Category: Safety Net

If you’re home already, why not complete the census now?

By Karen Dehais on April 1, 2020
Evaluation and Learning Officer
Health Forward Foundation

Today is a day that comes only once every 10 years: Census Day, when we count everyone living in the United States. It’s quite an extraordinary undertaking. Of course the coronavirus pandemic has most of us thinking about other things. Public health precautions and economic turbulence are necessarily top of mind at this time of […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities, Policy, Safety Net

During public health crises, equity should be central to solutions

By Qiana Thomason on March 13, 2020
President/CEO
Health Forward Foundation

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to sweep across the globe, we are witnessing its tremendous impact internationally, nationally, and locally. Prohibitions on travel from certain countries, state of emergency proclamations by state and local governments, universities moving to online courses, and major entertainment and sporting events are shutting its doors to the public. With […]

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CATEGORIES
Health Care, Health Reform, Policy, Safety Net

Cancer deaths evident along socioeconomic lines

By Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley on February 28, 2020
Executive Director
Gilda’s Club Kansas City

At Gilda’s Club Kansas City, we were pleased to learn last month that the American Cancer Society® reported that deaths from cancer have steadily declined over the last 25 years. According to Facts & Figures, 2019, “As of 2016, the cancer death rate for men and women combined had fallen 27 percent from its peak […]

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CATEGORIES
Safety Net

‘Getting settled’: how a KC organization helped a homeless man find a home

By Christy McMurphy on February 14, 2020
Executive Director
Kim Wilson Housing Inc.

At Kim Wilson Housing (KWH), we have three guiding principles:  Housing is the foundation for good health.  Housing vulnerable people requires diverse, community-based collaborations and support services.  Housing is cost-effective. Homelessness is not.  Last fall, as the holidays approached, each of these principles came into play when a woman called to see if we could […]

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CATEGORIES
Behavioral Health Care, Mental Health Care, Safety Net

Helping with the financial toxicity of cancer

By Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley on January 16, 2020
Executive Director
Gilda’s Club Kansas City

“I have been blessed to have great health care through my employer! I don’t know what I would have done without my great insurance! I would probably not be here,” says Caesar. “In almost nine years of treatment, my medical bills have been around $6 million, while I have paid $9,000 out of pocket! I […]

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CATEGORIES
Safety Net

Managing the anxiety of cancer

By Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley on October 24, 2019
Executive Director
Gilda’s Club Kansas City

There’s no getting around it: cancer touches everyone. The American Cancer Society® reports that, today, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will receive a cancer diagnosis in his or her lifetime.   Hearing those three scary words, “You have cancer,” certainly increases stress and creates anxiety. Research has shown, though, that reducing anxiety […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities, Safety Net

Comprehensive approach targets asthma in Kansas City

By Health Forward Blog Team on August 2, 2019

Combating an elusive, often-overlooked killer that preys on the youngest and most vulnerable among Kansas City’s African-American community is the objective behind Asthma Empowerment-Kansas City, a far-reaching program supported by Health Forward Foundation. The three-year-old initiative uses evidence-based strategies to fight the chronic respiratory disease on multiple fronts: In public schools with training, screenings and […]

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CATEGORIES
Safety Net

KCATA proposes pilot program to address transportation barriers

By Shannon Morris on July 18, 2019
Program Officer
Health Forward Foundation

In 2018, Health Forward Foundation was approached by Kansas City Area Transit Authority (KCATA) to assist in convening health and social service nonprofit organizations to discuss transportation.  As a result, KCATA hosted two roundtable discussions at Health Forward’s office. In attendance were representatives from KCATA, as well as several past and present Health Forward Foundation […]

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CATEGORIES
Safety Net

Synergy Services strengthens community through comprehensive care

By Ruth Ramsey on April 18, 2019
Our Health Matters
Publisher

This comprehensive care model is complex, but the mission is not. Synergy Services, a local nonprofit, opened its Homeless Youth Campus including its Youth Resiliency Center in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2010 with the goal of providing a lifeline to families and individuals in crisis. Synergy envisions a world without family violence, abuse and neglect. […]

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CATEGORIES
Healthy Communities, Mental Health Care, Safety Net

12 steps to bolster advocacy efforts

By Anne F. Rauth, MBA on April 11, 2019
Marketing and Development Director
Mercy and Truth Medical Missions

Advocacy efforts have been underway for several years now in Missouri and Kansas to expand coverage of Medicaid. Through my work at safety net clinic Mercy and Truth Medical Missions, I see individuals every week that are not covered under the plan, and they struggle to cover the cost of a co-pay to see a […]

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CATEGORIES
Health Reform, Policy, Safety Net


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