Sarah Fentem
Sarah Fentem reports on sickness and health as part of St. Louis Public Radio’s news team. She previously spent five years reporting for different NPR stations in Indiana, immersing herself deep, deep into an insurance policy beat from which she may never fully recover. A longitme NPR listener, she grew up hearing WQUB in Quincy, Illinois, which is now owned by STLPR. She lives in the Kingshighway Hills neighborhood, and in her spare time likes to watch old sitcoms, meticulously clean and organize her home and go on outdoor adventures with her fiancé Elliot. She has a cat, Lil Rock, and a dog, Ginger.
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Between 2018 and 2020, more than 200 women in Missouri died during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth, according to a state health department report released this week. The number of deaths from suicide and firearms increased, and Black women were three times as likely to die as their white counterparts.
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Two of the largest health systems in Missouri earlier this year announced plans for a $10 billion merger. Experts said that won't necessarily benefit patients when it comes to prices and quality of care.
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During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government issued emergency protections that barred states from removing people from the government-funded health insurance program for low-income people and families. That changes this month.
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The Osage Beach Board of Aldermen has approved a redevelopment plan for the lakefront project near the Grand Glaize Bridge. Plans for the 25-acre property include restaurants, a Ferris wheel, a waterpark with a retractable roof and a 400-room Marriott hotel.
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Pandemic pressures have eased, but Missouri hospitals still can't find enough nurses, techs or staffThe Missouri Hospital Association's annual report shows vacancies and turnover rates at the state's hospitals have decreased since the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. But they remain high, and employers are concerned about the future workforce.
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Advocates for transgender people say they can’t completely celebrate Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey's withdrawal of a rule limiting gender-affirming care — which would have also applied to adults — because Gov. Mike Parson is expected to sign a bill that limits such care for minors.
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After more than three years and thousands of COVID-19 deaths in Missouri, the end of the public health emergency heralds a new phase in which the virus is present but less dangerous to the general public. But health experts worry the burden of sickness will disproportionately affect uninsured and poor people with no sick leave.
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Both parties agreed on Thursday to push back their next court appearance until July 20, meaning that the Missouri Attorney General's emergency rules on gender affirming care won't take effect until at least then. The restrictions would have applied to both minors and adults.
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In Missouri, the average person born in 2021 could expect to live to be 74.6 years old, a whole three years younger than the average age 10 years ago. The state’s drop is part of a nationwide decline, though the life expectancy in Missouri is lower than the United States average.
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Clinics in Missouri that provide medical gender-affirming care to transgender and nonbinary people are rushing to book patients before an emergency rule limiting such care starts next week. Under the rule, some restrictions don’t apply to providers treating people who already have begun receiving hormones, undergone surgeries or begun other medical procedures.