News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
KU Hospital, others attacking problem of child deaths
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism Chloe Robinson was about the size of a bag of frozen spinach at birth. Born 15 weeks early and weighing only 1 pound, she spent her first eight months in the neonatal intensive care unit at the University of Kansas Hospital. That was five years ago, and,…
Moveon.Org poll shows most Kansans support Medicaid expansion
But Brownback campaign skeptical of the results By Jim McLean KHI News Service April 8, 2014 TOPEKA — Poll results released today indicate that the Medicaid expansion issue could be a factor in the Kansas governor’s race. The poll, conducted last week for MoveOn.org Political Action, a left-leaning group dedicated to “progressive change,” showed that 52 percent…
Wyandotte County officials face trust issue with healthy campus
A town hall forum on a Wyandotte County health initiative drew a standing-room-only crowd to City Hall Thursday evening, but that level of interest didn’t mean participants believed government officials would follow through with the plan. In reporting feedback from their break-out sessions, facilitators said many attendees were skeptical because they felt City Hall had…
KCMO begins implementation of women’s empowerment blueprint
Joni Wickham, director of public affairs for Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Mo., is one of eight women in the mayor’s 12-person staff. She is currently working, with a team of other women city employees and the mayor himself, to implement the Women’s Empowerment Blueprint. Wickham agrees with the need for this blueprint on…
Local company part of national ‘Stamp Out Stigma’ mental health campaign
Leawood-based New Directions Behavioral Health is participating in a new national campaign aimed at reducing negative views about mental illness. The Stamp Out Stigma initiative, organized by the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, aims to reach 1 million people this year to change perceptions about mental illness and substance abuse, according to a news…
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…
KC Week in Review: ‘Khamun in’: A sneak peek at Union Station’s biggest exhibit ever
Experience the treasure-filled burial chambers of Egypt’s boy king just as British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered them 92 years ago. That’s the claim of the producers behind ‘The Discovery of King Tut’, the first stop in the country for a more than 1,000 artifact exhibit that has already been touring Europe since 2008. While the…
Share your insights on KC Public Schools and the Missouri transfer law
Lindsey Foat – The Hale Center for Journalism Help KCPT understand more about the issues surrounding the Kansas City Public Schools and the Missouri school transfer law. Major Funding for Education coverage on KCPT provided by Jo Anna Dale and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
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…
Nurses’ push for independence from doctors stalls in KS Legislature
By Jim McLean – KHI News Service The ways of the Kansas Legislature are a frustrating mystery to Merilyn Douglas. The advanced practice registered nurse from Garden City is part of a group that is pushing for passage of a bill that would allow APRNs to practice independently from physicians. But that push has stalled….