When Carthesa Hutson’s son, Chris, finally got around to getting his driver’s license he was almost 19. She remembers being at the DMV with him when he paused on the application question about becoming an organ donor and looked to her. She told him to follow his heart. “He said, ‘Well, if I’m not here, […]
Health
Posted inRural
Air quality worsened in Missouri from 2021 to 2023
An annual report from the American Lung Association found that from 2021 to 2023, ozone levels worsened in the 19 counties where they are measured.
Posted inKansas City
Head Start, utility assistance in danger: Missouri agencies scramble as Trump administration looks to slash federal spending
Missouri has 19 community action agencies that work to support the state’s poorest families. Funding for programs like Head Start and utility assistance is at risk the year ahead.
Posted inRural
Primary care shortage has an outsized impact on rural Missouri
Rural Missourians tend to be older and have more chronic health conditions. It makes a consistent primary care provider more important, but rural patients have the least access to them.
Posted inHealth
Federal judge strikes down COVID-era Missouri law that placed a gag order on pharmacists
The judge said a 2022 law that prevented pharmacists from contacting patients about the efficacy of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine was unconstitutional.
Posted inHealth
Massive cuts to federal health care grants alarm Kansas City’s public health community
The grants paid for public health basics like vaccines for children, infectious disease tracking, community health work and funding for mental health and addiction treatment.
Posted inKansas City
Trump administration’s cuts cancel food deliveries to Harvesters
The food bank, which provides food to pantries and other hunger outreach groups in Missouri and Kansas, will not get scheduled shipments of milk, eggs, chicken and canned goods.
Posted inKansas City
Billions at stake in Missouri and Kansas if proposed Medicaid, SNAP cuts move forward
The cuts could lead to nearly 30,000 jobs lost across Missouri and Kansas health care systems and food suppliers, a new study found.
Posted inRural
New mobile clinic in Buchanan County aims to test more women for cervical and breast cancer
A new partnership in Buchanan County is hitting the road to provide breast and cervical cancer screenings to women in the area. Studies show that for these two forms of cancer, early detection can be lifesaving.
Posted inHealth
LGBTQ+ youth in Missouri and Kansas face higher suicide risk
In Missouri and Kansas, almost four in 10 young people who identify as gay or transgender have seriously considered suicide in the past year, and 15% have attempted it. That’s according to a new survey by The Trevor Project, which asked 18,000 people ages 13 to 24 across the country questions about issues like depression […]