Kansas.com: Health and Fitness

KDHE: Flu decreasing in Kansas

KAREN SHIDELER — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:07 CST

Influenza activity appears to be decreasing across Kansas, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Friday in its weekly H1N1 report.

It said visits to doctors for flu symptoms and the number of schools reporting high absenteeism rates were down. The percentage of deaths linked to pneumonia or influenza was down, too.

But KDHE also said Friday that a 53-year-old woman from south-central Kansas has died from infection with the H1N1 virus. She is the 17th Kansan whose death has been linked to H1N1.

1 H1N1 shot enough for most

Rob Stein — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:05 CST

Pregnant women need only one dose of vaccine to protect them from the swine flu, according to government data released Monday that confirm what officials have been recommending.

Federally funded studies also affirmed that children age 9 and younger will need two doses of vaccine to produce a strong enough response by their immune systems to protect them against the H1N1 virus, officials reported.

The findings came as an independent panel of experts organized by the Health and Human Services Department to monitor the safety of the vaccine met for the first time to review the data.

Your flu questions answered

KAREN SHIDELER — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:54 CST

H1N1's grip on the state is holding steady, according to a new report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The absence rate at schools continues to be high. In Sedgwick County, the rate at elementary schools dropped last week but went up at middle and high schools.

The Sedgwick County Health Department started offering H1N1 vaccine to limited groups this week and plans to give more as it becomes available.

With shots being given, we asked Eagle and Kansas.com readers what they wanted to know about the H1N1 vaccine. Where questions were similar, we grouped them. The answers are from a variety of people at the Sedgwick County Health Department.

So Simple Southwest Chicken

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:05 CDT

2 cans of corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 jar (16 oz.) chunky salsa

Weight no longer

KAREN SHIDELER — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:26 CDT

Liz McGinness, Shannon Krysl and Susan Arensman are losing weight, trying new recipes, exercising regularly and learning to not let food control their lives.

They are among Wichita school district employees who have become members of 30-some chapters of TOPS that meet before school, after school or over lunch as part of the Wichita school district's wellness program.

TOPS — Take Off Pounds Sensibly — is a nonprofit weight-loss support organization. The program began in the Wichita schools this year and will be one of 25 wellness activities offered to employees in 2010. Employees must participate in four of the activities or pay part of their health insurance premium.

Liz's Laughably Easy Lasagna

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:05 CDT

1 or 2 cartons (16 oz. each) low-fat ricotta cheese

1/2cup Parmesan cheese

1 lb. ground beef, crumbled and cooked

Use common sense on Halloween

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:54 CST

The scariest thing about Halloween this year may not be the creepy costumes and haunted houses.

It's a sniffle. A sneeze. A red-cheeked, glassy-eyed, feverish cast on the face of the kid next door who might be infected with — insert "Psycho" music here — swine flu.

"I see how people could be concerned. It's out there," said Debra Holtzman, a Florida mom and author of "The Safe Baby: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety and Healthy Living."

Sick fill area ERs, but not just with flu

KAREN SHIDELER — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:54 CST

Area emergency rooms are full, and health officials are asking people to consider the severity of their illness before going to one for flu symptoms.

In fact, they suggest calling your primary-care doctor before heading to the emergency room. If you don't have one, call the United Way of the Plains' 211 for a referral to a community health clinic.

It's not just H1N1 that has filled emergency rooms.

Fit for kids

KAREN SHIDELER — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:07 CDT

The workout is what drew her, but Melanie Truschinski says she gets so much more from her four-days-aweek StrollerFit habit. “I just really like the camaraderie,” she said one cool morning last week as she and other moms lined up their strollers on a basketball court at Sedgwick County Park. “This is so nice.”

StrollerFit classes are a mix of cardio and strength work, much like any boot camp class.

The difference is that babies and children who will stay in strollers are part of it.

Insurers to attack health reform

Ceci Connolly — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:07 CDT

WASHINGTON — After months of collaboration on President Obama's attempt to overhaul the nation's health care system, the insurance industry plans to strike out today against the effort with a report warning that the typical family premium could rise over the next decade by $4,000 more than projected.

The critique, coming one day before a critical Senate committee vote on the legislation, sparked a sharp response from the Obama administration. It also signaled an end to the fragile detente between two central players in this year's health- reform drama.

Industry officials said they intend to circulate the report prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers on Capitol Hill and promote it in new advertisements. That could complicate Democratic hopes for action on the legislation this week.

Project Access offers health care to those in need

KAREN SHIDELER — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:06 CDT

Cheri Brown had walked a tightrope for years, going without health insurance to pay other expenses. Then she fell off. She could afford her well-woman exams and even medication for her diabetes. But about 18 months ago, she needed a hysterectomy. Five months later, she learned she had breast cancer.

Both were beyond the means of Brown, a 40-year-old single hairdresser.

But Brown is back at work and feeling blessed these days, having landed in a medical safety net — one celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Timing varies for flu vaccine arrival in state

JOHN HANNA — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:48 CDT

TOPEKA — The first swine flu vaccinations are expected to arrive in Kansas later than state officials initially had predicted, with the date varying by location.

The Sedgwick County Health Department anticipated that Wichita-area hospitals would receive almost 3,000 doses of the nasal mist H1N1 vaccine by today, spokeswoman Jennifer McCausland said. But Wesley Medical Center officials didn't expect the vaccine to arrive in the area until at least Thursday.

In Topeka, Misty Kruger, a spokeswoman for the Shawnee County Health Department said Tuesday that it probably won't receive the 900 doses it has ordered until next week. Johnson County officials still don't have a firm date for when health care providers will receive their 3,000 doses.

E-records to help track swine flu nationally

Associated Press — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:06 CDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The federal government is teaming up with a medical software maker to better track the spread of swine flu nationally, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday.

Cerner Corp., which makes and sells electronic medical record systems to hospitals and doctors' offices, will collect data from its records to provide information on cases of what scientists call the H1N1 virus to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health departments.

Such information, now based on individual interviews and paper records, currently can take days to be collected.

H1N1 vaccine a tough sell to pregnant women

MAURA LERNER — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:43 CDT

MINNEAPOLIS — The first shipments of the new H1N1 flu vaccine will arrive soon, and Stephanie Pelach, who's six months pregnant, will have a decision to make.

Should she get a vaccine, approved only weeks ago, that has never been tested in pregnant women? Or take her chances with a flu strain that can be especially dangerous during pregnancy?

For Pelach, who lives in New Brighton, Minn., it's a sobering choice. "There is this slight concern — is this safe for me, is this safe for my baby?" she says. "I wasn't expecting it to be this emotional of a decision."

Only one city tops Wichita for allergies

KAREN SHIDELER — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:06 CDT

Any other time, being No. 2 among the 100 largest metro areas would probably be reason to celebrate.

This No. 2 ranking seems more like a reason to pray.

For an early, hard freeze.

Newton hospital restricts kids from visiting

KAREN SHIDELER — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:06 CDT

Newton Medical Center is restricting visitors who are 12 or younger, effective immediately, to reduce the risk of spreading the H1N1 virus.

Wichita hospitals have not taken similar steps but are recommending that children 12 and under and people of any age who have flu symptoms not visit. Some units at individual hospitals may have further restrictions, the Sedgwick County Health Department said.

Children are more likely to get and spread the flu.

Flu 'everywhere' in city schools

SUZANNE PEREZ TOBIAS — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:05 CDT

October just started, but attendance rates at Wichita schools are looking more like they do during the midwinter height of flu season.

"It's everywhere," said Kathy Hubka, coordinator of health services for the Wichita district. "We are seeing more cases of influenza-like illness, more kids home sick."

Sick kids seem to be scattered across the city, Hubka said, not clustered at any particular school. Some schools — such as Jefferson Elementary, which recorded 70 absences Tuesday and 66 Wednesday — are noticing larger spikes.

Kansans' research shows a good laugh each day can boost on-the-job morale

FRED MANN — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:54 CDT

She doesn't do stand-up, but Judy Young can make a room full of people laugh even when they don't feel like it.

Without telling a joke or taking a pie in the face, she draws belly laughs from people in the workplace, where yuks can be hard to come by.

How? By telling them to laugh.