Mike Sherry
Contributor and Former Senior Reporter
Stories by Mike Sherry
Johnson County Establishes Healthy Foods Advisory Panel
Johnson County has created a panel to advise the county commission on food issues. One of the Food Policy Council’s goals will be to increase county residents’ access to healthy foods, according to a news release from the county. But the council might also touch on other areas, such as economic development, agriculture and food…
Kansas City Council approves health funding increase
The Kansas City Council on Thursday approved a $1.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year that boosts spending from health fund reserves to pay for indigent care. After some last-minute lobbying from providers, the council took $300,000 from the reserve to bump up next year’s allocation for Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center and Children’s Mercy…
Samuel Rodgers, Children’s Mercy get funding reprieve
A Kansas City Council committee has added some funding for indigent health care services in a revised 2016-17 budget to be considered Thursday by the full council – much to the relief of Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center. The Finance and Governance Committee on Wednesday recommended approval of the revised budget, which allocates about $300,000…
Mental Health Crisis Center Set to Open Ahead Of Schedule
A new 16-bed mental health crisis center on Kansas City’s East Side could open as much as two months ahead of early projections. The target date is now July 1. Details approved this month by the City Council call for a $1 million contribution from Missouri-side hospitals toward annual operating costs of the Kansas City…
Kansas City Health-Funding Battle Headed to City Council
A simmering dispute over spending from a multimillion dollar health fund is scheduled to come to a head next Thursday as the Kansas City Council considers the city budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget would reallocate the $31 million in health levy funding that supports indigent care at six hospitals and clinics, including…
Combating Cancer with a Vaccine
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common of all sexually transmitted infections, with more than 100 different types. It causes almost all cases of cervical cancer, and to a lesser extent is to blame for several other cancers, including mouth and throat. A three-dose vaccine significantly reduces the chances of contracting an HPV-related cancer, especially…
Divided Board Approves KC Schools Plan
Over continued citizen opposition, a divided Kansas City school board Wednesday night approved a master plan that shifts students and staff from Wendell Phillips Elementary School to nearby Crispus Attucks Elementary. Under the plan, approved on a 7-2 vote, the district will convert Wendell Phillips, 1619 E. 24th Terrace, into the Kansas City Neighborhood Academy,…
KCK Social Service Organization Cuts Jobs
Hit by recent cuts in state mental health programs, Wyandot Inc., an umbrella organization for four nonprofit agencies in Kansas City, Kansas, has eliminated 26 positions. Six of the positions were vacant and won’t be filled and six other employees accepted transfers to other positions in the organization, leaving a total of 14 who lost…
Back to the Drawing Board for Kansas City Public Schools
Kansas City Public Schools administrators entered Wednesday evening hoping they were only a couple weeks away from finalizing a master plan after more than two years of work. But after a three-hour school board meeting, dominated by discussions about the future of Wendell Phillips Elementary School and of the African-Centered College Preparatory Academy, it appeared…
Missouri Settles Tobacco Case
Missouri has settled a dispute over the terms of a multibillion settlement with the big tobacco companies that has cost it tens of millions of dollars over the last dozen or so years. Attorney General Chris Koster announced the settlement Monday, saying it will allow the state to recoup $50 million it lost in arbitration…