Alex Smith
Stories by Alex Smith
Kansas City CARE Clinic Receives Federal Designation
A nonprofit health care opened in the 1970s by a group of concerned Kansas Citians has received federal recognition. The Kansas City CARE Clinic was designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center, or FQHC, on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The clinic will receive federal funding of $650,000 annually, and KC CARE…
A program that aims to get KC kids on their bikes
On a warm afternoon at Garfield Elementary school in northeast Kansas City, a class of grade schoolers charges out into the schoolyard to spend an hour riding bikes. They’re getting training from members of the nonprofit group BikeWalkKC. The program was created three years ago to teach bicycle safety skills. But BikeWalkKC’s education program manager,...
Healthcare subsidies at risk
Early on a Monday morning, percussionist and music teacher Amy Hearting of Kansas City reads a newspaper outside a coffee shop before going off to teach an elementary school workshop. She loves her work but says she’s not in it for the benefits and certainly not for the big salary. “I feel like I’m doing…
Stroke Prevention Device Shows Promise And Perplexity Of Health Breakthroughs
Charles Welty began seriously worrying about his heart health at the gym. The 78-year-old retired civil engineer said that while running on a treadmill, he saw something startling on the machine’s heart monitor.
Extensive Missouri Bike Trail Plan Creates Both Hope and Lawsuits
Just outside St. Louis, Missouri, on a high, windy bluff overlooking the Missouri River, a trio of grey-haired cyclists pump up tires and make adjustments to their bikes while their friend Henry Lazarski paces the parking lot, eager to get rolling.
Fighting Junk-Food Marketing, in KCK
For customers stepping inside Abarrotes Delicias, the noise, traffic and heat of the surrounding Kansas City, Kansas, neighborhood seem to disappear. The small store offers everything from tacos to snacks to money transfers – or just an air-conditioned place to hang out and watch TV on a lazy afternoon. Owner Graciela Martinez says she tries...
A gluten-free pantry, for those who really need it
Whatever someone’s route to gluten-free living might be, they soon find out it’s a bigger change than just giving up baked goods. “It’s expensive,” says Karen Miller, a retired dietitian who helped out at the Wednesday open house of the ReNewed Health Allergy Friendly and Gluten Free Food Pantry in Overland Park, Kansas.
Catharsis and community in standup comedy — for parents of kids with autism
Parenting is a tough job for anyone, but raising children with autism, who often have behavioral or communication problems, can be especially demanding. Research has shown that parents of children with autism are at increased risk of depression. But in Kansas City, some of these mothers and fathers are finding a measure of respite, and...
A double whammy for KC safety-net providers
Samuel U. Rodgers is one of Kansas City’s largest safety net health clinics, and the doctors and nurses here take pride in offering care to all. That means learning to expect the unexpected. But cuts in funding are something else, according to CEO Hilda Fuentes, who recently got a letter explaining that the money she...
Getting rid of the vestiges of racism – in health care
Missouri’s medical schools on Friday kicked off a collaborative effort to encourage minorities to enter the health care professions. Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, who served under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, helped launch the project, delivering a lecture Friday at the University of Missouri-Kansas City on the...