Health
Mental Health Crisis Center Set to Open Ahead Of Schedule
A new 16-bed mental health crisis center on Kansas City’s East Side could open as much as two months ahead of early projections. The target date is now July 1. Details approved this month by the City Council call for a $1 million contribution from Missouri-side hospitals toward annual operating costs of the Kansas City…
Take 5 For Your Health
Missouri Law Restricting Insurance Navigators Is Pre-Empted By ACA, Judge Rules A federal judge says that Obamacare navigators may dispense advice to those looking for insurance under the federal health reform law. U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith on Wednesday struck down provisions of a Missouri law that bars insurance navigators from giving advice about health…
Take 5 For Your Health
Doctors Warn Of (Another) Early, Intense Spring Allergy Season In Kansas City The early spring weather Kansas City is expected to enjoy this weekend can be a mixed blessing for allergy sufferers. Doctors at Children Mercy Hospital in Kansas City report surges in pollen and mold have accompanied the blips of early warm weather the…
Does Zapping The Brain With Electricity Boost Creativity?
Would you wire your head to a battery if you thought it might help boost your brain function? A quick Internet search turns up lots of videos of at-home tinkerers with electrodes strapped to their heads and nervous looks on their faces. Inspired by anecdotes and a handful of studies showing it can temporarily improve…
Take 5 For Your Health
Nonprofit Groups Launch Open Kansas Government Initiative Several nonprofit organizations that advocate for children, minorities and low-income Kansans are concerned about what they see as a trend toward less open government in Kansas. So, they’ve joined forces to launch what they’re calling the Open Kansas initiative and to ask legislators to sign a “transparency pledge”…
A Healthy (Re)Start for Raytown
Technically, it was a ribbon-cutting for a new health facility, but the christening of a new gym and community center in Raytown was more like removing bandages from an old wound. That’s because the facility, at 10301 E. 350 Highway, is housed in a refurbished building that the YMCA of Greater Kansas City closed three…
Take 5 for Your Health
Amid Financial Troubles, Company Closes Two Kansas Ethanol Plants Financial problems at one of the world’s leading biofuels companies are causing ripples in the Kansas economy. The Spanish company, Abengoa Bioenergy, opened a state-of-the-art ethanol plant in October 2014 near Hugoton. Gov. Sam Brownback greeted the grand opening as a shot in the arm for the…
Take 5 for Your Health
North-Central Kansas County Copes With Soaring Alzheimer’s Rate Almost every day, Jay Mellies leaves his home in Clay Center and drives about 20 miles north to visit his wife at a nursing home in neighboring Washington County. Some days when he comes in she tells staff, “I don’t know that guy.” Then she smiles. It’s a…
Alzheimer’s Panelists Point To Progress In Diagnosis, Treatment
Two University of Kansas Medical Center researchers at the forefront of national efforts to treat Alzheimer’s disease said scientists are making strides toward reducing the prevalence of a condition that affects as many as 5.1 million Americans. Key aims include early detection and halting the progression of the disease, said Dr. Jeffrey Burns, a leader…
Wyandotte County Could Lead Region In hiking Legal Age For Cigarette Sales
Smokers in the county would have to be at least 21 to legally purchase cigarettes under a plan under consideration.