Health & Health Care

By Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga The number of abortions provided in Kansas continues to drastically exceed those prior to the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Nearly 20,000 women got abortions in the state in 2024, the most recent year for which data is...

By Zane Irwin When then-high schooler Page Clements came out as transgender in 2021, she knew it would change the course of her life. But she didn’t think it would force her to leave her home. Her parents and most of...

A nonprofit pharmacy is looking to open a new location in Shawnee to expand access to affordable medication in Johnson County. In November, the Kansas City, Kansas-based Pharmacy of Grace launched its Expanding Medication Access for Healthier Lives Campaign to...

By Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga It’s a warm day in November, and Annie Parsons and her 2-year-old son, River, are raking leaves in their yard in Roeland Park. River has a toddler-sized rake he’s using to scrape the dirt and collect acorns. Parsons...

One by one at a city council meeting last month, Olathe residents — most of them retired city employees — came forward to voice concerns about rising health insurance premiums. Nine speakers in all addressed the city council at its...

A new 14-bed center in Shawnee has opened to help people dealing with mental health issues get the care they need. On Friday, local officials cut the ribbon on Johnson County Mental Health's Adult Crisis Stabilization Center at The Recovery...

By Morgan Chilson Kansas reported no new measles cases for the third week in a row Aug. 6, and health officials are encouraging parents to vaccinate their children as they return to school next week to keep that trend going. The...

Editor's note: This story was updated Aug. 11 at 10:03 a.m. to correct an error. Abortions are up 200% from 2020, not last year.  Things have changed in the three years since Kansans voted to preserve the right to abortion...

Seven years ago, donated blood saved Meghan Jolliffe’s life. A lot of donated blood. She was in labor at Overland Park Regional Medical Center when she suffered a rare and extremely dangerous pregnancy complication called an amniotic fluid embolism. It...

Children’s Mercy plans to expand its Overland Park hospital to make room for more medical offices and additional parking. The facility, situated between Metcalf Avenue and Nall Avenue just off Interstate 435, currently offers pediatric inpatient care, multiple specialty clinics,...

After less than three years — and nearly 1.3 million calls and messages seeking help during a mental health crisis — specialized youth LGBTQ suicide prevention services provided by the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline ended Thursday. Rep. Sharice...

By Jodi Fortino Matthew Chen, a senior at Blue Valley North High School, knows the importance of cancer research firsthand — he’s been working with the University of Kansas Cancer Center for two years to look into the disease. He also...