regional health

Hospital systems are merging in deals bring facilities hundreds of miles apart under the same parent company, like St. Luke's and BJC HealthCare. That typically means higher prices for the patients they serve — but federal regulators haven't stepped in to stop consolidation.

An updated COVID-19 vaccine will be in Kansas City in the next few weeks. The shot combats newer variants more effectively and comes as case numbers creep up across the metro.

Americans are becoming less and less likely to believe our fellow citizens are trying to do the right thing, and that has added to the crisis facing rural health care. Plus: Are Midwest homes prepared for more scorching summer days?

New Growth Transit connects Missouri's rural residents who can't get to their medical and health care appointments with a network of volunteer drivers.

COVID has been having a "summer surge." Dr. Marvia Jones, director of the Kansas City Health Department, says that the increase in new cases could be linked to a new variant and more travel.

Mortality rates for Kansas City mothers and infants, especially in Black and brown communities, are well above the national average. So local groups are stepping outside the traditional health care system to bridge the gap. Plus: The leaders of a small southeast Kansas hospital say the only way to keep it from closing is to cut back on services.

Cerner, the city's largest private employer, is closing its world headquarters in North Kansas City and Realization Campus in South Kansas City. The moves come just months after the company was acquired by Oracle in a multi-billion-dollar deal.

The pandemic brought on a multitude of issues, but one that fell by the wayside was the opioid and drug overdose crisis.

Nearly 800 Missourians died of opioid overdoses in the first half of 2021, and there's one major cause: the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Plus, emails show how quickly the state of Kansas bent to a company’s wishes to keep information out of public view, reflecting a disturbing national trend.

COVID cases in the Kansas City area are trending downward but infectious disease doctor warns that focus must remain on mitigation practices.

With a goal of 100,000 breast cancer screenings by 2022, the AKA Sorority's Mammography Mobile Unit stopped in Kansas City on Friday and Saturday.

Prior to the pandemic, many Latinos struggled to access the mental health care they needed. Stay-at-home orders, essential working duties and a dearth of support have only made things worse.