ROLLA (AP) – The Missouri University of Science and Technology is rolling out an elementary school education program that focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The new program begins this fall, and students will gain experience in the Rolla school district. The program will be overseen by Mandy Welch, former principal of Smithville Upper Elementary in Smithville.

Welch has experience implementing an approach to math used in Singapore. The method stresses mastery of basic skills and a few essential ideas, such as place value and part-whole relationships.

Singapore’s education system is rated among the best in the world.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is urging lawmakers to sustain his line-item vetoes of $144 million of spending items in the state’s budget.

Lawmakers will consider whether to override the vetoes when they return to the Capitol next week. But Nixon said Thursday that the state cannot afford the additional spending.

The vetoed items include increases in payment rates for mental health care providers and nursing homes, school safety grants, utility-bill subsidies for low-income residents and numerous other things. Nixon said some items are worthwhile but he criticized others as unnecessary earmarks, such as $500,000 to try to control invasive Asian carp.

If lawmakers override the line-item vetoes, Nixon could still block the money by putting a freeze on the spending. He said that’s something he would consider doing.

By Dan Margolies, KCUR

Missouri is the 16th most obese state in the nation, according to a report released Thursday.

At No. 19, Kansas doesn’t fare much better.

The 11th annual report on state obesity rankings by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says adult obesity rates increased in six states over the past year, with Mississippi and West Virginia topping the scales. More than a third of adults in those two states – 35.1 percent – are obese, according to the report.

The report is based on telephone surveys by state health departments, with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A change in methodology makes comparisons with data collected before 2011 difficult, the report notes.

The CDC deems adults with a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or higher to be obese. A person who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs at least 203 pounds is considered obese.

“Obesity in America is at a critical juncture,” Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health, said in a statement. “Obesity rates are unacceptably high, and the disparities in rates are profoundly troubling.

“We need to intensify prevention efforts starting in early childhood, and do a better job of implementing effective policies and programs in all communities — so every American has the greatest opportunity to have a healthy weight and live a healthy life.”

Despite the seemingly morbid figures, there are signs of progress. Childhood obesity rates have stabilized over the last decade, say Levi and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Foundation, in a letter accompanying the report.

And for the first time in a decade, they say, “data also show a downward trend in obesity rates among young children from low-income families in many states.”

“Unfortunately,” they continue, “the progress is more mixed for adults. Over the past 30 years, adult obesity rates have sharply risen, doubling since 1980.”

Although that rate has begun to slow, “adult rates remain far too high across the nation, putting millions of Americans at higher risk for a range of serious health problems, from type 2 diabetes to heart disease,” they say.

In Kansas, 30 percent of adults are obese, according to the report. For men, the percentage is 30.5 and for women it’s 29.1. More than 29 percent of white residents are obese, compared with 39.2 percent for blacks and 33.5 percent for Latinos.

Nearly a third of adult Missourians — 30.4 percent — are obese, equally divided between men and women. For white residents, the percentage is 28.8 percent; for blacks, it’s 40 percent; and for Latinos, it’s 33.6 percent.

Missouri fared even worse among high schoolers. The state is the eighth worst in that category, with 14.9 percent of high school students considered obese. Kentucky had the worst high school obesity rate, at 18 percent.

Colorado has the lowest adult obesity rate in the nation at 21.3 percent, followed by Hawaii, 21.8 percent, the District of Columbia, 22.9 percent, and Massachusetts, 23.6 percent.

Twenty states have rates at or above 30 percent, according to the report. And 43 states have rates at or above 25 percent. Every state weighed in at more than 20 percent.

Overall, the report says, 34.9 percent of adults in the United States are obese. Underscoring racial and ethnic disparities in obesity, nearly half of blacks, 47.8 percent, are obese. Among Latinos, the rate is 42.5 percent.

The report recommended several obesity-prevention policies in black and Latino communities, including expanding access to and improving people’s knowledge about affordable healthful foods and opportunities for physical activity.

MARGERY A. BECK, Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A doctor who became infected with Ebola while working in Liberia — the third American aid worker sickened with the virus — is expected to arrive at a Nebraska hospital for treatment.

Officials at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha have said 51-year-old Dr. Rick Sacra is expected Friday and will begin treatment in the hospital’s 10-bed special isolation unit, the largest of four such units in the U.S.

Dr. Phil Smith, medical director of the unit, said doctors will focus on care such as keeping Sacra hydrated and keeping his vital signs stable. A team of 35 medical staffers will attend to him.

Smith and other doctors said Sacra’s transfer to Omaha posed no threat to the public, noting Ebola is transmitted through close contact with an infected person.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts are headlining a summit of the Kansas congressional delegation in Wichita.

Friday’s event is hosted by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the Wichita Metro Chamber at Hotel at Old Town.

Moran, Roberts and members of the state’s U.S. House delegation will offer remarks in the afternoon, then take questions.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas State University researcher is receiving a $2.52 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to compare typical Army physical training with a newer type of workout.

Assistant kinesiology professor Katie Heinrich says so-called “high-intensity functional training” is promising. As its name suggests, the workout method involves using high intensity and constantly varied exercises.

The training approach has gained popularity among military populations because of its potential for improving performance with substantially lower training volumes. Heinrich says the technique also has the potential to promote fat loss.

Heinrich and her team will work closely with the Command and General Staff College and Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth.

By Andy Marso
KHI News Service

TOPEKA — Federal officials are sending notices to more than 300,000 people — including about 1,800 Kansans — warning them that the health insurance plans they bought on the federal online marketplace will be revoked unless they provide documents that resolve “data inconsistencies” with their citizenship or immigration status.

A news release from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the supporting documents must be received by Friday, Sept. 5, or those whose status is in doubt will lose coverage at the end of the month. CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner said her agency had attempted to contact the 310,000 people in question and would continue to do so through Friday’s deadline.

“Since this is an urgent matter, we are activating our networks on the ground to reach people directly in the communities where they live,” Tavenner said. “Whether it is online, via our call center, or with one of our local partners, consumers will have a number of ways to find the help they need to continue their coverage.”

Officials from the insurance marketplace and CMS said the inconsistencies do “not necessarily mean there is a problem with an individual’s eligibility for enrollment.”

“It means that additional information is needed to verify the information provided in an application,” a news release from the CMS Office of Communications stated. “However, if these supporting documents are not received, health insurance plans will be terminated in order to ensure program integrity and protect taxpayer dollars.”

The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved received a grant to train “navigators” to help Kansans sign up on the online insurance exchange that opened last year.

Katrina McGivern, communications coordinator for KAMU, said some navigators have been contacted by Kansans who received notices that they need to provide more documentation and are working with them to get that resolved.

But McGivern said it’s not possible for KAMU or the navigators to be proactive in finding and contacting more of the 1,800 Kansans in question.

“The tricky part is that our navigators aren’t allowed to keep any information on the consumers,” McGivern said. “So we can’t follow up with people.”

McGivern said KAMU has informed navigators of the potential problem and asked them to spread the word in their communities.

The federal marketplace, created by the Affordable Care Act, is open only to U.S. citizens or lawfully present immigrants. The news release said that in May about 970,000 of the marketplace’s 8 million enrollees had submitted applications “with citizenship or immigration data-matching errors.”

The news release said errors include submitting a Social Security number or Permanent Resident Card number that is “incomplete or different than the information the government has on file.”

Since May, CMS has resolved about 450,000 of the errors and is processing documentation for about 210,000 more. That leaves about 310,000 still awaiting documentation.

The requirement to supply extra documentation applies to about 1,800 Kansans and 4,900 Missourians.

Tavenner said those who have received a notice that their immigration data has inconsistencies can call the CMS helpline at (800) 318-2596 to see what documents they need to submit, or visit the “Find Local Help” page at healthcare.gov.

“We want as many consumers as possible to remain enrolled in Marketplace coverage,” Tavenner said, “so we are giving these individuals a last chance to submit their documents before their coverage through the Marketplace will end.”

Online enrollment for 2015 plans on the health care marketplace begins Nov. 15.