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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Engineers and psychologists at Missouri University of Science and Technology are using computer modeling and real-world interviews to see if a mobile cancer radiation truck could bring care to far-flung patients in rural parts of the state. -
The emergency regulations will require healthcare providers to tell patients about what Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey claims are health risks of gender affirming care — even though the treatments have been endorsed by dozens of leading U.S. medical groups. The rules will also prohibit providers from administering care to children with untreated mental health problems.
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Hospitals don’t include mental health patients in federal standardized surveys of adults after they’re discharged. Washington University professor Morgan Shields and her colleagues teamed up with mental health advocates to fight for hospitals to survey those who receive behavioral health care.
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The federal government barred states from kicking anyone off Medicaid during the coronavirus pandemic but, when those protections expire this spring, patients will need to renew their coverage. Advocates and health officials worry that eligible people could drop off the rolls.
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The National Women’s Law Center and Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit Thursday in St. Louis Circuit Court on behalf of 13 faith leaders in Missouri. The lawsuit claims Missouri’s so-called trigger ban and other laws restricting abortion access violate residents’ religious freedom.
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Child care businesses are struggling to recruit new employees and retain staff. The Missouri chamber is touting its Chamber Benefit Plan, a novel health insurance project, to lower health insurance costs for providers and entice them to offer coverage to their employees.
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Adults in Missouri can now legally use marijuana. Dispensary operators say that some residents with medical marijuana cards may choose to keep them to take advantage of lower taxes and other benefits that customers who use marijuana recreationally don't get.
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Millions received the COVID-19 vaccine, which was the first widely used immunization to use mRNA technology. Washington University researchers hope they can use the same method to make an mRNA flu shot.
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Scientists at the University of Missouri have found mutations in the monkeypox virus are likely making it less responsive to medicines. The four-person team studied strains of the virus going back decades.
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Family members of the gunman who killed two and wounded several others during a shooting rampage at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School recently asked police to take a gun from the home, interim St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Michael Sack said Wednesday. They also had been monitoring his mental health and helped him get treatment and medication.
