Local Health Buzz

Encouraging young people to be tobacco-free

Post date: March 20, 2014 9:25 PM
Submitted by natasha on March 20, 2014 9:25 PM

By Daniel Giuffra, tobacco-free youth advocate and Tobacco Free Missouri Youth Advisory Board President

Over the past three years, my involvement as a youth advocate has afforded me amazing opportunities traveling from our state to our nation’s capitol buildings and spreading the message that the next generation wants to be free from the burden of tobacco use.

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The case for expanding Medicaid in Missouri

Post date: March 18, 2014 1:13 PM
Submitted by natasha on March 18, 2014 1:13 PM

By Jim Heeter, President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce

There’s a concerted effort underway right now to convince Missouri legislators to change their collective mind and vote to expand Medicaid. Whether successful or not, expanding Medicaid is the right thing to do.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber has been fully supportive of Medicaid expansion, for two important reasons.

First, it makes good economic sense. Just look at the data:

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    What your gut tells you

    Post date: March 12, 2014 8:29 AM
    Submitted by bmccandless on March 12, 2014 8:29 AM

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

    There has been a long association between lower incomes and overweight/obesity.

    It makes sense that access to safe built environment; access to healthy foods, and social factors that influence healthy eating and active living will likely result in healthier lifestyles. Therefore it wasn’t surprising to me to hear the recent improvement rates of teen obesity were concentrated in higher income families.

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    This is Ivanhoe

    Post date: March 10, 2014 2:12 PM
    Submitted by natasha on March 10, 2014 2:12 PM

    By Dina Newman, Health Initiatives Manager of Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council

    A vacant lot. A community in crisis. A single mom. A young man struggling to read. And children no longer connected to the land. This is Ivanhoe.

    From Paseo to Prospect, 31st Street to the street named for a congressman, a community of blocks upon blocks — some say more than 200, some say 400 — south to west and east to north; the Third District, in case you are wondering. Seven thousand souls separated, not by jealousy or anger, but by a strip of highway that cuts the neighborhood in two equal pieces, like an apple. This is Ivanhoe.

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    Make breakfast time your favorite time

    Post date: March 3, 2014 4:35 PM
    Submitted by natasha on March 3, 2014 4:35 PM

    Gretchen Speer PatchBy Gretchen Speer Patch, MPH, Healthy Schools Program Manager for Kansas Alliance for a Healthier Generation

    Do you have trouble getting your children out the door with breakfast in hand bright and early in the morning? Do you find yourself begging your child to eat breakfast or sitting in the morning drive thru line? Let me share a time-saving secret that may also save you money-- it’s called school breakfast.

    You already know breakfast is the most important meal of the day; it primes your child’s brain for peak performance and studies show children that eat breakfast have better concentration and critical thinking, fewer behavioral issues and reduced tardiness.

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    There’s no way around it: secondhand smoke threatens public health

    Post date: February 26, 2014 11:06 AM
    Submitted by natasha on February 26, 2014 11:06 AM

    By Tonia Wright, Editor-in-Chief of accessHealth News & President/CEO of Grace Advertising & Consulting, Inc.

    You don’t have to be a smoker to suffer from heart disease, lung cancer or even throat cancer. People consistently exposed to secondhand smoke, at home or at work, are at risk for these conditions.

    As for infants and children, consistent exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to frequent colds, respiratory infections—including bronchitis and pneumonia—frequent or chronic ear infections, undeveloped lungs and even SIDS.

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    Telemedicine empowers children and supports their families

    Post date: February 25, 2014 2:33 PM
    Submitted by natasha on February 25, 2014 2:33 PM

    By Eve-Lynn Nelson, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center

    It’s 10 a.m., Monday morning, and Jordan is on the iPad. Jordan’s not checking Instagram, but rather securely logging in with his school nurse and parent to discuss the past week with a licensed behavioral health specialist.

    That’s how simple telemedicine is making access to mental health care for individuals in remote locations.

    Telemedicine — secure real-time videoconferencing — empowers children and families by extending access to the latest behavioral treatments for individuals who otherwise would not be able to receive care.

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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.

    Medicaid Part 2 begins in 2015
    June 17, 2014
    End of Missouri Session—Part One
    June 3, 2014
    Reflections on six months
    March 26, 2014

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