Health

With demand high for new COVID vaccines, some CVS pharmacies around the Kansas City area weren't able to give out shots because of a pharmacist walkout. Organizers are demanding better working conditions and said that extremely limited staffing puts CVS pharmacists and patients at risk.

Maternal mortality rates in the U.S. are increasing, and Black mothers are at an even greater risk. EleVATE, a group prenatal care program at University Health in Kansas City, aims to improve the positive outcomes of at-risk individuals.

Postpartum depression affects approximately one-in-seven women and one-in-10 men. This fall, a newly approved medication could change how patients experiencing perinatal or postpartum mood and anxiety disorder are treated.

July 2023 marked the hottest month on record. As climate conditions worsen and extreme weather events spread across the globe, so do uncommon diseases. Health experts warn of the health consequences of not addressing climate change.

Health departments were thrust into the spotlight by the COVID-19 pandemic. Three years later, they're still dealing with the coronavirus, and planning for what might happen next. Plus: Experts say a merger between St. Luke's in Kansas City and St. Louis' BJC HealthCare could mean hospital patients pay more.

Elderberries are native to Missouri and the Midwest, and became commercial grown only within the last two decades. But now the industry is wondering whether they'll stay a small, niche crop or turn into something bigger. Plus: It's tick season, and not just in rural areas.

Missouri will now extend Medicaid benefits for new mothers from 60 days to a full year postpartum. Supporters of the new law say that without the extension some health problems could go untreated. Plus: There is only one facility in Kansas that deals with runaway foster kids. But critics of the program say it is only making the situation worse.

Republican state Sen. Holly Thompson of Scott City sponsored legislation to decriminalize the harm reduction tool. She hopes this will help lower opioid overdoses.

The bill would have clamped down state public health officials' ability test and quarantine Kansans for infectious diseases.

With bills limiting gender-affirming care and trans sports participation on their way to Gov. Mike Parson, some transgender Missourians are packing up and moving to other states. Plus: How an unlikely feathered friend changed one Kansas City homeless man's life.

The federal public health emergency over COVID, declared in 2020, came to an end on May 11. Health officials say the expiration of the order means that vaccines and tests are no longer being provided free from the federal government.

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.