Local Health Buzz

Summer’s no vacation when you’re hungry

Post date: June 11, 2014 12:22 PM
Submitted by natasha on June 11, 2014 12:22 PM

By Valerie Nicholson-Watson, President and CEO, Harvesters—The Community Food Network

For most of us, summer is a time of bounty. Home gardens, farmers markets and roadside stands overflow with delicious fresh fruits and vegetables. However, for many low-income children the end of the school year is nothing to celebrate. For them, no school means no school meals.

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The way words impact LGBT survivors of sexual violence

Post date: June 11, 2014 10:42 AM
Submitted by natasha on June 11, 2014 10:42 AM

By Victoria Pickering, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Kansas City Anti-Violence Project

KCAVPAs advocates and educators at Kansas City Anti-Violence Project, we define sexual assault as “any sexual contact made without a person’s consent or permission.” It’s pretty straightforward.

The gender of a victim or of an assailant does not even make it into the equation, nor does it reduce the seriousness of such an offense. We don’t categorize different types of sexual violence or assign different levels of severity to them.

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Sound policy prevails on restrictive health navigator bill

Post date: June 5, 2014 9:21 AM
Submitted by natasha on June 5, 2014 9:21 AM

By Cathy Harding, Executive Director for Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved

Nearly everyone in Kansas that’s in the safety net clinic world embraced the beginning of the health insurance marketplace, knowing that many uninsured people would finally be able purchase affordable health insurance. There was an army of certified application counselors (CACs) and certified navigators throughout the state, including many in the Enroll Wyandotte effort, that completed required training so they could personally assist people enroll in an insurance plan.

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End of Missouri Session—Part One

Post date: June 3, 2014 10:24 AM
Submitted by bmccandless on June 3, 2014 10:24 AM

By Bridget McCandless, President/CEO of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City

We have come to the end of the Missouri legislative session. I have been absolutely encouraged by the hard work done by so many this session and the progress that was made.

I can appreciate how tired the people are who have been working on this issue to see another session slip by without the ability to tell the uninsured that there is an option for them. That said, I think that this was an incredibly successful session.

In Missouri, the conversation has changed from “we refuse,” to an examination of the ways that we can come to our middle ground.

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Free Mental Health First Aid training offered

Post date: June 2, 2014 12:21 PM
Submitted by natasha on June 2, 2014 12:21 PM

By Mark Wiebe, Wyandot Inc. Public Affairs Director

On July 10, the Metropolitan Council of Community Mental Health Centers will host a Mental Health First Aid ‘Day.’ This first-ever opportunity for the Kansas City area will be offered at no cost to the public thanks to funding from the Health Care Foundation and the Jackson County Community Mental Health Fund.

Our aim is to certify more than 250 Kansas Citians in the adult or youth version of the course and increase the ranks of people trained to respond to a mental health crisis. In the process, we hope to add momentum to an already robust conversation about mental health in the region.

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The last jump for Pershing Elementary and their push for official MO exercise

Post date: May 29, 2014 11:41 AM
Submitted by natasha on May 29, 2014 11:41 AM

By Hanna and Aurora, fifth grade students at Pershing Elementary School

Pershing Elementary School is a hard-working school. Our students have been working on the jumping jack bill, trying to get it to become the Missouri state exercise. Here’s what’s going on, and our reasons.

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Nonprofits, use your whole team for advocacy

Post date: May 22, 2014 11:28 PM
Submitted by natasha on May 22, 2014 11:28 PM

Evie CraigBy Evie Craig, MA, CFRE, President and CEO, reStart, Inc.

Thanks to the Health Care Foundation and the REACH Foundation, more than 50 leaders of area nonprofit organizations gathered at the Kauffman Foundation on May 15 for the first in a series of workshops.

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HCF's Local Health Buzz Blog aims to discuss health and health policy issues that impact the uninsured and underserved in our service area. To submit a blog, please contact HCF Communications Officers, Jennifer Sykes, at jsykes@hcfgkc.org.

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About Bridget's Blog

Bridget McCandless

Bridget McCandless, MD, MBA, FACP, HCF President/CEO

Bridget McCandless is the President/CEO of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and is a Board Certified Internal Medicine Specialist with an interest in chronic disease management and poverty medicine. She shares her thoughts and perspectives on health and policy issues that impact the health of the community as a whole.

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