Health
KS county officials offer advice on improving community health
Bugging people about exercise is not necessarily the best way to encourage healthy behaviors among local residents, according to panelists who discussed health rankings for Kansas counties. More subtle approaches have worked in Allen, Sedgwick and Wyandotte counties, representatives from those communities said Monday at a forum held at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., the…
REACH Foundation elects board members
The REACH Healthcare Foundation has added three new members to its board of directors and re-elected another three to a second term, the foundation announced Monday. Based in Merriam, Kan., REACH is a charitable organization that provides grants and other support to improve health care access and quality. It serves six counties in Missouri and…
Discussion aims to put words into action on mental health
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism There are, no doubt, a million things teens would rather do on a beautiful weekend morning than talk about mental health with a bunch of adults. Nevertheless, students like 16-year-old Jarel Wilson were among about 100 participants who took part in a discussion Saturday at the…
Latest health rankings include wide variation in local counties
Jim McLean — KHI News Service The Kansas side of the metropolitan area continues to be a tale of two cities, so to speak, in terms of population health. In this year’s state-by-state county health rankings, released Wednesday, Wyandotte County continued to rank near the bottom (96th out of the 98 ranked) while neighboring Johnson…
St. Aubyn named as CEO of Research Psychiatric Center
HCA Midwest Health System has named a new administrator to head up psychiatric services at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. The health system announced Tuesday that Lisa J. St. Aubyn will take over as chief executive officer of Research Psychiatric Center, which is a campus of the medical center. She succeeds Richard Failla,…
Kansas City groups pursuing mental health crisis center
By Kansas City, Mo., would be home to a regional facility aimed largely at diverting substance abusers from jail and hospital emergency rooms under a plan that has garnered support from law enforcement officials, political leaders and health care providers. The vision actually represents dual efforts that began independently, but which might coalesce as a…
Missouri politicians hopeful of Medicaid expansion compromise
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism Missouri policy makers might be inching toward middle ground that would expand Medicaid eligibility while reforming the safety-net program to encourage recipients to work, two key participants in the talks said Monday. The comments came from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, and state Rep. Noel Torpey,…
KCK mayor pushes plan for ‘healthy campus’ downtown
By The southern vista from Big Eleven Lake — situated along one of the busiest streets in Kansas City, Kan. — features the crescent roof of a self-service car wash and the clutter of an auto body shop wedged onto a tiny corner lot. On Tuesday, the litter along the lake’s muddy bank included an…
UMKC wins $7 million HIV grant
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism The University of Missouri-Kansas City said Monday that its School of Nursing and Health Studies has received its largest grant ever, a $7 million federal award to establish a national HIV-prevention resource center. The five-year grant comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center…
Consumers, advocates rushing toward health-reform deadline
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism As an uninsured agriculture worker, Salvador Lopez said he’d welcome health coverage so he could afford diabetes medication. Health insurance would also help his wife, said the Excelsior Springs, Mo., resident. Not feeling well on Saturday, she actually had her blood pressure checked at the health fair…