Tuesday, April 21, 2020
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State faces $653 million shortfall By JOHN HANNA The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is facing a projected 8.1% shortfall in its next state budget after a new fiscal forecast issued Monday slashed projections for expected tax collections over the next 15 months by nearly $1.37 billion to reflect the economic damage associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly announced even before the
new forecast was public that she has directed state agencies to avoid filling open positions not essential to dealing with the novel coronavirus and to eliminate discretionary spending. But those steps aren’t likely going to be enough to put the state back in the black for the 2021 budget year that begins in July. The loss of tax collections — projected to be lower in both years than they were in the 2019 budget year — would burn through
the state’s cash reserves and leave it with a shortfall of $653 million at the end of June 2021. The Kansas Constitution prohibits a deficit, so the state would have to make adjustments. “The unprecedented revenue collapse turned Kansas finances upside down overnight — it is the rainy day we feared could come,” Kelly said in a statement. The new fiscal forecast isSee SHORTFALL | Page A3
Testing lag could hamper recovery By DAN MARGOLIES and CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN Kansas News Service
LAWRENCE — The looming expiration date on Kansas’ statewide stay-at-home order worries Mary and Gary House of southeast Kansas. Though they’re staying in as much as possible now, once life returns to nor-
Virus prompts virtual doctor visits By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way many of us visit our doctors. Instead of in-person visits, patients are increasingly seeing their physicians via a computer or smartphone, avoiding a crowded office full of sick people. They even get to skip the dreaded weigh-in check. Welcome to the age of telehealth, where patients and providers can communicate in real time across town or even across the state. The technology has been available for years, but has been slow to catch on mainly because of a reluctance by insurance companies to reimburse physicians for the video visit, as well as privacy concerns. But the pandemic has forced people to adapt, as governments ask residents to stay home as much as possible and avoid any chance of exposure to the deadly virus. “One of the things we realized very quickly was that patients were fearful to come into the clinic and intermingle with sick patients,” Cathy Dreher, practice manager at the Iola office of the Community Health Center of South-
Brie Mueller, PA-C at Allen County Regional Clinic, prepares for a scheduled telehealth visit using the doxy.me program. COURTESY PHOTO
east Kansas, said. “We saw a dramatic drop in visits for chronic health conditions and well visits.” Chronic health conditions are issues that need to be
monitored on a regular basis, including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure or cholesterol, arthritis, cancer, anxiety or depression. Some medication refills re-
quire physicians to check a patient’s vital signs. Many of those visits, it turns out, can be accomplished with telemedicine services. Erin Splechter, a nurse practitioner and clinical informatic specialist, recently helped set up telehealth at Allen County Regional Hospitals’s health clinics in Iola, Humboldt and Moran. She studied telehealth in college, but didn’t expect to see it adopted so quickly. “COVID-19 has pushed forward the ability of our providers to offer it at rural health clinics,” she said. “In a rural health setting, we still drive a fair distance to see a doctor. Telemedicine is a definite perk. You can do it in the comfort of your own home.” Every health clinic is different, though. CHC/SEK calls its telemedicine services “alternative visits.” Such visits could include something as simple as a phone call, Facetime calls, Google Hangouts, or downloading an app and logging into the clinic’s “Patient Portal” for a meeting. Staff work with patients to determine which service works best and walk them through the steps. At its various offices across
mal that will change. Gary, age 79, is an attorney who defends criminal cases in Chautauqua, Montgomery and Elk counties. He thinks of the exposure to the novel coronavirus he could face in a single jury selection. “They may bring in 70 or 80 prospective jurors to See TESTING | Page A3
Trump vows to suspend all immigration WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said that he will sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” because of the coronavirus. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” Trump tweeted late Monday. He offered no details See TRUMP | Page A6
Iola High standout looks to the future
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See VIRTUAL | Page A6
IHS teacher: Students can grow from pandemic turmoil By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
If ever a global pandemic were to befall a class of students, this year’s 2020 graduates are well-equipped, according to Regina Chriestenson, speech and drama teacher at Iola High School. “I know this sounds odd, but I truly believe that if this were going to happen to a group of people, they were the right group, at least in Iola, for it to happen to,” Chriestenson said. “They are resilient. They are go-getters. They make things happen. They’re all going to do great things in their own ways.” “In the grand scheme of See TEACHER | Page A6
Vol. 122, No. 123 Iola, KS 75 Cents
Regina Chriestenson is featured in latest “Registered” podcast. You can hear it at iolaregister.com/registered or via most podcast providers.
A little off the bottom Crest Middle School seventh-grader Karlee Boots used an idle Monday afternoon to help her grandmother Pat Spencer clean the signature white fence at St. John’s Cemetery north of Gas. Spencer and the 13-year-old Boots hoped to have the long fence cleaned by today. REGISTER/ RICHARD LUKEN