Correction: This story originally stated the wrong year Trust Women was founded. It was founded in 2009 and the clinic opened in 2013. In the three weeks since internal conflicts abruptly paused services at Wichita’s largest abortion provider, the two other places in the city providing abortion have scrambled to pick up the slack. One […]
Kansas
Posted inState Government
Kansas lawmakers pass tax cuts. Here’s how they compare to past plans
This article was updated after the governor signed the bill. Kansans will see income and property tax relief after a tax cut plan became law. Passing taxes has been a headache all session, but lawmakers returned to Topeka on Tuesday and approved a plan that was negotiated by the Democratic governor and Republican leaders in […]
Posted inState Government
Redefined infant ages and new to child-to-staff ratios: Kansas changes child care regulations
Kansas child care providers likely will soon be able to take in more children, care for more infants and work under new health and safety training requirements. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has proposed 37 changes to current regulations to strip away burdensome regulations and clarify language — some aimed at easing rules […]
Posted inHealth
Bird flu has hit cows in Kansas and sparked precautions in Missouri. Here’s what that means for you
Don’t drink raw milk. It’s one piece of public health advice almost every doctor, scientist and public health official can get behind. Especially as bird flu jumps from chickens to cows to a handful of farmworkers. Yet on the north side of Excelsior Springs, Be Whole Again Farm hasn’t noticed the public health guidance having […]
Posted inState Government
A year later, the Kansas trans athlete ban appears to matter more as a symbol than in practice
It’s been a year since Kansas lawmakers banned transgender women from women’s sports in schools or colleges. But the hotly debated issue — banning trans female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports has been a pet issue of Republican-controlled legislatures across the country — appears to have had little practical effect so far in Kansas. […]
Posted inState Government
Insurance covers mammograms, but Kansas patients are often on the hook for costly follow-up screenings
Delaying a diagnostic mammogram carries potentially deadly risks. Diagnostic mammograms, MRIs, sonograms and other types of specialized breast imaging can help detect breast cancer when it’s most treatable. Stage 1 breast cancer has an almost 100% survival rate. That’s why yearly mammogram testing is free for women over 40. But when doctors find something that […]
Posted inElections
Here’s how to register and vote in Kansas
Polling places are open from at least 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Counties are allowed to open polls as early as 6 a.m. and close them as late as 8 p.m.
Posted inHealth
Missouri and Kansas families will be getting money for kids’ summer meals — eventually
Summer may be half over by the time Kansas families get extra food aid meant to see them through long hot days when school breakfasts and lunches disappear. For Missouri families, the aid may not arrive until a new school year is well underway. But that still beats the 13 states where families won’t be […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Kansas lawmakers are temporarily limiting a program that increases mental health services
Targeted federal tax dollars turbocharged Sedgwick County’s COMCARE mental health clinic by helping it give patients more behavioral health treatment and add sorely needed staff. COMCARE cut its staff vacancy rate from around 50% years ago down to 13%, thanks in part to a federal program. Other community mental health centers have expanded their services […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Kansas budget approves millions for mental health workforce development
Finding mental health professionals in Kansas is hard. Crisis teams that talk down suicidal Wichitans struggle to fill evening shifts and mental health hospitals that can rescue someone from a crisis have open beds they can’t use because they don’t have enough staff. States across the country can’t hire enough workers for critical mental health […]