Rebecca Smith
Rebecca Smith is an award-winning reporter and producer for the KBIA Health & Wealth Desk. Born and raised outside of Rolla, Missouri, she has a passion for diving into often overlooked issues that affect the rural populations of her state – especially stories that broaden people’s perception of “rural” life. She created a conversations-based journalism project, Missouri Health Talks, in 2016 that empowers people throughout the state to share their stories of access to healthcare – in their own words.
She has degrees in both Journalism and Chemistry from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, and often says health reporting is the perfect marriage of individual’s stories and reporting on science.
You can reach her at smithbecky@missouri.edu or 573-882-4824.
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Prison can be a lonely, violent place. But one program — or more specifically, one Jefferson City, Missouri, prison resident — is helping change the men around him.
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The fur industry has a long history in the state of Missouri. While it looks different these days, it’s still around, and trappers at the annual Missouri fur auction want to make sure they're conserving the state's resources and traditions.
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Missouri and Kansas receive thousands of calls and texts each month through 988. A new service added to the 988 Lifeline will offer suicide prevention and mental health crisis counseling through American Sign Language for people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing without the need for an interpreter.
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It’s tick season — and they're a problem all throughout Missouri, not just in rural areas. And there's a real risk of tick-borne illnesses like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease.
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While unemployment is at a near historic low, many businesses are still struggling to find workers — as many otherwise eligible workers in Missouri are out with short or long-term complications of long COVID.
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After fleeing Afghanistan, several hundred refugees have ended up in mid-Missouri. Community groups there came together to gather donations for new and expectant Afghan moms, and hosted a baby shower and health clinic to help them transition to life in America.
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Missourians cannot currently order at-home PCR COVID-19 tests from the state due to a sharp increase in demand because of the omicron variant of the disease.
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Many OBGYNs across the state are worried as they see more serious pregnancy complications in women who have or had COVID-19. Medical experts strongly recommend the COVID vaccine for pregnant women.
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Despite vaccinating relatively few people, workers say they're encouraged. “That's 11 or 12 more people that not only got the vaccine, but then will go and tell their family, their friends."
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Jannis Evans and Devin Hursey both work in the HIV treatment and prevention field and have served on committees advocating for people with HIV in...