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‘Storm of Addiction’ Part 2: Sober and ready to fight
This is the second part of a two-part series. Read the first part here: “How a Kansas woman emerged from the storm of addiction to fight fentanyl.” This story contains references to drug use, addiction and overdose. When Ashley Alexander found her fiance, Dustin Gotham, lying on the bathroom floor with a needle in his…
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How a Kansas woman emerged from the storm of addiction to fight fentanyl
This is the first part of a two-part series. Read the second part here: “ ‘Storm of Addiction’ Part 2: Sober and ready to fight” This story contains references to drug use, addiction and overdose. If you wanted a metaphor to describe Ashley Alexander’s life, you might tell the story of a woman emerging from…
Cindy Coughenour taught thousands of women to protect themselves after one friend couldn’t
This story briefly references sexual assault and violence against women. If a guy looking for an easy target saw a petite, older woman like Cindy Coughenour walking down a deserted street in Wichita, he might think he’s found his next victim. He would be wrong. She would already be aware of him walking toward her…
Uninsured? A free colon cancer screening is available
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Kansas, behind lung cancer. Overall, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is about one in 23 for men and one in 26 for women. However, each person’s risk might be higher or lower, depending on their risk factors. The American Cancer Society recommends…
What’s driving the high maternal mortality rate for women of color in Kansas?
The pair would like to see better health insurance coverage of doulas and action from the state to study the problem more closely, examining whether women of color are dying due to systemic racism that causes health care systems to treat them differently.
KanCare 101: How to apply for Medicaid benefits in Kansas
In any given month, about 450,000 Kansans rely on Medicaid to pay for health care. The program is paid for by the federal government with states providing a match and administering the program. As with any assistance program, it can be difficult to determine if you qualify. Who qualifies depends on many factors, only one…
Half a million Kansans need to review Medicare coverage before Dec. 7
More than 540,000 Kansas residents receive health coverage through Medicare, government-funded health insurance available to nearly all citizens once they reach the age of 65. Nothing about choosing a Medicare plan is simple, and for that reason, free help is available from the state.
PrEP is a drug 99% effective at preventing HIV. Here’s how to get it in Wichita
“We can stop the spread of (HIV) if we do two things: get people who are engaging in high-risk behavior on PrEP and, for the people already infected, get them in therapy and keep them on therapy,” Sweet said.
Las muertes por sobredosis de drogas causadas por el fentanilo se están disparando en Wichita. Esto es lo que usted necesita saber.
Esta historia fue traducida por Claudia Yaujar-Amaro. Esta historia también está disponible en ingles. Lea aquí En los últimos cuatro años, el número de personas que murieron por sobredosis de drogas anualmente en el condado de Sedgwick se duplicó, un aumento dramático atribuido casi en su totalidad a las muertes por fentanilo. Es un problema reciente…
CDC recommends new bivalent COVID boosters to prevent common omicron strain
Update Oct. 13, 2022: This story has been updated to add the latest recommendation from the CDC. On Sept. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended newly formulated bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccines for people ages 12 and up. The new boosters target the omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the COVID-19 virus which…
Community is key after experiencing a loss to suicide, Wichita mental health leaders say
This story on mental health contains data analysis by Gretchen Lenth, The Wichita Beacon’s Dow Jones data intern from this summer. Content warning: This story discusses suicide, suicide attempts and mental health in general. If you or someone you love is struggling with their mental health, check out The Beacon’s local mental health resource list. …
Who loses – and by how much – with legalized sports gambling in Kansas?
In 2020, the National Council on Problem Gambling told the Kansas Legislature the estimated social cost of Kansas adult problem gamblers is $829 million a year, from gambling-related bankruptcy, divorce, crime and job loss. Using the same methodology, adjusting for inflation and the new population census, The Beacon found that problem gambling would incur an…
‘Much more death now than there was’: How fentanyl changed opioid addiction treatment in Wichita
The risk of an overdose is high while patients wait for addiction treatment. Specialists want more resources and fewer obstacles to harm-reduction measures.
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