‘Healthy women, healthy babies’ are the goal for KC program
Faced with a surprise pregnancy – and then feeling the pressure of transitioning from an independent woman to a new mom – Erica Hardin struggled mentally and financially after the birth of her daughter. Much to her relief, Kansas City had a program aimed at reducing disparities in infant mortality and post-birth complications between minorities and the general population. Known as Healthy Start, home visits through the program provided Hardin with everything from moral support to diapers and instructions on applying for food stamps.
‘First of all, I’m an American’
Ryan and Irene Caudillo have three children – Julian, Sophia, and Olivia – all of whom identify as Mexican-American, even though they don’t speak Spanish and don’t have firm roots to the Latino culture. While the children understand that Ryan and Irene focused on teaching them English in order to provide them the best opportunities possible, they wish that they had stronger ties to their Mexican-American heritage. The family talks with KCPT’s Your Fellow Americans team about the importance of maintaining their Latino culture, the impact that learning Spanish has on maintaining that cultural identity, and the fact that the kids don’t feel as connected to the Latino culture as they would like.
When is genomic sequencing worth the cost?
In a Children’s Mercy Hospital lab, what look like hotel minibars with keyboards attached line the walls. These are the latest generation of genome sequencing machines, light years ahead of the first sequencing technology. In 2003, after 13 years, scientists finished mapping the first human genome – that’s more than 3 billion pairs of DNA letters – at a cost of $3 billion. It was one of the great scientific triumphs of modern times. Now, with these newest machines, it’s possible to map a person’s genome in days for thousands of dollars – although what’s often actually examined is a small fraction of the genome called the exome. But sequencing is still more expensive than the standard initial tests for someone with a neurological disorder, and those tests remain the standard practice.
Do ride apps decrease drunk driving?
The ride-hailing service Uber and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) released a report today claiming that app-based car services like Uber decrease the number of auto crashes from drunken driving. The study was based on interviews conducted online, not on crash or arrest data. But, four out of five people who responded to the survey…
KC safety-net clinics get computer links, thanks to health care foundation
The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City will help three Kansas City safety net clinics share patient data electronically with providers throughout Missouri. The foundation said in a news release Monday that it’s paying $375,000 to hook up Swope Health System, Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center and KC CARE Clinic to Missouri Health Connection (MHC).
A deep breath – created by the Corn Belt?
Scientists have noticed a change in the atmosphere. Plants are taking in more carbon dioxide during the growing season and giving off more carbon in the fall and winter. Recent research shows the massive corn crop in the Corn Belt may be contributing to that deeper breath.
Local producer focuses on child sex trafficking in KC
Documentary producer Susan Cook was working on a film to educate girls in India about health and sex trafficking when friends in Kansas City told her that she should turn her focus to injustice in her own backyard. Since 2009, Cook has been interviewing, filming, researching and fundraising for “Hope Road,” a forthcoming documentary that…
Helping women dream bigger
Sara Davidson is no stranger to KC’s entrepreneurship community. But after a stint in the marketing industry, a transition to the startup world, and two burnouts — all before the age of 30 — she knew she wanted to do something different. She started Hello Fearless, a company with the goal of “creating a world…
Pace is slow, but enrollment is up for ACA in Kansas and Missouri
Thousands of Kansans and Missourians signed up for insurance on the federal exchange last week, though the pace has slowed since the first several robust weeks of the second Affordable Care Act open enrollment period.
Why Missouri Medicaid expansion for veterans gets mixed reviews
The Veteran’s Family Healthcare Act, which would provide Medicaid coverage for veterans, their spouses and dependent children with incomes between 19 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty level.