http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-795118.mp3
Kansas City, MO – One of the country's longest operating Indian centers has started providing health screenings. KCUR's Elana Gordon reports.
The Heart of America Indian Center is located in midtown Kansas City and started in the early seventies as a social and cultural base for American Indians living in the metro area. It recently partnered with KU Medical Center to provide monthly health screenings and education sessions on topics ranging from cancer to diabetes. Nancy Blue is Director of the center and says she hopes the new screening program will help address the health concerns of those living in the metro area.
Blue: "Here they feel at home at the Indian Center - they're not driving 40 or 50 miles to Lawrence, or even one of the health centers at the Kickapoo Nation or Potawatomi Nation."
Blue says the closest Indian Health Center is at Haskell University in Lawrence. She says that distance makes accessing health care difficult for many American Indians living in the Kansas City region.
Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
Download recent health stories or subscribe to the KCUR Health Podcast