Health
Area legislator: Missouri lawmakers nearly reached medicaid expansion deal
A last-minute deal to expand Medicaid in Missouri almost materialized in the waning days of this year’s legislative session, briefly breathing life into an issue that had seemed all but doomed. Missouri State Sen. Ryan Silvey, a Kansas City Republican, provided a behind-the-scenes look at high-level negotiations that occurred just before the session ended without an…
Retiring CEO reflects on his experiences at Truman Medical Centers
After only two weeks as the new CEO of Kansas City’s safety-net hospital system, John Bluford called an emergency 6:30 a.m. meeting of the Truman Medical Centers board. After assurances that he was not going to quit, Bluford told the board members, “I understood when I took this position that the system was broken. It’s…
Blunt cites KC shooting in call for VA reform
The weekend shooting death of a former Army paratrooper in Kansas City highlights deficiencies in the care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, said during a visit to to Kansas City on Thursday. On Sunday, police shot 26-year-old Issac Sims after he emerged from his family’s home…
MO state dental director briefs oral health advocates in Kansas City
Missouri’s new state dental director has been on board for about half a year, and during a visit to Kansas City on Wednesday, he outlined a number of initiatives aimed at making the state a national leader in oral health. “I want (other states) to come to us,” Dr. B. Ray Storm said at a…
Harding tapped as new CEO of Wyandotte Health Foundation
The Wyandotte Health Foundation has named a veteran of the regional safety-net health system as its next leader. The foundation board announced Thursday the hiring of Cathy Harding, who since 2007 has served as executive director of the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved, the Primary Care Association of Kansas in Topeka. Harding will take…