this third webinar in the 2020 Bost Forum Series, speakers will focus on community, school and home-based programs that successfully improve nutrition and increase physical activity among children and youth.
 
 
 
 
 
Moderator: Marianne Smith Edge, Founder/Principal, The AgriNutrition Edge
2020 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM

Moving Kids Towards Natural Highs: Kentucky Opportunities to Prevent Youth Substance Use, Suicide and Risky Behavior
 
Webinar 2: Intervening Early
October 19, 2020
Click here to view the webinar recording.

The second webinar in the 2020 Bost Forum will focus on the interventions in the earliest years that can greatly reduce the likelihood of risky behaviors in adolescence and beyond. Speakers will discuss programs based in the home setting, in schools and in physician’s offices that set infants and toddlers up for better health throughout their lives.
 

 
2020 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM
Moving Kids Towards Natural Highs: Kentucky Opportunities to Prevent Youth Substance Use, Suicide and Risky Behavior
 
Webinar 1: State of Child Health in Kentucky
September 21, 2020
Click here to view the webinar recording.
 
The first webinar in the 2020 Bost Forum Series will explore the current data and understanding of the myriad factors that contribute to the status of children’s health in Kentucky. Experts in early childhood, adolescence and child health policy will be joined by a youth advocate to share some of the greatest successes and urgent needs to reduce health risks and risky behaviors among Kentucky’s children.
Presentations: 
 
Moderator: Vivian Lasley-Bibbs, Director, Office of Health Equity, Kentucky Department for Public Health
 
2019 Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum
Medical Marijuana Fact and Fiction: Practical Public Health Policy Considerations for Kentucky
Keynote Address: Andrew Freedman, Former Director of Marijuana Coordination in Colorado, Partner at Freedman & Koski
Monday, September 23, 2019
Mariott Griffin Gate
Lexington, KY
 
Presentations: 
 
 
 
 
Health Impacts on At-Risk and Underserved Populations
 
Revenues and Outlays
New Frontier Data, Beau Whitney
 
Future of Cannabis Regulation
HB136 Medical Marijuana, Jaime Montalvo
Medical Cannabis: Medical Perspective, Danesh Mazloomdoost, MD
 
   
2018 HOWARD L. BOST MEMORIAL HEALTH POLICY FORUM
Kentucky’s Substance Use Epidemic: A Solutions Update
Keynote Address: Barry Meier, New York Times Reporter and Author, Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic
Monday, September 24, 2018
Marriott Griffin Gate
Lexington, KY
 
Click here to watch the live morning session live stream from 9:00 am - 12:00 PM ET.
 
 
Alternatives to Opioids
Alternatives to Opioids: Physical Therapy, Mona Carper, PT, DPT
Curbing Kentucky's Substance Use Epidemic- The First Step, Phil Chang, MD, MBA, FACS
Culture Change: The Opioid Alternative, Danesh Mazloomdoost, MD
Alternatives to Opioids: Mindfulness Practice, Mel Pohl, MD, DFASAM
 
 
   
2017 Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum

Kentucky’s Substance Use Crisis: Solutions and Strategies
Keynote Address: Sam Quinones, Author, Dreamland
Monday, September 25, 2017
Marriott Griffin Gate
Lexington, KY
Agenda (PDF)
Speaker Bios (PDF)

Click here to view videos from the event.
   
 
2016 Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum

Keynote Address: Dr. Gail Christopher
Health as an Economic Driver
Monday, September 19, 2018
Marriott Griffin Gate
Lexington, KY
Agenda (PDF)