Louisville Magazine

JUN 2017

Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.

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LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 6.17 35 up on trends. While Latinos used to make up about 50 percent of the racetrack clinic's patients, now it's more like 80 percent. (e clinic is currently compiling data to find out specifics on patient populations and frequency of injuries.) Robertson says a lot of her patients are at risk for diabetes. So in the last few years, she and her fellow nurse practitioners have tried to get ahead of it, prescribing medicine early on to lower insulin resis- tance. Posters on healthy eating line the waiting room. "When you're diagnosed with diabetes, you've actually been sick for about 10 years," Robertson explains. "You don't feel sick, but metabolically you're not functioning correctly for 10 years." In April, the American Academy of Nursing awarded Robertson and Nash a national award for their implementation of practices that delay or, best-case scenario, stop the onset of diabetes and other illnesses that can balloon into serious health and financial crises. Eligibility for services at the clinic de- pends on the job within the horse industry, but for a stable worker or exercise rider, that individual must hold a current Kentucky Horse Racing Commission license and work no less than 24 hours per week for the same employer. Patients can't just walk in. First stop is an office down the hall from the clinic operated by the Kentucky Racing Health and Welfare Fund, which schedules appointments and confirms eligibility. Authorization papers are folded into a white envelope. When it's time to be seen, patients ring the clinic's doorbell. Patient maintenance can be difficult. Every winter, when Churchill Downs is dark, most backside workers disappear for a few months, many to other racetracks — though, Robertson says, the ones they have "tightly controlled" are good about securing enough prescription refills to get them through that period. Drinking and smoking are prevalent. But "not exceptionally bad," Robertson says, adding, "e person who might not take care of themselves just might not come over here." One afternoon, Robertson sees a 40-year- old woman with a rock-hard neck and shoulders and wrists that tingle and swell. Racing Health Services Center director Sara Robertson with a patient who works in Churchill Downs barns.

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