Heartland Health Monitor
Olathe Native And Former U.S. Health Official: GOP Health Bill Poses Threats To Families
Olathe native Tim Gronniger served as a top official with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Obama administration. Currently a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, he also was a senior adviser for health care policy at the White House Domestic Policy Council, a senior staff member for Rep. Henry…
Welfare Spending Drops As Fewer Kansans Receive Cash Assistance
Kansas is on track to spend less than a third of what it did six years ago on cash assistance and to serve a third as many low-income people, according to a state budget office memo. Those numbers have been falling steadily since Gov. Sam Brownback took office in 2011, when Kansas began incorporating work…
Researcher Explores Cancer Treatments Inspired By Traditional Indian Medicine
Inside a yoga studio in midtown Kansas City, Ayurvedic medicine practitioner Sarah Kucera does a consultation for a client. In some ways, the consultation isn’t that different from a regular doctor’s checkup. Kucera asks about the patient’s health history, diet and exercise regimen while typing notes on a laptop. But there are differences. The Ayurvedic…
One-Third Of New Drugs Had Safety Problems After FDA Approval
More than 70 drugs approved by the FDA from 2001 to 2010 ran into safety concerns that prompted in withdrawals from the market, “black box” warnings or other actions.
A Lazarus Patient And The Limits Of A Lifesaving Stroke Procedure
About 800,000 people have strokes each year in the U.S. Most are caused by clots that block blood to the brain. In some cases, doctors can remove the clot using a device that looks like a fishing net.
Residents In Kansas Town Say Water Rules Must Give — Or Feds Need To Pitch In
Pretty Prairie, Kansas, population 680, had a moment in the spotlight during the confirmation hearings for new Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran mentioned Pretty Prairie as an example of a community that’s struggling because of EPA regulations that Pruitt could ease. But residents of the tiny south central Kansas town…
New Attention To Struggles Of Kansas Hospitals Fuels Medicaid Expansion Effort
Renewed attention to the financial struggles of several Kansas hospitals is giving supporters of Medicaid expansion a potentially powerful argument as they work to build a veto-proof majority for a new bill. “The conversation became much more real with the renewed talk about hospital closures,” said David Jordan, director of the Alliance for a Healthy…
Missouri Researchers Join Hunt For One Of Medicine’s Elusive Quarries: Artificial Blood
Medical researchers have made a lot of progress developing artificial versions of organs like the heart, lungs and kidneys, but one thing has stumped them: artificial blood. Blood is especially hard to recreate because it does so many things, from carrying oxygen to helping the immune system to heating and cooling the body. Now, some…
Drop-In Centers In Rural Kansas Aim To Address Dangers Of Isolation
The social and health effects of isolation on some rural Kansas residents spurred three Catholic nuns to convert a storefront in Concordia into a drop-in center where women can find support and resources. Seven years after the center opened, two dozen women on average come through each day in the town of about 5,000 to…
Hoping To Hire Locally, Growing Kansas City STEM Companies Try Luring Students Into Science
In the next few years, many tech businesses in Kansas City expect to do a lot of hiring, with starting salaries that most recent college graduates can only dream of. But will these jobs go to native Kansas Citians or to people recruited from other places? Some business and civic leaders are trying to tip…