JOCO audit highlights security issues, other concerns in mental health operation

Exterior of Johnson County Mental Health Center facility

The Johnson County Mental Health Center has not resolved long-standing security concerns to protect employees at its Shawnee location, according to an internal audit presented to the board of commissioners Thursday. The audit, conducted by Interim County Auditor Ken Kleffner, said that the mental health agency had rejected security recommendations made in 2007 “because management…

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2014 primary candidates for Kansas insurance commissioner

No fewer than five candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for Kansas insurance commissioner, an office that has been dominated by Republicans since its creation in 1871. In the 20th century, only one Democrat has held the office, Kathleen Sebelius, who used it as a springboard to become Kansas governor in 2003 and, in 2009,…

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Dental funds for the poor caught in Missouri budget battle

DENTAL CHAIR

Approximately $18 million that would restore basic dental benefits for hundreds of thousands of low-income Missouri adults is in limbo due to a sweeping budget action by Gov. Jay Nixon. Acting under what he termed his constitutional duty to balance the state budget, Nixon late last month restricted or vetoed approximately $1.1 billion in spending…

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Rural Kansas hospital bolsters recruitment by enticing “missionary” doctors

Dr. John Birky

Though 25 percent of Americans still live in rural areas, only 10 percent of doctors do, according to the National Rural Health Association, and finding physicians and other medical professionals willing to work in the hinterlands remains a serious, growing problem in Kansas and other parts of the United States. But in Kearny County, on…

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