A case before the U.S. Supreme Court could drastically limit access to medication abortions, now the most common form of abortion in the United States. That could increase the already fast-growing flow of patients to Wichita trying to escape abortion bans that have swept through the region since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade […]
Suzanne King
Suzanne King is The Beacon’s health care reporter and has covered the beat since November of 2023. Previously she covered the telecommunications and technology industries for The Kansas City Star and the Kansas City Business Journal. She also covered local government, crime and education at newspapers in western Massachusetts and upstate New York. She grew up in Missouri and has lived in Kansas City for almost 30 years. Suzanne holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Posted inEconomics, Health
With a casino on their phones, more Kansas gamblers risk addiction
Takeaways: When Andrew Gallamore clocks out of work at his job in Bonner Springs, he clicks on his phone. Sometimes, to bet. His DraftKings app makes dropping $5 or $10 on a prop bet so easy. And once he’s back home in Missouri, having even a few dollars riding on how many points a player […]
Posted inHealth
Texans, Oklahomans and other out-of-staters traveling at higher numbers for abortions in Kansas
As abortion bans have multiplied across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, so have abortions. And cities like Wichita, in states where the procedure remains legal, see a steady rise in patients coming for the procedure. Last year, Trust Women, Wichita’s largest abortion provider, saw just over 5,000 […]
Posted inHealth, Labor
Kansas City nurses kick off contract talks saying they’re prepared to strike
Takeaways: When nurses rallied outside Research Medical Center this week to kick off contract negotiations, the refrain rang familiar. “Hey HCA,” the nurses’ signs read. “Put patients over profits.” In an increasingly unionized health care industry, still recovering from the pandemic, nurses across the country demand that hospitals beef up staffing and improve working conditions. […]
Posted inHealth
More than doctor visits, a $30 million Kansas City, Kansas, clinic plan comes with a hopefully better neighborhood
Takeaways: For a year, Vibrant Health has drafted plans for a $30 million building in Kansas City, Kansas, to bring in health care and kickstart a poor neighborhood. The project reflects an evolving health care ecosystem where clinics cash in on the idea that some people get healthier or live longer not because of the […]
Posted inHealth
‘We’re unionized. You can’t ignore it.’ Wichita nurses vow another strike again if they don’t get a contract
Takeaways: It’s been a year since the nurses at Ascension via Christi St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita voted to unionize. Even longer since St. Francis nurses made the same play. About nine months have passed since they walked off the job the first time to protest what they contend are the hospitals’ spare staffing levels […]
Posted inHealth
Artificial intelligence is already at work in Wichita hospitals, but without much regulation
Takeaways: Patients at Wichita’s Wesley Medical Center are cared for by nurses at their bedside — with help from a virtual care center in Denver. Hundreds of miles away, computers monitor vital signs and lab results and send out alarms when a patient is in trouble. Like a growing number of hospitals, Wesley leans on […]
Posted inHealth
Artificial intelligence already plays a part in Kansas City health care, without much regulation
Takeaways: In September, the mom of a 4-year-old boy made national news when she used ChatGPT to diagnose her son’s pain, teeth grinding and leg dragging, a diagnosis that had eluded 17 doctors over three years. It’s an increasingly common scenario: Patients are looking to artificial intelligence for health care answers. And so are medical […]
Posted inHealth
Kansas City hospitals had long dreaded, and prepared for, a day of shootings like this
The burst of gunfire that killed a young mother and wounded almost two dozen others could have turned out even deadlier. But one critically injured young man made it to the operating room at University Health Kansas City within minutes after being hit. Had he not been triaged at the scene and rushed to the […]
Posted inHealth
Kansas City hospitals had long dreaded, and prepared for, a day of shootings like this
The burst of gunfire that killed a young mother and wounded almost two dozen others could have turned out even deadlier. But one critically injured young man made it to the operating room at University Health Kansas City within minutes after being hit. Had he not been triaged at the scene and rushed to the […]