Bryan Thompson

Lawrence, Kan. – Kansas health officials say there's plenty of swine flu vaccine to go around now. they say it's free, and everyone ought to be immunized.

Lawrence, Kan. – Kansas has confirmed its 26th death due to the swine flu pandemic. That is the official toll, but the real number is probably much higher.

Wichita, KS – Kansas authorities are cautioning the public about the possible dangers of eating fish caught in certain rivers around the state.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Wildlife issued a warning Tuesday about potentially toxic fish in some waterways.

The warning cites the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in fish, while cadmium and lead have shown up in tests on shellfish.

Lawrence, KS – The ongoing budget shortfall in Kansas has prompted the Kansas Department on Aging to suspend some of the services that help frail elders continue to live in their own homes. Kansas Public Radio's Bryan Thompson reports.

Find out more about the Kansas Health Series on Kansas Public Radio here.

Kansas City, MO – Kansas City's Bartle Hall will become one of the nation's largest free health clinics. An estimated two-thousand uninsured people will receive free health care, including limited dental services and vaccinations against the flu and certain sexually-transmitted diseases.

The free clinic is sponsored by the National Association of Free Clinics. As part of our series, "Kansas Health: A Prescription for Change," Health Reporter Bryan Thompson spoke with the association's director, Nicole Lamoureux.

Kansas City, MO – It's being billed as one of the largest free clinics in the nation.

Kansas City's Bartle Hall is the site Wednesday and Thursday for a free medical clinic for the uninsured. It's one in a series of clinics in different cities put on by the nonprofit National Association of Free Clinics.

The group says the clinics are nonpartisan, but the effort is widely seen as a way to pressure moderate Democrats into supporting their party's efforts to reform health care.

Lawrence, KS – There could be a silver lining in some of the cuts the Kansas Health Policy Authority has approved to help deal with the state's revenue slump. More from Kansas Public Radio's Bryan Thompson.

Kansas Public Radio – For those not in one of the high risk groups eligible to the swine flu vaccine, another vaccine could save lives.

Kansas Public Radio – State health officials are hoping Kansans will observe World AIDS Day by getting tested for exposure to the virus that causes AIDS.

Kansas City, MO –
A new report says more than ten-thousand American children died between 2001 and 2007 due to child abuse and neglect and the actual number may be thousands higher. The report calls for an expanded federal role to plan, coordinate, and fund solutions to this scourge.

Kansas City, MO – A new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School says Americans who are uninsured often go without care for chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

Kansas City, MO – What if you could prevent as many as four out of every ten heart attacks and do it at almost no cost? That's the potential effect of laws that ban smoking in the workplace and public places, according to the Institute of Medicine.

Kansas City, MO – Kansas health officials say a Kansas City-area woman has died from swine flu, bringing the state's total of fatal H1N1 virus cases to seven.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that the 50-year-old woman's death was reported to the department Tuesday afternoon. Laboratory tests had determined Oct. 5 that she had contracted the virus.

Kansas City, MO – Kansas researchers have received a $20 million grant for work on renewable energy and climate change issues.

The funding from the National Science Foundation was announced Tuesday by the University of Kansas and Wichita State University, which are involved in the research. Also involved are Kansas State University and Haskell Indian Nations University, in Lawrence.

Lawrence, KS – Coal has long been used as a cheap and plentiful energy source. But there is growing pressure to reconsider the environmental and health effects of burning coal, as opponents say that cheap energy from coal turns out to be no bargain. Health Reporter Bryan Thompson has more.