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MEDICAID OVERHAUL
Brownback: Agency changes will improve services Critics remain skeptical of vast reorganization
By John Hanna Associated Press
TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback and several top administration officials sought to dispel doubts about his plan to overhaul the state’s Medicaid pro-
Brownback
gram, declaring Thursday that the planned summertime reorganization of three government departments will improve services for the poor, disabled and elderly.
Colyer and the three agencies’ secretaries had a Statehouse news conference to publicize the coming reorganization,
Before then, in July, the state will reorganize its departments of Aging, Health and Environment and Social and Rehabilitation Services. Brownback, Lt. Gov. Jeff
Please see AGENCY, page 2A
How healthy is your heart?
Rainy
High: 75
The conservative Republican governor plans to turn over management of the entire $2.9 billion-a-year Medicaid program next year to three private companies.
Low: 61
Today’s forecast, page 12A
INSIDE
KU fans, former players live dream Several recent KU basketball players joined campers ages 35 to 60 at the Bill Self Basketball Experience fantasy camp this week. Page 1B
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QUOTABLE
Perhaps this is an incorrect road?” — A North Korean official minding a group of foreign journalists on a tour of the capital, Pyongyang. Three buses took a wrong turn off the main road into a desolate neighborhood that was a far cry from the official showcase of North Korean achievement. Although the buses quickly resumed their intended course, the brief glimpse into the “real” North Korea was striking. Page 9A
COMING SATURDAY We’ll give you some information about talking with your teens about the use of alcohol.
INDEX Business Classified Comics Deaths Events listings Horoscope Movies Opinion Puzzles Sports Television Vol.154/No.104
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Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
SUSAN MAYBERRY, 47, A HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATIONAL TEACHER at Basehor-Linwood High School, works with a class outside on March 15. Mayberry was among 40 teachers who completed a heart health program at Kansas University Hospital last year. She said the program forced her to revisit the factors that put her at risk for heart disease, and one of those factors was her poor diet. The program provided one-on-one counseling, and since then, she said, she has improved her eating habits.
KU Hospital program provides screening for disease, plus steps to reduce risks By Karrey Britt kbritt@ljworld.com
Five years ago, Kansas University Hospital started a unique program called A Change of Heart to inspire heart-healthy living. The program provides a heart assessment and one-on-one counseling on how to improve the factors that put people at risk for heart disease, which is America’s No. 1 killer. “This program gives you the education and the tools to bring your numbers down,” said Karin Morgan, a registered nurse and program coordinator. “You can go just about anywhere and stick your finger and then you might get a card that says it’s normal. Well, what does that mean?” Morgan said it’s the education component that doctors often
don’t have the time to provide, and that’s where the program comes into play. Since its inception, the program has screened about 930 people, mostly women. Of those, 90 percent have been identified as having at least one risk factor for heart disease. More than 75 percent had multiple factors. “We’ve had women who have come here in the morning, and they were in the cath(eterization) lab the next day from heart disease,” Morgan said. “I think a lot of people don’t get their numbers checked because they are in denial or they don’t think anything is wrong or they go to the doctor occasionally.”
Reporter shares experience going through heart program By Karrey Britt kbritt@ljworld.com
I hadn’t heard about Kansas University Hospital’s A Change of Heart program until I was invited to a brunch at Cedar Crest in spring 2010. Then-Gov. Mark Parkinson, and his wife, Stacy, wanted to roll out the program statewide. At least 100 people attended, from lawmakers to health pro-
viders, and they were clad in red and talking heart health. At age 49, Shirley Allenbrand, of Lenexa, said the program had saved her life. I left the event motivated and ready to take the heart assessment myself, but soon forgot and never heard much about the initiative again. Karin Morgan, program coordinator, said Please see REPORTER, page 6A
Please see HEART, page 6A
Arts groups come together under one umbrella By Alex Garrison acgarrison@ljworld.com
A new campaign aims to support and promote arts events in Lawrence. Supporting the Arts, underwritten by the Trust Company of Kansas (TCK), is a public rela-
tions campaign and website that brings together eight Lawrence arts nonprofits to connect with business supporters in the hope of strengthening the visual and performing arts in the city, as well as the enhanced quality of life they provide, said
Mike Katzenmeier, director of Marketing Resources, the company that’s running the campaign. Katzenmeier and others kicked off the campaign Thursday at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H. With participating members present, he
walked through the website, supportingthearts. com, and highlighted its features of promoting events and connecting users with ways to give their time or money to the individual arts groups. Supporting the Arts began in 2004 in Wich-
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ita and has now moved here. It’s meant to help boost attendance, donations and volunteerism, adding to the “rich culture” present in the arts community, he said. All the funds from TCK are Please see ARTS, page 2A