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 […]
Health
The Wichita Beacon provides the latest trustworthy health care news stories for the Wichita, Kansas community.
Posted inHealth, Kansas State Government
Kansas lawmakers could again debate medical weed. Here’s why it has failed before
Takeaways: Yet another spring in Topeka and more seemingly serious talk about legalizing medical marijuana in Kansas. Lawmakers and supporters of pulling Kansas cannabis regulations in line with a national trend and the laws of neighboring states say things look different this year — perhaps. But this process is wearing on advocates who say the […]
Posted inEnvironment, Health
Wichita’s not just an allergy capital — it’s a triple crown of pollen
Allergies in Wichita are no joke. Just ask comedian Nate Bargatze. A TikTok video shot in October shows him returning from a jog with itchy hands and feet. He said he could feel his lips swelling. The comedian was experiencing a severe and sudden case of what many Wichitans live with for months every year […]
Posted inHealth, Kansas State Government
The proposals to whittle down a 10-year waitlist for Kansans with intellectual disabilities
Kansas has money to help such families with overnight respite care, wellness monitoring and other in-home services. But families wait an average of 10 years to qualify. That’s so long that kids have aged out of support before ever getting it.
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
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, Local Government
Wichita is getting a new psychiatric hospital amid fears it’ll be too small
Kansas sits on the verge of building its first new state mental hospital in more than a century, even as officials acknowledge the original plans may not meet the region’s needs. The $40 million 50-bed facility planned for a spot at Meridian Avenue and MacArthur Road in southwest Wichita is planned for completion in 2026 […]
Posted inHealth, How To
More Kansas mothers, especially women of color, are dying after giving birth. Where can Wichitans go for help?
Kansas looks to be an increasingly dangerous place to give birth, especially for women of color. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that maternal deaths per 100,000 live births within a month and a half of giving birth nearly doubled nationwide between 2018 and 2021. A disproportionate number of Black mothers made […]
Posted inHealth
How ransomware attacks at Wichita hospitals threaten your privacy and health
Takeaways: Since December, at least two Wichita medical practices joined a growing and unwelcome trend in health care: They got hacked and had to tell patients that their personal medical and financial information was in the hands of cybercriminals. In early December, Wichita Urology Group said more than 5,000 people may have been affected by […]