The pilot, recommended in a report from the University of Louisville’s�� Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky (CIK), housed in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, would initially be limited to critical incident 911 calls from LMPD’s Fourth Division. It involves establishing:

• A Behavioral Health Hub, with health crisis interventionists integrated in the MetroSafe 911 call center. Call takers would direct certain Critical Incident calls to an interventionist, who would help further triage the crisis to determine whether it could be de-escalated over the phone, if the person in crisis would benefit from a mobile response, or if the scenario called for an LMPD response due to safety concerns. Their mission would be “to assist persons in crisis and first responders by providing empathy, connection, de-escalation and linkage to the right-sized care,” the report says.
• A mobile response unit consisting of trained crisis interventionists to “rapidly respond, effectively screen and assist persons in crisis in accessing the appropriate level of care.”
• A 24-hour “community respite center,” a fully staffed safe place where individuals can stay for up to 24 hours when connected by the mobile response team. There, qualified mental health and substance use professionals will provide evaluations and connect individuals to needed services and resources, beyond what the mobile response team can provide onsite.

The research team recommended the pilot be centered in LMPD’s Fourth Division because of its high number of what Metro terms Crisis Intervention Team-related events; an average of 11.63 events of this type occur each day.

“Our team has been grateful for the opportunity to partner with the community to build a better way of addressing a public health crisis,” said Susan Buchino, who co-directed the research. “Our research has allowed us to examine what other communities have done, while being intentional about listening to the unique needs of our own community. The one thing emphasized by other cities is that it is best to start small, learn from the community what’s working and what needs to change, and then refine the process before scaling it.” Buchino is assistant professor in UofL’s School of Public Health and Information Sciences and assistant director of the CIK.

Now that the report has been shared, Fischer said, UofL, Seven Counties Services and other partners will begin to work to implement the plan, with UofL’s stated goal of beginning the pilot in December 2021.

In announcing a nearly $5 million investment in deflection and diversion programs as part of the FY22 budget, Fischer noted that “some situations are best served by a social service response, particularly when dealing with people living with homelessness, mental health challenges or substance use.”

“By quadrupling our investment in violence prevention and capacity-building programs, including in deflection and diversion, we are acting on our shared goal of creating a safe city with fewer arrests and less incarceration for non-violent offenses,” Fischer said. “I appreciate the hard work of the university team to move us closer to that goal.”

Louisville Metro Government contracted with CIK to draft the report and implement the pilot, as part of a plan for reimagining public safety with an emphasis on the whole-of-government and whole-of-city approach, Fischer said.

In its Alternative Responder Model report recommending and outlining the pilot model, the UofL team acknowledged the national debate around public safety, and cites “a pattern in which law enforcement has become a default response in crisis calls, even when the crisis may be a civil issue or one best resolved by health care or social services.

“Even the officers themselves – in Louisville and elsewhere – admit they are asked to do too much, often without the best tools for serving the person in crisis, especially when it is a behavioral health need,” the report says.

The report is the result of seven months of study by CIK and a multidisciplinary team consisting of the Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health, Development and Intellectual Disabilities; Spalding’s School of Social Work; Seven Counties Services (SCS); and community members, charged with assessing the feasibility and development an alternative response model that appropriately meets the need of Louisville’s residents.

“As the region’s leading provider of mental health services, Seven Counties Services is well positioned for this community partnership to help our neighbors in crisis who need mental health treatment or other social services as opposed to a police response,” said Abby Drane, president and CEO of Seven Counties Services/Bellewood & Brooklawn. “We are hopeful that this deflection program will best serve our neighbors and aid in the effort to modernize public safety for the Louisville Metro area.��This plan will provide a more streamlined path to critical services for those with a mental health or addiction crisis.”

Their work included a review of police deflection activities in other U.S. communities; a series of interviews and focus groups with community members, behavioral health providers, and Metro Government leaders, as well as observations of Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) responses to 911 calls that could potentially be deflected and activities in the MetroSafe 911 Call Center, and an extensive review of MetroSafe 911 data.

The team also engaged with a Community Advisory/Accountability Board, which has met routinely since April to provide oversight and recommendations to the team’s research and planning – an effort to enhance community ownership and sustainability for the new program.

The report stresses that continual evaluation of the program is key, and that expansion beyond the pilot phase should occur “in phases that allow researchers to evaluate implementation and outcome and identify areas of improvement and success.”

In addition, these data will be informative as scientists worldwide are working to determine whether quantitative antibody measurements can be used to predict immunity in the overall workforce. This program represents a unique alliance between government and otherwise competing private groups in order to address an unprecedented crisis.

Testing will begin with high-risk personnel in Kentucky, starting with the health care workforce. As the process is scaled up it will be made available to other essential workers. There will be three steps of testing:

• First, a point-of-care test will provide a yes or no answer on the presence of antibodies.
• In a second step, positive blood will then be assayed for the amount of antibodies present in the blood.
• Finally, in patients with high amounts, the neutralizing power of the antibodies will be evaluated.

The University of Louisville Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CPM), has established a high-throughput, real-time assay for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies that will be utilized and CPM will use their renowned Bio Safety Level 3 facility to test for the neutralizing activity of the antibodies.

“The University of Louisville is committed to addressing all forms of health,” said Neeli Bendapudi, President of the University of Louisville. “We are uniquely positioned to play a key role in this effort because of our talented researchers at CPM and our UofL Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, which allows us to establish the very best donors of plasma for patients.”

This unprecedented collaboration of the public and private sector has already secured private donations of $1.75 million in the form of a challenge grant to build community-wide coalition of philanthropic support, which will allow the program to scale more quickly and save more lives. ( for more details on how you can help).

“America and Louisville need more and advanced COVID-19 testing now. I am excited about this ambitious project and its potential to provide useful data for the recovery of our community. Louisville’s team of cutting-edge scientists represents the best of who we are as Louisvillians – compassionate, smart and entrepreneurial,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.

“This is exactly the kind of collaboration that Kentucky is poised to enable,” said Dr. Cedric Francois, CEO of Apellis Pharmaceuticals and LHCC board member. “We have the infrastructure in our commonwealth to quickly bring this revolutionary technology together by leveraging the great work already being done with the health care stakeholders, such as Norton Healthcare’s convalescent plasma program, and the extensive work that had already been done to start their antibody serology testing to improve Kentucky’s response and recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic and be a model for the rest of the nation.”

“This model for testing is exciting and it is our hope that antibody measurements can be used to predict immunity,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. “If so, it will be a critical tool in the reopening of Kentucky’s economy.”

Specifically, the academy will provide curriculum and educational tools concentrated on eight fast-growing technology areas: artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, cybersecurity, cloud computing, internet of things, quantum computing, data science and design thinking.

Through IBM’s existing Academic Initiative, IBM will make available software and cloud technology with an estimated value up to $5 million a year.

“But the value of this far exceeds that figure. When you have two great institutions working together, who can say where the opportunity lies?” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, who made the partnership happen along with Naguib Attia, IBM’s vice president of Global University Programs, after the two met recently at an event.

This skills academy is the first of its kind that IBM has developed with a higher education institute. The company is in discussions with four universities to open similar academies in the United States. Attia said the initiative is starting here because of Bendapudi’s “passionate leadership.”

“When I heard about IBM’s vision to try and bridge the digital divide, I knew we had to work quickly,” Bendapudi said. “It is important for us to be nimble with this, to be truly transformative, to say, ‘We see what’s coming, how can we be proactive?’ I am extremely grateful to IBM.”

Bendapudi said students will benefit from the academy through course credit and IBM certification, while faculty will be trained on skills curriculum to then be able to teach colleagues and students. But the benefits are expected to extend well beyond UofL’s campus, as trained faculty will also serve as workforce development agents for the community.

Attia said over 120 million jobs will be affected within the next three years by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Indeed, the share of jobs requiring AI skills has . Global spending on blockchain solutions in 2018 equated to $2.1 billion and is expected to . Meanwhile, the global cybersecurity market, currently valued around $120 billion, is expected to jump .��

“These skills are the most critical issue of our time and the south has the highest number of employees without an education beyond high school,” Attia said. “If we don’t work to close this gap, it could have a negative impact on millions of people.”

Because of the pervasiveness of these emerging technologies and the speed at which they’re evolving, Attia noted that such skills training will be available for all students, regardless of their area of study.

“The future is not going to leave the good people of Kentucky behind,” he said.

City, state leaders react to announcement

Underscoring the impact this announcement has locally and state wide, today’s press conference was attended by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Congressman John Yarmuth, Terry Gill, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, and – via video –Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“I attend a lot of events where I can say ‘this is a great day for Louisville.’ But with this announcement, I can say this is an important day for Louisville; this is a critical day for Louisville,” Yarmuth said. “The world is changing at 100 miles an hour and this initiative will deal with issues of the future, including the benefits and challenges of technological change.”

Mayor Greg Fischer added that the academy will help build on the city of Louisville’s employment growth trajectory from the past eight years – about 80,000 new jobs – noting that nearly every new position includes some technology skill requirement.

“Our goal is to quintuple the amount of employees receiving technology training every year and this (partnership) is exactly what we’re talking about,” Fischer said. “If we’re not integrating technology in everything we do, we’re really missing the boat.

In a prepared statement shown via video, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell said the academy will further advance UofL’s upward trajectory and help push the boundaries of technology while providing the tools students, faculty and researchers need to be leaders in their fields.

“We shouldn’t have to rely on the west coast and the northeast corridor to be nimble in high-tech areas,” Bendapudi said. “This is a game changer for UofL and for the commonwealth.”

More information about the IBM Academic Initiative is .��

Check out footage from the press conference below:��

With the ceremonial swing of sledgehammers, renovation has begun on the new home of the University of Louisville Trager Institute at 204 E. Market St. Formerly the Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging, the Trager Institute will expand into the new space thanks to generous gifts from the Trager Family and Republic Bank Foundations.

“My vision for UofL is that we be a great place to learn, work and invest,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi, PhD. “We are grateful to the Trager Family Foundation and the Republic Bank Foundation for investing significant resources in our work here because of the Institute’s demonstrated impact on the economic, social and cultural health and well-being of Louisville, the Commonwealth and beyond.”

“Considering the importance of the eldercare industry to Louisville’s economic development, we are proud to partner with the University of Louisville. It is our hope that this gift will help develop a world-class conduit that eldercare companies can partner with in research, innovation and career development. Additionally, local citizens will become beneficiaries of the Institute’s efforts through the newly established Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic,” said Steve Trager, chairman and CEO of Republic Bank.

The complete renovation is expected to cost $1 million.

Located in what Louisville Metro Mayor Greg Fischer has dubbed the “innovation corridor,” the renovated space will accommodate the Institute’s leading edge research, care coordination, physical and mental health clinical practice and educational programming.

“UofL continues to chart new territory by building strong partnerships with our leading economic industry groups,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “The work we have done together with the university and the Trager Institute on our Compassion Index and age-friendly initiative positions Louisville as the epicenter of aging care innovation. With the addition of this cutting-edge facility, we will continue to build on the strength of Louisville’s aging and health innovation culture.”

“With this new facility, we will be able to conduct research and provide care in ways that transform our understanding of health care and aging. We are working to change the way health care is provided and focus on integrating lifestyle medicine that has shown to provide extraordinary benefits to achieving optimal aging,” said Anna Faul, PhD, executive director of the Trager Institute.

The Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic will specialize in comprehensive care for the aging population. This clinic, organized using the latest best-practice health care model known as age-friendly Integrated Practice Units (IPUs), will help individuals achieve optimal physical and mental health as they age. IPUs involve an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, pharmacists, social workers, chaplains, community health navigators, life coaches and lawyers to meet patient needs. These health care partners facilitate patient care related to physical and mental condition, along with outpatient, inpatient and rehabilitative care and social services. The clinic will provide a patient experience that focuses on lifestyle medicine, an evidence-based therapeutic approach to prevent, treat and reverse lifestyle-related chronic diseases. The space is designed to promote telehealth to homebound and isolated older adults.

Multiple financial supporters are key to the successful work of the Institute. The clinical practice is bolstered by the financial support of John Wright, MD, a geriatrician and professor emeritus of the UofL Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine.

His $1 million investment — originally a bequest that he decided to pay during his lifetime — supports the John C. Wright Endowed Professorship on Aging for the benefit of the Trager Institute.

His gift will help maintain the high quality of medical care by attracting the best geriatricians to enhance collaboration between the Institute, the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine and other universities.

In addition to clinical services, the new facility expands the research capacity of the Institute to expand the number of clinical trials it offers and technology development and testing. The innovative space will have a conference room equipped with video conferencing capabilities that allow researchers to collaborate on a national and international level. The space also will support the Trager Institute’s aging-care workforce development efforts with a multi-purpose training space.

Other features of the space will include a fully operational kitchen for nutrition counseling and classes, complete with its own wall garden; a fitness area for community residents to participate in mindfulness sessions, yoga and other fitness activities; and space for physical therapy and audiology testing, when needed.��

Renovation completion is expected this summer.

Highlights from yesterday’s renovation kickoff are below:��

The Mayor’s Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods will manage the Trauma Resilient Community Initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in partnership with UofL’s Kent School of Social Work and Centerstone Kentucky.

“We’re thrilled to work on this project because it so closely parallels our mission to create a just and better world,” Kent Dean David Jenkins said. “Our role in the Trauma Resilient Community Initiative is evidence of our unwavering commitment to ensure that every community member has equitable access to services that work, services that help people recover and services that help communities heal.”

The initiative will use a community-based approach to build a “trauma-informed” system of care and services to children and families exposed to violence. The effort is meant to increase the knowledge and skills of people who respond to, make referrals for and provide services to youth and families.

“Louisville is a compassionate city, and compassion requires that we work to remove barriers and create opportunities so that every citizen has the ability to reach their full human potential,” Fischer said. “This initiative is another tool we can use to dismantle the very real barriers of violence, trauma and racial inequity.”

The partners aim to provide trauma treatment to 400 children and their families in west and south Louisville, where data show that youth and families are disproportionately affected by trauma, violence and inequities. The initiative also involves training 200 clinicians in trauma interventions and 200 first responders, volunteers and community service providers in a special youth mental health first-aid model.

Another 40 service providers, public school officials and leaders will be trained in a trauma-resilient approach through the initiative, which will also share the trauma-care information with 50 community agencies serving youth and families and develop a leadership advisory board to increase awareness of trauma and its effects. The initiative includes evaluation of its consumer impact.

“To help people traumatized by violence, it’s so important to use an approach that fully takes into account their circumstances,” said Jennifer Middleton, associate professor of social work. “The Kent School of Social Work’s researchers are pleased to be partners in this federally funded effort to aid people in ways that are sensitive to their needs and based on proven methods – and to help train members of our community to continue that care.”

Middleton, Crystal Collins-Camargo and Bibhuti Sar are the Kent faculty working on the implementation, while Shantel Crosby and Heather Storer are on the research and evaluation team. Kent students also will be involved in ways that include conducting community needs assessments and providing trauma-focused therapy interventions. The Kent group will be looking at specific measures of functioning and well-being for the children and families, Crosby said.

“Our city has made significant gains towards deepening our understanding and ability to make progress against complex challenges like violence and racial inequity. This opportunity allows us to elevate a system that does not just focus on the individual, but organizations, systems and community as part of the healing process,” said Rashaad Abdur-Rahman, director of the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods.

“At Centerstone Kentucky, we are proud to partner with SAMHSA, the Mayor’s Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods and the UofL Kent School of Social Work to provide evidence-based trauma-informed care, creating stronger neighborhoods across our community,” said Anthony Zipple, president and CEO, Centerstone Kentucky.

Besides the local ones, initiative partners include the Center for Trauma Resilient Communities, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Treatment and Services Adaptation Center for Resilience.

Highlights from Monday’s press release are below.��

The article pointed out that Louisville is home to the largest cluster of aging care businesses (nursing homes, hospice, home-based health care, etc.) and boasts a number of health care and health insurance giants, such as Humana and Kindred Healthcare.

“These businesses employ more than 21,000 professionals, producing over $50 billion in revenue. City leaders want Louisville to build on that foundation to become a center of innovation for improving the quality of life for America’s growing elderly population,” the article states.

The objective to become an aging capital was first outlined in 2012 when Mayor Greg Fischer noted that Louisville is a leader in developing targeted economic development strategies around its strengths, including aging care and lifelong wellness.

The University of Louisville was recognized in the article for pitching into the cause alongside city government and business leaders. Specifically, UofL and other key institutions have “combined resources and backed several aging initiatives,” the article states.

In November, , called the Hive, which is focused on creating healthcare technology solutions for aging care. These solutions include a mobile compliance app that was developed with the help of J.B. Speed School of Engineering students.

Kindred is also working on another app that would allow nurses to assess a patient’s eligibility for hospice care.�� ��

UofL’s contributions will likely increase thanks to a new, nearly $2 million grant awarded to the Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A strategy to engage primary care practitioners in meeting behavioral health needs of older adults is at the heart of the grant.

The to students in social work, psychology and psychiatric nursing programs who will be part of the Rural Geriatric Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care Training Network.��

“When you look at a disease like dementia, patients deal with many behavioral disorders like paranoia or agitation, and there can be a lot of anxiety on how to problem-solve around those factors. This grant is important in not only getting behavioral health specialists into rural areas but also in opening up opportunities for physicians and nurse practitioners to coordinate with behavioral specialists to improve patient outcomes from a social support stand-point,” said��Christian Furman, MD, the Institute’s medical director and a professor of geriatric and palliative medicine.

The Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging is devoting its resources to educational efforts throughout March and April as well. As a part of Age-Friendly Louisville, the Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging joins AARP, the City of Louisville and the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency to host a number of workshops throughout Louisville that focus on what makes the community a better place for people to “live, work and play at every stage of life.” The events will include small group discussions on social, health, economic and built environments that can support individuals in leading lives that thrive.

Workshop dates are March 7, 14, 21, 28, and April 4, 7, 17 and 24. More information, including times and locations, is .��

KIPDA and UofL’s Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging are also teaming up to host World Café this month throughout Jefferson, Bullitt, Shelby and Trimble counties. These events will include discussion about the results of the most recent regional needs assessment and how to work together to ensure support for the area’s aging population. .��

Finally, the Institute is currently seeking nominations for the Gold Standard Award for Optimal Aging. The 7^th annual award will be given in September and will celebrate older adults who embody the Institute’s vision for “a world where all older adults lead engaged and flourishing lives.” Nominations will be accepted through April 15. .

“Optimal aging is the ability to flourish throughout one’s lifespan. It is not a specific level of achievement but rather a state in which a person is able to continue living life to its fullest,” said Anna Faul, PhD, executive director of the Institute.

Thanks in part to UofL’s work, that ability to flourish is very much a reality in the city of Louisville.��

The partnership, called the Hive, focuses on creating healthcare technology solutions for aging care, such as mobile applications that track compliance. By locating near campus, Kindred will get to work closely with students and faculty.

“This is an example of the ways in which companies and universities can work together for the benefit of the community, students, patients and companies such as Kindred,” Kindred President and Chief Executive Officer Benjamin A. Breier said in a statement.��

The 3,500-square-foot center is in former K-I Lumber & Building Materials office building at Floyd and Lee streets, near UofL’s Belknap Campus.

The space has a distinct “startup” vibe, with bee-themed decor and graphic design pieces from students at the UofL Hite Art Institute. There are also smartboards, computers and other technologies donated by California-based technology giant, Cisco Systems Inc.

The University of Louisville Foundation purchased that property two years ago. It’s in the heart of “the North Quad,” an area that’s increasingly drawing these kinds of university-industry partnerships.

“To see the amount of innovation that’s taking place at UofL, and especially in the North Quad, is a tremendous thing,” said Louisville mayor, Greg Fischer. “Not just for the university and for great companies like Kindred; it’s wonderful for our city, as well.”

Louisville-based manufacturer Advanced Energy Materials opened a new facility there . And, FirstBuild — an open-innovation makerspace and micro-factory —opened in 2014 in partnership with GE Appliances, a Haier company.

“This is all part of our plan to develop a series of partnerships between industry and academics,” said UofL interim president, Greg Postel. “The students actually contribute to the innovation that takes place here and at the same time, it enhances their education.”

For example, take Will Rigby, who worked with Kindred as a student at UofL’s the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, helping develop the company’s first mobile compliance app. He graduated in August and now works for Kindred as a programmer and analyst.

“[Working with Kindred] provided me with some real world experience working in the field of healthcare,” he said. “And there really is no substitute for work experience for a student.”

Kindred’s already working on another app that would allow nurses to assess a patient’s eligibility for hospice care. There are many other projects in the works.

“At Hive, students get real-world experiences, and in return, our technology professionals gain a fresh perspective from the students,” said Kindred Chief Information Officer, Charlie Wardrip. “Together, they bring the latest innovative ideas into the development of products that we can put into the hands of our patients, our customers and our team members.”

He said it’s also a pipeline as Kindred looks for new talent. Hive currently houses six UofL engineering students, working under supervision of faculty and Kindred staff.

Check out more from the ribbon-cutting ceremony:��

Fischer opened his comments by encouraging students to “really jump in and be a big part of our city,” which he noted is going through a renaissance right now, bolstered by $11 billion worth of construction projects.

“I encourage you to use bike share or to walk the city and see everything that’s going on … to see the wonderful transformation,” he said.

Fischer also encouraged students to choose to get involved during their time at UofL.��

“I got involved when I was in college and it changed my life,” he said. “You’re not going to learn as much if you play it safe.”

Fischer outlined three values that drive the city of Louisville: lifelong learning, health (mental, physical and environmental) and compassion.

“Compassion is when we respect our citizens so that their potential flourishes,” he said.

Fischer also acknowledged last weekend’s events at the University of Virginia, strongly condemning white supremacy, racism and bigotry. His statements elicited an enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

“You are entering college at an extraordinary and interesting time. We need your voice,” he said. “We need you to think of yourself as more than someone who is in their second day at the University of Louisville. How do you use your new platform as a UofL student to do good? … Do something for which you expect nothing in return.”

Interim president Greg Postel, who introduced Fischer, encouraged students to ensure their service is not just a one-time event.

“I hope this is the beginning for a lifetime of community service,” Postel said. “(Community engagement) is part of the fabric of what UofL is all about.”

“Welcome Week is an important traditional program that promotes new student engagement and success by providing students with opportunities to develop fundamental skills, knowledge and personal connections essential for their transition to UofL,” said Loni Yost, director of First Year Initiatives.��

Some noteworthy events include:

Aug. 16

• Move-In Day, 8 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Move-In Day will feature volunteers, complimentary drinks and pizza for everyone courtesy of Papa John’s.
• Cardinal Kick Off, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Library Lawn West, UofL’s Interim President Dr. Greg Postel helps kick off Welcome Week. Enjoy free food, photo booth, UofL swag, music and a chance to win a new bike.
• Bid Day, 3-10 p.m., Students receive an invitation to the sorority they were matched with through the mutual selection process.

Aug. 17

• SOUL: Student Outreach Uniting Louisville, 8 a.m. check-in; 8:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. service projects, Student Activities Center, includes a free t-shirt, interactive group discussion and group service project featuring Mayor Fischer with the keynote.
• Kick Back in the Stacks, 6-8:30 p.m., Ekstrom Library, The library features a mix of dancers, magicians and other novelty performers; bingo; interactive service project; a photo station; scavenger hunt; local food samples, etc. Learn about the Library and other important campus resources.

Aug. 18

• Alumni Association Picnic, 6-7:30 p.m., Humanities Quad, Enjoy food, music, giveaways, and fun. Hear from SOAR (Student Organization for Alumni Relations) on how to bridge the gap between current students and alumni.
• Night at the Museum: What’s Your Speed?, 7-10 p.m., Speed Art Museum, Enjoy a night of tours, snacks, games, art-making and adventure as students explore the galleries and get to know the Speed Art Museum.

Aug.19

• CARDnival, 8-10:45 p.m., SAC West Plaza, Join the Student Activities Board for a night out at the CARDnival complete with arcade and casino games, featuring free food, music, inflatables, and prizes.

Aug. 20

• 25^{�ٳ���}Annual Icebreaker and All Campus Cookout, 6-8 p.m., Red Barn/West Plaza, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and National Pan-Hellenic Council’s (NPHC) fraternities and sororities welcome all new students to the campus.

The full schedule of events is .��

“I am confident that as our Chief Health Strategist, Dr. Moyer will provide strong leadership to help realize one of the primary goals of my administration – to make Louisville a much healthier place,” Fischer said.��

“Already, she has spearheaded the expansion of Louisville’s Smoke-Free Ordinance to include electronic cigarettes and hookah products, the establishment of Kentucky’s first Syringe Exchange Program, and the national accreditation of the department.”

“I’m honored by the confidence Mayor Fischer has shown in me,” Moyer said.�� “I look forward to working with the fine staff of the department and with all of our community partners to improve the health of our city.”��

Moyer also will hold an appointment on the faculty of the ��Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences. She most recently worked as assistant professor in UofL’s Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine, a position she has held since 2013.

“Although all schools of public health seek relationships with local and state health departments, the longstanding partnership between LMPHW and SPHIS is unique,” said the school’s dean, Craig Blakely, PhD, MPH. “Dr. Moyer is a true joint-appointed faculty member in the school, not an honorary adjunct, which is often the case in other communities. We are truly excited that she is taking on the role of health director and look forward to a growing collaborative relationship.”��

Moyer joined the Department of Public Health and Wellness in January 2015 as Medical Director. She also served as the department’s interim health director from January 2015 – April 2016 following the departure of Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, who assumed directorship of the Washington D.C. Department of Health.�� ��

As medical director, Moyer, a board certified family physician, oversaw clinic operations. As the city’s Chief Health Strategist, she works with all sectors of the community to affect policy, systems and environmental changes to make Louisville and its citizens healthier.��

She also currently serves as co-chair of the , a group of leaders from government, business, educational, ��civic and nonprofit organizations who are working to improve the physical, mental and social well-being of Louisville residents with the goal of increasing the number of healthy days – quality of life – by 20 percent by 2020 and beyond.

Moyer earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Temple University School of Medicine In Philadelphia. While at Temple, she formed the Emergency Action Corps and worked in sub-acute disaster areas throughout Central and South America after such first-responder agencies as the Red Cross had left. She served in Honduras, El Salvador and Bolivia in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

She completed her Family Medicine Residency at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. In 2012 she was named “Outstanding Resident” by the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians. Before entering medical school, she earned a Master’s in Public Health with honors from Dartmouth. She earned her undergraduate degree from Colorado College, where she majored in physics.

Moyer is married to Dr. Jed Moyer, a pediatric orthopedic physician with Norton Healthcare. They have three sons — twin 3-year-olds and a 1-year-old.

Moyer succeeds Dr. Joanne Schulte, who became Louisville’s Director of Health in April, 2016. Schulte did not renew her contract and returned to the Houston area.