Facing layoffs and closures, rural hospitals push for medicaid expansion
If you’re in the market for fluorescent light bulbs, you might talk to Chris Smiley. In the past few weeks, she’s been trying to sell off what’s left of Sac-Osage Hospital. “Casework, lighting, plumping, sinks, toilets. Anything you want,” Smiley says. That’s not in her job description. She’s actually the CEO of Sac-Osage, a hospital…
Who goes with you on your journey to the American Dream?
Three generations of the Caudillo family discuss was is truly important to them: education and service. This week’s video spends time with three generations of the Caudillo family – grandparents Velia and Mac Salazar, parents Irene and Ryan Caudillo, and grandchildren Julian, Sophia and Olivia.
Conversation: With Cindy Circo
Kansas City, Missouri Fifth District Councilwoman Cindy Circo interview with Mike Shanin on KCPT’s Ruckus.
An alternative plan, for Kansas Medicaid Expansion
An alternative plan to expand Medicaid loaded with clauses meant to woo Republicans has been introduced in Kansas. But it could face the same difficult political climate that killed similar bills in other states last week. Rep. Tom Sloan said Monday that the proposal introduced by the Vision 2020 Committee he chairs represents a Kansas solution that can appeal even to those who campaigned on unwavering opposition to the federal health care reforms spearheaded by President Obama.
A rally of support, for dismissed KC doctor
About two dozen women and children protested outside Research Medical Center on Monday afternoon in support of an obstetrician who was let go last month. Lisa Cohen, a midwife from Lee’s Summit, Mo., started a petition to reinstate Dr. Howard Schwartz that so far has drawn more than 1,300 signatures.
Without immigration fix, dairies struggle
America’s dairies rely on immigrant labor to milk cows and care for the herd. Many owners of the country’s largest dairies say that they’re unable to find employees. A comprehensive fix to the immigration system seems like a longshot in the new Congress, leaving some dairies struggling to keep up.
A Long Journey Home
Kristy Childs is house hunting. She’s looking for the perfect house: a good-sized, family home with a living room big enough for a Christmas gathering and yard space for a garden. The house isn’t for her, though. It’s for five women who need a place to rest, recuperate and educate themselves before entering the mainstream…
Is driving for – and riding with – Uber worth it?
The night before Thanksgiving last November, Ben McCarthy was out trying to make a little extra cash by driving for the app-based ride-hailing service Uber. He was stopped at a stoplight in Westport when his passengers decided to jump out of the car right there and end the ride early. McCarthy said this wasn’t unusual…
All about that broth
This is a story of soup interrupted. Stripped down stock that will never see a bowl. Bone broth – the liquid resulting from the long, slow boiling of animal bones usually in a combination of water, apple cider vinegar and a few vegetables (carrots, celery and onion, among them) – has gone from classic to chic.
Is the local-food movement growing up?
After more than a decade of explosive growth in the local food economy, the most visible portion of food sales within that sector has seen a slowdown. A new report from the U.S. Department ofAgriculture shows the growth of sales of local food at farmers markets, farm stands and through CSA models has lost momentum. Even the rate of growth in the number of farmers markets nationwide has slowed in recent years, rising just 1.5 percent from 2013 to 2014, after several years of rapid growth. But that’s not necessarily bad news for farmers. In fact, it could mean the entire local food movement is growing up.
Philomene Bennett: inspiring budding artists
Philomene Bennett is a painter and co-Founder of the Kansas City Artists Coalition. She has been a fixture in the Kansas City arts scene since she arrived from Nebraska in 1956. Since 1988, Bennett has run studio sessions, an opportunity for budding artists to find their voice. She’s featured on the February 5 edition of…
For vaccination rates, Kansas and Missouri fall in lower half of states
With measles making a comeback in the United States after it was thought to have been eradicated 15 years ago, a new analysis finds that fewer than 90 percent of preschoolers nationwide have received the recommended vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella. Both Kansas and Missouri fell below the 90 percent threshold for preschooler vaccinations, the baseline goal set by Healthy People 2020, a federal interagency task force.
New cancer center planned for eastern Jackson County
HCA Midwest Health, the region’s largest health system, announced Wednesday that it plans to open a comprehensive cancer center near Centerpoint Medical Center, the company’s hospital in Independence, Mo. HCA will house the center in a 17,000-square-foot building near Centerpoint, according to a system spokeswoman. HCA purchased the building, a former furniture store, in 2012.
Better or worse, for Latinos: The Caudillo Family, Part 3
Continue the conversation about race, immigration and the American Dream with the Caudillo family around the dinner table of Mac and Velia Salazar. Grandchildren Julian, Sophia, and Olivia all identify as Mexican-American, even though they don’t speak Spanish and don’t have firm roots to the Latino culture.