Friday November 14, 2025
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Passport Health Plan announced today that it has acquired a significant West Louisville property at 18th Street and Broadway. Passport’s plan for the 20-acre site is to create a state-of-the-art Health and Wellness Campus to serve the needs of the local community and house its 500-plus employees in its new corporate headquarters.
Plans for the campus would include health- and service-based retail sites adjacent to the newly announced YMCA facility. Together, the new developments will help transform this important section of West Louisville by providing much-needed services, jobs, and economic development opportunities. Before construction begins, Passport will engage the West Louisville community through a series of meetings and listening sessions to hear about residents’ needs and desires for the Health and Wellness Campus.
“Passport Health Plan is growing because of the great service we provide to our members, and we need to find a new home for our current and future employees,” CEO Mark B. Carter said at a news conference announcing the purchase. “After 20 years in the Louisville community, we realize that to truly meet our mission – to improve the health and quality of life of our members – we need to build a new model in healthcare. This new campus, and our initiative to integrate social determinants of health into our health plan, will ensure access to resources and services in our community and beyond to help our members flourish in all aspects of their lives.”
The corporate headquarters will initially be home to Passport’s current 500-plus employees, but will be designed with the extensive future growth in mind.
“With our community partners and local residents, we hope to add services to the community beyond clinical care, services that are person-centered,” Carter added. “We realize that access to housing, food, jobs, and other resources are key drivers to good health and wellness, and we look forward to facilitating a number of community conversations over the coming months as we strive to help transform and revitalize our community.”
According to the financial terms of the deal, Passport has acquired the parcels from New Bridge Development for $9.1 million. A letter of intent with Metro Louisville includes provisions subject to Metro Council approval, including the creation of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan – the first TIF established west of 9th Street – estimated at $2.8-$4 million over 20 years.
“Passport is a great and growing company and its decision to relocate its headquarters to 18th and Broadway is a huge win for west Louisville – and for the city at large,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “Passport and its employees are driven by the same core values that we embrace as a city – compassion, health, and lifelong learning. Metro Government is honored to help make this deal a reality.”
Moving to West Louisville will allow Passport to work more closely with members in a new model that addresses the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age. By creating a new corporate home in West Louisville, Passport aims to improve the environment in which it works while also enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, placing a high priority on a working environment that encourages excellence and engagement on the part of all associates.
“For years, the University of Louisville has been collaborating with a large number of organizations through the Signature Partnership to enhance overall well-being on the West Side of Louisville,” said Dr. Greg C. Postel, interim president of the University of Louisville. “Having Passport, a company strictly focused on improving the health not only of individuals but also communities, establish its headquarters in the neighborhood will bring renewed energy to all of our efforts.”
Passport Health Plan is a provider-sponsored, non-profit managed care organization (MCO) that has been contracted with the Commonwealth of Kentucky to administer Medicaid benefits since 1997. It is sponsored by the University of Louisville Physicians, University Medical Center, Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence, Norton Healthcare, and the Louisville/Jefferson County Primary Care Association. It has been serving residents in all 120 counties of Kentucky since 2004, and currently counts more than 300,000 Kentuckians as members. There are also more than 25,000 providers in Passport’s provider network, including primary care physicians, hospitals, specialists, and more.
Members of the faith-based community in the Louisville area are invited to learn more about Governor Matt Bevin’s “Open Hearts/Open Homes” initiative during a series of breakfast events later this month.
The Jefferson County Office of the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), which coordinates the foster care and adoption program within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), is sponsoring several free “Kickoff Breakfasts” for faith-based community partners. Everyone is invited for a meal and fellowship to discuss the state’s need for more adoptive families.
Gov. Bevin launched Open Hearts/Open Homes in March at a Frankfort summit of more than 200 partners as part of his pledge to improve the state’s adoption and foster care system. Open Hearts/Open Homes aims to find permanent placements for those children in foster care with a goal of adoption by relying on the state’s churches, nonprofit groups and caring individuals.
Gov. Bevin said he hopes to see the Louisville-area network of churches become involved in Open Hearts/Open Homes.
“We are asking our churches to help lead on this issue,” Gov. Bevin said. “Church leaders and members are encouraged to consider the life-changing journey of foster care and adoption. With the commitment of these incredible communities, we can give these children the forever homes with loving families.”
Of the state’s 8,000 plus children in out of home care, more than 1,000 are in Jefferson County. Each session begins at 9 a.m. and include a short presentation about the foster care and adoption program and a question and answer session with those in attendance. Each event will close with prayer at 10 a.m.
Here is the schedule for the breakfast sessions in Louisville this month.
- April 25: Bridges of Hope Neighborhood Place, 1411 Algonquin Parkway
- April 26: Charmoli Neighborhood Place (Middletown), 200 Juneau Drive, Suite 200
- April 27: Fairdale Neighborhood Place (Fairdale), 1000 Neighborhood Place (off National Turnpike, behind the South Park TAPP School)
- April 28: Youth for Christ Building, 4102 W. Market St.
Because of limited seating, RSVPs are required and should be sent to patricia.franke@ky.gov. Please limit number of attendees to two per organization.
CHFS Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson said Gov. and First Lady Glenna Bevin are putting all Kentucky children first in their efforts to improve the Commonwealth.
“Gov. Bevin and the First Lady are exceptional ambassadors for our foster and adoption services,” Glisson said. “Thanks to the Governor’s servant leadership we are now in position to discuss the great need around this issue and engage many more loving families into the foster and adoptive communities.”
For more information about how you can become a foster or adoptive parent, or to get more general information simply email: openhearts@ky.gov, go to the state adoption website adopt.ky.gov, which helps families more easily navigate the foster care and adoption process or call 1-800-232-KIDS (5437).
It’s time to take your shot at $1 million! The Stock Yards Bank Kentucky Derby Festival $1 Million Dollar Hole-In-One Golf Contest opens this Thursday, April 20, and runs through Sunday, April 30. The contest will take place at the Seneca Golf Course Driving Range off Pee Wee Reese Road. There will be 10 days of preliminary qualifying rounds and a Semi-final Round on Sunday, April 30.
The preliminary competition is open 10 AM to 8:30 PM every day from April 20 – April 30, except for April 22, when it will be closed for Thunder Over Louisville. The last day for preliminary competition is Sunday, April 30, from 10 AM to 5 PM, and then the Semi-Final round begins at 6 PM. Competitors and spectators can relax in the refreshment tent located adjacent to the tee area.
During the preliminary rounds the 10 closest shots to the hole each day will advance to the Semi-final round, while hole-in-one shots, will advance directly to the Finals. It’s $1 per shot daily, with 2 shots for $1 specials on the following days:
- Senior Days (62+): Weekdays 10 AM – 2 PM
- Junior Day (under 18): April 23
- First Responders & Veterans Day: April 24
- Ladies Day: April 25
There are a total of 56 positions in the Finals, which include all daily hole-in-one qualifiers, four female qualifiers from Ladies’ Day, plus two qualifiers under the age of 18 from Junior Day advance as well. The Finals will be held on Tuesday, May 2, at 6 PM at Seneca Golf Course Hole #8. If no hole in one is awarded during the Grand Prize round, the participant coming closest to the hole during the Finals will receive a $5,000 first prize.
Stock Yards Bank is the title sponsor of the event. Contributing Sponsor is Metro Parks & Recreation, joining Media Sponsors WLKY TV, 840 WHAS and Insider Louisville
Since 1956, the Derby Festival has worked to bring the community together in celebration. The Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.
Photo: Kentucky Labor Department
Labor Cabinet Secretary Derrick Ramsey visited Atlas Machine and Supply in Louisville last week to present a Governor’s Safety and Health Award for working 1,351,417 consecutive hours without a lost time injury or illness.
“I want to congratulate Atlas on earning their first Governor’s Safety and Health Award,” said Sec. Derrick Ramsey. “Working over a million hours without a serious injury is a great accomplishment. On behalf of Governor Bevin and the Labor Cabinet, it is my honor to bestow this award to the Atlas employees for their successful efforts towards workplace safety.”
Founded in 1907, Atlas Machine and Supply is a fourth generation family-owned business. Atlas re-engineers, repairs and manufactures complex manufacturing equipment for industry and provides industrial air compressors, equipment and related solutions.
“Earning the Governor’s Safety and Health Award is a wonderful testimony to our dedicated workforce and how they responded to the opportunity to build safe work habits,” said Chairman Rich Gimmel. “Thank you to Sec. Ramsey and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet for recognizing our employees’ hard work and presenting us with this award.”
The Kentucky Labor Cabinet presents the Governor’s Safety and Health Award to highlight outstanding safety and health performance in Kentucky’s workplaces. A business may qualify for the award if its employees achieve a required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost time injury or illness. The required number of hours is dependent upon the number of employees.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2015 Kentucky employers reported the lowest incident rate for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in the state’s history.
Based on a mathematical calculation that describes the number of recordable incidents per 100 full-time employees, Kentucky’s rate improved from 3.8 in 2014 to 3.7 in 2015 – reflecting the most recent data available. This rate has steadily declined since it was first calculated in 1996, when a rate of 8.4 was reported.
For more information on the Governor’s Safety and Health Award, click here.
Credit: Louisville Metro Police
Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin (D-2) is encouraging young people to make the effort and talk with Officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department at the next LMPD Youth Chat.
“It is important that young people understand that our police officers are here to help and protect us,” says Shanklin. “The chats also afford the officers a chance to get to know young people in the area. When everyone sits down and talks, then trust begins to build and we can begin working together.”
The next LMPD Youth Chat is set for the Newburg Community Center on Thursday, April 20th beginning at 6:00pm.
The LMPD Youth Chats are a series of public open-dialogue discussions, so that youth 25 and under can hear from and talk with local law enforcement officials to establish better relationships and mutual understanding While learning about the variety of things Louisville Metro police officers do.
Each session will be co-moderated by local youth. Everyone is invited to come be a part of this unique opportunity. The program is sponsored by the LMPD Sixth Division and Louisville Metro Parks.
The Newburg Community Center is located at 4810 Exeter Ave.
The Clark Memorial/2nd Street Bridge will close Thursday, April 20, in preparation for Thunder Over Louisville. We ask your help in communicating this information to the public in the coming days. The Louisville Metro Police Department will release their Thunder traffic plan next week.
CLARK MEMORIAL/2ND STREET BRIDGE CLOSURES THUNDER WEEK:
- Thursday, April 20th: 9:30 a.m. – CLOSED thru Sunday at 2 p.m.
- Friday, April 21st: CLOSED ALL DAY
- Saturday, April 22nd: CLOSED ALL DAY
- Sunday, April 23rd: CLOSED Midnight to 2:00 p.m.
BIG FOUR PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE:
The Big Four Pedestrian Bridge will be closed from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday, April 21, for the air show practice window. On Thunder day (Saturday), it will also close at 9 a.m. until 12 midnight. Access to the bridge will be restricted to only those pedestrians wishing to cross to the other side from 10 p.m. (post fireworks) to Midnight. Signage will be placed on the Big Four Bridge to help notify the public of the closures and restrictions.
Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies – is one of the more than 70 events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. The 2017 Thunder Over Louisville themed “Thunder: Local & Original” is set for Saturday, April 22. The show is sponsored by Horseshoe Southern Indiana, LG&E, Meijer, UPS and Valero.
Photo: LouVelo
Mayor Greg Fischer announced that with the financial backing of nine local businesses, Louisville’s bike share program will launch this spring and will be called LouVelo.
LouVelo is owned by Louisville Metro, which has contracted with CycleHop, a leading operator of major municipal bike share programs throughout North America, to run the program. The LouVelo network will begin with 300 bikes positioned at 28 bike share stations in downtown, Old Louisville, NuLu, near Waterfront Park, and points in between.
Another 15 stations are under consideration to expand the network. The city is working with the University of Louisville with an aim to place multiple stations on the school’s Belknap campus by fall 2017. Plans for expansion into other neighborhoods, such as Russell and the Highlands, are also being developed.
The service makes bicycles available for short-term use. The bikes can be picked up at one station and returned to any other station in the system, which makes it easy for people looking to get from one location to another during the work or school day without driving a car, and those riding for leisure, recreation or just touring the city.
LouVelo sponsors include Norton Healthcare, JP Morgan Chase & Co., UPS, Main & Clay, Genscape Inc., The Brown Hotel, KentuckyOne Health, Atria Senior Living, and The Eye Care Institute.
“These great community partners know that quality of life is a critical factor in maintaining and growing a talented workforce in Louisville,” Mayor Fischer said. “LouVelo is one of the many things we’re doing to enhance quality of life in our city.”
“We are pleased to be a sponsor of the bike share program,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare. “LouVelo’s goal of offering bicycles across the community aligns with our mission to improve the health of our community.”
The Mayor noted that bike sharing is part of the Move Louisville long-term multimodal transportation plan, which calls for accommodating all users of the city’s transportation system — pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transit riders — in the best ways possible. It’s also a great way for people to reduce their carbon footprints and increase wellness while serving the routine objective of getting from one place to another.
LouVelo is another way that Louisville is growing its network of cycling facilities, such as bike lanes, that are making it easier and safer to get around the city on two wheels.
Dave Nelson, Chief Operating Officer of CycleHop, said “We are excited to offer a new mode of public transportation to the residents and visitors of Louisville. Providing healthy, sustainable and fun transit alternatives is at the core of CycleHop’s mission. We are very grateful to Mayor Fischer, our sponsors and everyone in Louisville Metro who has made this mission a reality.”
An official launch will be announced soon. Riders will then be able to buy daily, monthly or annual passes. Until then LouVelo is offering a $99 Founding Member plan that includes an unlimited number of 60-minute rides for a whole year. A station map and signup details are available at www.louvelo.com. LouVelo can also be found on Twitter and Facebook under LouVeloBikes.
Startup costs to develop the LouVelo plan and to purchase and install bikes and stations were funded through a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant of $1.1 million matched with $273,000 from Louisville Metro. Operational costs for the program will be covered though user fees, sponsorship, and an annual appropriation from metro in the amount of $50,000.
