Dr. Christopher Black, pictured, has joined the staff at Freeman Health System in Joplin. He specializes in palliative medicine whose goal is to prevent or treat the symptoms and side effects of ...more

---

A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and reduced in fats and saturated fats (the DASH diet), designed decades ago to reduce high blood pressure, also appears to significantly lower uric ...more

---

Analyzing medical death rate data over an eight-year period, Johns Hopkins patient safety experts have calculated that more than 250,000 deaths per year are due to medical error in the United States. ...more

---

The human spirit or heart can trump bad genes. That's one of the conclusions reached by Paul Durham, Ph.D, pictured, Missouri State University Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology. He spoke at ...more

---

The Ozark Center in Joplin launches Super Me!, an app for Apple devices. Super Me! helps children develop resilience and positive coping skills through a series of in-game and out-of-game ...more

---

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) claims to be rallying support for a Missouri octogenarian nursing home patient named Arla Harrell who at the age of 18 was subject to secret testing of mustard gas at ...more

---

Your brain is secretly thwarting your New Years resolutions. The human brain is wired to pay attention to previously pleasing things a finding that could help explain why its hard to break bad ...more

---

The Newton County Health Department has announced that the location and time of the monthly breastfeeding support group meeting has changed. The meetings will now be held from 11 a.m. to noon at the ...more

---

More than one in four Americans has taken prescription painkillers in the past year, even as a majority say that abuse of these medications is a very serious public health concern, according to new ...more

---

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has withdrawn its safety endorsement for artificial turf. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is taking credit for having exerted ...more

---

A new study examining changes in gun policy in two states finds that handgun purchaser licensing requirements influence suicide rates. Researchers estimate that Connecticuts 1995 law requiring ...more

---

Analysis of blood samples from more than 5,000 people suggests that a more sensitive version of a blood test long used to verify heart muscle damage from heart attacks could also identify people on ...more

---

A Johns Hopkins-led study of outcomes among 1,200 people with implanted defibrillators devices intended to prevent sudden cardiac death from abnormal heart rhythms shows that within a few years of ...more

---

Simple measures of kidney function and damage may be just as good at predicting who is at risk for heart failure and death from heart attack and stroke as traditional tests of cholesterol levels and ...more

---

Note: This event has been canceled. It will be rescheduled some time in September. The second annual Dentistry from the Heart (DFTH) event hosted by Trent Wilkinson, DDS, pictured, will take ...more

---

Amid the ruins of the May 2011 tornado at left sits St. Johns Hospital. At right, the hospital now named Mercy Hospital Joplin nears completion almost four years later. by Bradley Haller On ...more

---

JEFFERSON CITY-- Over 150 advocates of Medicaid expansion returned to the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, to build on the groundswell efforts to close the Medicaid coverage gap. Health care ...more

---

Public health researchers have analyzed soda consumption data in order to characterize peoples exposure to a potentially carcinogenic byproduct of some types of caramel color. Caramel color is a ...more

---

The Joplin Blasters have agreed to a multi-year partnership that will designate Mercy Hospital as its Official Sports Medicine Provider. As part of the agreement, Mercy will handle all sports ...more

---

Neosho, Mo. After working as a hospitalist for Freeman Health System in Joplin, Dr. Harold Blankenship, pictured, has joined the Freeman Neosho Physician Group. Im happy to transition within ...more

---

Researchers from Johns Hopkins have found that dense mats of interacting bacteria, called biofilms, were present in the majority of cancers and polyps, particularly those on the right side of the ...more

---

The Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging (MA4) is ready to assist Missourians who choose to obtain health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, according to Catherine Edwards, ...more

---

The Newton County Health Department has announced that a contract to continue to provide WIC (Women, Infants & Children) services for federal 2015 fiscal year has been signed with the Missouri ...more

---

Broccoli spears are subject of clinical trial. (Photo compliments of Johns Hopkins Medicine) Results of a small clinical trial suggest that a chemical derived from broccoli sprouts and best known ...more

---

The Pew Charitable Trusts, under the direction of consumer advocate Sandra Eskin, has begun a campaign to reduce health risks from foodborne pathogens by strengthening federal government authority ...more

---

COLUMBIA, MO In the battle all hospitals fight to eliminate infections, University of Missouri Health Care is using a new technology robots that emit ultraviolet light to kill germs. The Ebola ...more

---

Johns Hopkins scientists have shown a strong association between tobacco use or exposure and infection with oral human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16), the sexually transmitted virus responsible for ...more

---

Johns Hopkins bioethicist Nancy Kass defends the unique treatment given to the two Americans infected with Ebola yet advises proceeding with caution, informed by data, for wider distribution of the ...more

---

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 24, 2014, that the Food and Drug Administration is not required to hold hearings that could end the use of penicillin and tetracyclines in animal ...more

---

The DVD, If You Stutter: Advice for Adults, is now on the shelves of two local libraries. The nonprofit Stuttering Foundation has provided the free DVD to the Joplin Public Library and the Webb City ...more

---

With nearly four in five older Americans living with multiple chronic medical conditions, a new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that the more ailments ...more

---

WASHINGTON The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today unveiled a new graphic, sample pictured, that will be available to appear on insect repellent product labels. The graphic will show ...more

---

The Joplin City Health Department is offering measles vaccination at no cost to Missouri residents. This comes after notice that the state has had an increase in confirmed cases. The Department of ...more

---

In the United States, ticks are responsible for more human disease than any other insect. They are very good at this because they feed on a large variety of mammals, reptiles, and even birds. Six ...more

---

by Glenn Mollette Mick Jagger's girlfriend L' Wren Scott committed suicide recently. There have been different speculations as to the reason. Unfortunately suicide often is a response to deep ...more

---

Poor air quality conditions shown on this illustration for places in the US on Thursday, Feb. 6, 20114, include, based on severity, Denver, Colorado; Redding, California; Dayton, Ohio; Visalia, ...more

---

Science continues to expose connections between our food choices, inflammation, and the incidence of chronic diseases like arthritis. Out of control inflammation leads to worsening arthritis ...more

---

Efforts to cure hepatitis C, the liver-damaging infectious disease that has for years killed more Americans than HIV/AIDS, are about to get simpler and more effective, according to new research at ...more

---

Stuttering is a frustrating and embarrassing problem for millions of people, but it can be especially tough on teenagers. Help is available at most public libraries in the form of a video. In Jasper ...more

---

Experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF), say that new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voluntary guidelines on antibiotic use in food animal production are unlikely to reduce ...more

---

GREATER MISSOURI CHAPTER SERVICE AREA Caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia may be eligible for respite funds. The Greater Missouri Chapter of the Alzheimer's ...more

---

This is not the picture, albeit itself 81-years old, of the Fulton State Hospital that the Missouri Department of Mental Health depicts on a current website. Instead presented is a view of the ...more

---

For years, the Stay-at-home mom brigade and radical religious groups have kept their children from being vaccinated due to the fear that it would make their children autistic. Whats been the ...more

---

Consumers should continue to limit their intake of shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish, according to a joint advisement by the EPA and FDA. They say that these fish have high levels of ...more

---

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging makers of insect repellents that are applied directly to the skin to participate in a new labeling graphic. The graphic would show what ...more

---

INTEGRIS Grove Hospital in Oklahoma will offer free flu shots Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, from 9 to 11 a.m., or while supplies last. The hospital has approximately 350 doses available to administer. The ...more

---

Poor sleep quality may impact Alzheimer's disease onset and progression. This is according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who examined the ...more

---

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have pinpointed a site in a highly developed area of the human brain that plays an important role in the subconscious recognition of which way is straight up and ...more

---

Advocates for the uninsured look forward to launch of newHealth Insurance Marketplace on October 1 Health care advocates are encouraged by the regulations for state Navigators released this week ...more

---

A new study found drug-resistant bacteria associated with livestock in the noses of industrial livestock workers in North Carolina but not in the noses of antibiotic-free livestock workers. The ...more

---

An inside look of the mind of a surgeonby Ismael Nuo, M.D. Chasing ghosts in the operating room sounds supernatural, but it is actually something we surgeons really do. Each one of us has ...more

---

Women are 37 percent more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than men and now account for more than half of all deaths attributed to COPD in our nation. The American Lung ...more

---

by Ann Craig-Cinnamon I remember vividly as a young child being so scared of my bedroom and of nighttime that I conjured up a way to calm myself. I checked every nook and cranny in my room. Then I ...more

---

Apparently good weather goes hand-in-hand with high life expectancy. So says the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the popular over 50 retirement organization and interest group that ...more

---

People who take the newest class of diabetes drugs to control blood sugar are twice as likely as those on other forms of sugar-control medication to be hospitalized with pancreatitis, Johns Hopkins ...more

---

KANSAS CITY, MO A rapid whole genome sequencing approach developed by the Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine at Childrens Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, was named one of TIME ...more

---

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated the rule for pathogens in drinking water, including setting a limit for the bacteria E. coli to better protect public ...more

---

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a new way of looking at standard MRI scans that more accurately measures damage to the blood-brain barrier in stroke victims, a process they hope will lead to ...more

---

Researchers uncover biochemical chain of events needed to maintain an erection--Discovery in mice may lead to new therapies for men with erectile dysfunction For two decades, scientists have known ...more

---

When Mama had a dinner for twelve, the English comedienne Joyce Grenfell sang in the 1950s, She rested all day long, She rested all day longif only Ever wondered why, as a modern woman, you never ...more

---

Could Faststitch device, invented by undergrads, be the future of suture? After a surgeon stitches up a patient's abdomen, costly complications -- some life-threatening -- can occur. To cut down ...more

---

Spending more on trauma care doesn't translate to higher survival rates--Research finds wide, unexplained regional differences in costs - and clues to where money can be saved A large-scale review ...more

---

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, working with Danish researchers, have developed a novel anticancer drug designed to travel-undetected by normal cells-through the bloodstream ...more

---

Missouri American Water presents check to The Alliance of Southwest Missouri in support of permanent prescription/OTC medication drop boxes For nearly a two year period, The Alliance of Southwest ...more

---

You are what you eat, and that seems to have been as true 2 million years ago, when pre-human relatives were swinging through the trees and racing across the savannas of South Africa, as it is ...more

---

Many people who were vaccinated against whooping cough may not know that the vaccine's protection does not last forever. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rates ...more

---

UPDATE: Governor Jay Nixon rejected SB749, a bill that the predominately Republican Missouri Legislature passed in an attempt to undermine federal law. He will be applauded by Americans who believe ...more

---

The EPA map showing the air quality forecast for June 19, 2012, compiled by a consortium of agencies including all lung associations in Missouri, shows moderate (yellow) to good (green) levels. Four ...more

---

Exposure to common antibacterial chemicals and preservatives found in soap, toothpaste, mouthwash and other personal-care products may make children more prone to a wide range of food and ...more

---

There is a 90 percent chance that a middle-aged American will develop high blood pressure during his or her lifetime. However, research has shown that following the DASH diet plan will decrease blood ...more

---

Tonsillectomies are one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures performed on children in the United States. A new surgical tool developed at Mercy Research & Development based in ...more

---

A Kidz4Autism check presentation took place at the Ozark Center for Autism in Joplin. In addition to five kids who volunteered, from L-R are clinical directors Jennifer Kirby and Heather Collier, ...more

---

Teens with high levels of uric acid appear to be at increased risk for high blood pressure, according to results of research from scientists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Although the ...more

---

Food plays an important role in our lives. For many of us it is more than a means of sustenance. For some, it is a source of great pleasure; for others, a source of painful consequences; and for some ...more

---

In a joint study, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Arizona State University found evidence suggesting that a class of antibiotics previously banned by ...more

---

Overweight people who shed pounds, especially belly fat, can improve the function of their blood vessels no matter whether they are on a low-carb or a low-fat diet, according to a study being ...more

---

Hearing loss has been linked with a variety of medical, social and cognitive ills, including dementia. However, a new study led by a Johns Hopkins researcher suggests that hearing loss may also be a ...more

---

A program has been launched to help provide residents with some relief from the high cost of prescription medications. Through the program sponsored by CVS Caremark and sponsored by the National ...more

---

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently posted their final health assessment for tetrachloroethylene, also know as perchlorethylene or perc to their Integrated Risk Information System ...more

---

Valentines Day is all about love, romance, hearts, flowers...and a lot of calories. Between chocolate, candy, a few cocktails and going out for a nice meal, by the end of the night you have not only ...more

---

FLASH: Komen for the Cure reversed its decision this morning, Feb. 3, 2012, deciding to keep its funding "at the same levels," meaning to fund Planned Parenthood afterall. They also decided to clean ...more

---

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today (Jan. 20, 2012) that a forthcoming final rule will protect women's access to the birth control coverage benefit---birth control ...more

---

Missouri failed again this year in its efforts to protect children and curb tobacco-related disease, according to the American Lung Associations State of Tobacco Control 2012 report. The American ...more

---

After a 20-year quest to find a genetic driver for prostate cancer that strikes men at younger ages and runs in families, researchers have identified a rare, inherited mutation linked to a ...more

---

PHOENIX Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday, January 13, 2012, said she will implement the states voter-approved medical marijuana law, nine days after a federal judge granted a request by the ...more

---

A lot has been said about Joplin folks tornado-proofing their new homes, including the use of insulating concrete form construction, impact resistant windows, tornado tie-downs and tornado shelters. ...more

---

Profiteers in the medical CT scan business took a big hit last week from a major new government report on the causes of breast cancer. Published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm ...more

---

Missouri is ranked as the 27th (obviously out of 52) most smoking quit-friendly states in the country, according to a report by the American Lung Association, not a very good showing but not as bad ...more

---

World AIDS Day is December 1, 2011 and PBS stations across the country will begin airing 30 Years Positive, an episode of the award-winning documentary series "In the Life" that looks back at ...more

---

Finfish, shrimp, and seafood products are some of the most widely traded foods and about 85 percent of seafood consumed in the United States is imported. A new study by researchers from the Johns ...more

---

By Karin R. Herrmann My husband Jerry and I moved to Miami, Oklahoma from Arizona in June 2010. For a while, I worked at Sears in Joplin and I shopped in Joplin on a regular basis. Previously I ...more

---

A single high dose of the hallucinogen psilocybin, the active ingredient in so-called "magic mushrooms," was enough to bring about a measurable personality change lasting at least a year in nearly 60 ...more

---

In a study of complication rates following prostate biopsy among Medicare beneficiaries, Johns Hopkins researchers have found a significant rise in serious complications requiring ...more

---

The Joplin City Health Department has a limited quantity of seasonal flu vaccinations that they will be administering to the public 3-years-of-age or older. The clinic by appointment only will take ...more

---

Infectious disease and disaster preparedness experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine say the premise of the September 9, 2011 release of the Hollywood movie Contagion, in which a lethal airborne virus ...more

---

An artist's rendering shows the proposed entrance to St. John's Mercy Hospital St. John's Mercy announced the location this evening (August 16, 2011) for the replacement of their campus that was ...more

---

Jared Loughner has been at the Springfield, Missouri federal prison since May 27, 2011, after a federal judge concluded that he was mentally unfit to help in his legal defense. For those who find ...more

---

Joplin, MO - Among the problems caused by the May 22, 2011 tornado in Joplin, was a shortage of acute inpatient psychiatric care beds in the state of Missouri. Joplin lost a significant number of ...more

---

Springfield, MO - St Johns Medical Research Institute (SJMRI) Trauma and Burn Division reported data this week detailing the results of laboratory trials testing the killing power of a novel skin and ...more

---

Believe it or not tweens, teens and 30-somethings have something in common: social networking and dieting. Health-minded folks of all ages are turning to interactive internet sites to help them lose ...more

---

Generic anti-epilepsy drugs, pharmaceutical products similar to brand-name versions, save consumers billions of dollars each year, but some are different enough from branded formulations that they ...more

---

It is well established that eating fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna, helps to reduce the risk of heart disease. However, there are many people who don't like to eat fish but want the ...more

---

The data from the Environmental Protection Agency - Region 7's air sampling has not indicated any health-related concerns, according to an announcement by David W. Bryan, one of the agency's public ...more

---

An open group counseling session by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will be held beginning June 22, 2011, and each Wednesday at 10 a.m. The sessions meant to reach out to those ...more

---

Mercy/St. John's workers share a moment of release at Downstream Casino near Joplin. (Photo by Aaron DuRall) About 2,000 Mercy co-workers gathered Sunday, June 12, 2011, at the Downstream Casino ...more

---

St. Johns Clinic patients may visit their physicians at a variety of locations around the Joplin area. Available locations for health care include: St. John's Hospital, 2817 St. John's Blvd., ...more

---

The majority of St. Johns Mercy Clinic primary care offices have been open since May 24, 2011 with all displaced primary care physicians seeing patients since the following day. Many of them have ...more

---

In response to reports of medical records and other patient information that have been found following the tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, 2011, Mercy/St. Johns Regional Medical Center has ...more

---

Johns Hopkins researchers transform inert white fat into brown fat to burn off calories and weight By knocking down the expression of a protein in rat brains known to stimulate eating, Johns ...more

---

Model should bear watching by U.S. officials The United States should pay close attention to how the United Kingdom carries out plans to assess a new drug's worth using factors that go beyond ...more

---

Planned Parenthood of Southwest Missouri while supplies last is offering free (small copay may apply) testing for teens and young adults for chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV throughout April, the "Get ...more

---

A study of thousands of people with bipolar disorder suggests that genetic risk factors may influence the decision to attempt suicide. Johns Hopkins scientists, reporting in the journal Molecular ...more

---

Providing clues into why the severity of a common parasitic infection can vary greatly from person to person, a new Johns Hopkins study shows that each one of three strains of the cat-borne parasite ...more

---

You might be too late when your friend says, "Have a piece of chocolate." You prefer the dark chocolate pieces and there are few, if any, left. Just in time for Valentines Day, chocolate lovers ...more

---

U.S. Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) recently sent a bipartisan letter signed by 32 other Senators regarding a Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule requiring that all ...more

---

A study of more than 14,000 men and women whose hearts stopped suddenly suggests that the chances of survival are very high if such cardiac arrests are witnessed in large public venues, including ...more

---

ST. LOUIS A county-level study of tobacco use and associated diseases among Missouri residents is currently under way across the state. The results will lead to the first-ever comparison of progress ...more

---

A key selling point in healthcare reform is a new kind of researcha kind that will supposedly make medicine more efficient and less costly, unlike the old kind of research that brought us medical ...more

---

WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has removed saccharin, a common artificial sweetener, and its salts from the agency's list of hazardous substances. Saccharin is no ...more

---

In what is believed to be the first controlled human study of the effects of salvinorin A, the active ingredient in Salvia divinorum, a controversial new hallucinogen featured widely on YouTube ...more

---

Researchers working with mice have discovered that by removing a protein from the region of the brain responsible for recalling fear, they can permanently delete traumatic memories. Their report on a ...more

---

Dr. James Bureman, pictured, has been selected by the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry for the Optometric Competence Committee and the Judicial Rules/Resolution Committee, according ...more

---

The bat population in the state of Missouri is not immune to white-nose syndrome that has killed more than a million bats in the Northeast since its discovery near Albany, NY about four years ago. ...more

---

ST. LOUIS - Several important elements of the Affordable Care Act go into effect on September 23, 2010, making it easier for many Missourians to access health insurance and care, according to a ...more

---

Vegetarian members of TOPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, the nonprofit weight-loss support organization, know that healthy, well-balanced meal planning is a ...more

---

Long-term exposure to a common stress hormone may leave a lasting mark on the genome and influence how genes that control mood and behavior are expressed, a mouse study led by Johns Hopkins ...more

---

The nursing staff of the Newton County Health Department is encouraging all area residents to get a seasonal influenza vaccination to protect against seasonal flu and the complications that accompany ...more

---

JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Coalition for the Environment (MCE) filed a federal lawsuit today (Aug. 4, 2010) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri aimed at cleaning up ...more

---

ST. LOUIS - The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) has received $2 million in federal matching funds to launch a new grant program, Strategic Innovation in Missouri (SIM). Grants through this ...more

---

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is launching a summer-long effort Monday to rid homes of mercury, with nearly 50 mercury drop-off locations throughout the state, including 11 in ...more

---

Recreational water sampling points - 2010 The Newton County Health Department recently received funding from the Environmental Resources Coalition and Missouri American Water in cooperation with ...more

---

Pay-for-performance reimbursement of surgeons, intended to reward doctors and hospitals for good patient outcomes, may instead be creating financial incentives for discriminating against obese ...more

---

Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have discovered the way in which red wine consumption may protect the brain from damage following a stroke. Two hours after feeding mice a single modest dose ...more

---

Accepting a proclamation from Missouri State Representative Charlie Denison is Mel Devries, founder of The Parkinson's Group of the Ozarks. Standing by is Patricia Auston, president of the ...more

---

A medical student and faculty directors from The Johns Hopkins University's Berman Institute of Bioethics analyzed depictions of bioethical issues and professionalism over a full season of two ...more

---

The Jasper County Health Department is currently investigating a cluster of gastrointestinal illnesses in the 64830 zip code area of Jasper County. The illnesses have been caused by the bacteria ...more

---

In a landmark study of more than 80,000 live kidney donors from across the United States, Johns Hopkins researchers have found the procedure carries very little medical risk and that, in the long ...more

---

Mosquitoes -- not birds as suspected -- may have a played a primary role in spreading West Nile virus westward across the United States, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins ...more

---

Wider adoption of the practice of recycling medical equipment -- including laparoscopic ports and durable cutting tools typically tossed out after a single use -- could save hospitals hundreds of ...more

---

Approximately 66 percent of respondents to a Maryland telephone survey do not have advance medical directives, according to a new report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of ...more

---

One-third of people over the age of 65 wait longer than necessary for lifesaving new kidneys because their doctors fail to put them in a queue for organs unsuitable to transplant in younger patients ...more

---

The expense or impracticality of attending workshops has been alleviated by the scheduling of workshops over the telephone or online. A webinar refers to a specific type of web conferencing that ...more

---

Christina Milar, pictured at left, area community outreach coordinator for Americare and this years chairperson for the Joplin Area Alzheimers Associations Memory Walk scheduled for fall 2010, has ...more

---

A bill to permit Missouri citizens with valid medical prescriptions to benefit from the use of marijuana without fear of criminal prosecution has been filed by Missouri Representative Kate Meiners ...more

---

Analyzing physicians' practice patterns may hold valuable clues about how to curb the nation's rising health care costs, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of ...more

---

Congressman Roy Blunt explains his position on health care to Gary Duncan, president/CEO of Freeman Health System, at left. Included in the discussion is Robert Dodson, a surgeon on the staff of St. ...more

---

H1N1 vaccinations are available at the Newton County Health Department for all area residents, regardless of age, medical condition or residency. Children, ages 9 or younger who require two doses of ...more

---

DID U TK YR MEDS? From a lethal distraction for drivers to dehumanizing personal interactions, text messaging has gotten a bum rap lately. But for doctors treating patients with chronic diseases, ...more

---

The Jasper and Newton Counties Community Health Collaborative (CHC) is in the process of conducting a new comprehensive community health assessment for the two-county area. The CHC conducts an ...more

---

Combat veterans, now equipped with better body armor and armored vehicles, are surviving injuries that were once fatal, but are often returning from war zones with brain injuries. For those who are ...more

---

Only a small proportion of food in the United States is irradiated. But according to Tammy Roberts, a nutrition and health education specialist with University of Missouri Extension, there is ...more

---

By John LaForge ... we know that doing 62 million scans every year for a population of 300 million is not just unnecessary and wasteful, but its dangerous. Its producing tens of thousands of ...more

---

by Diana R. Milne My dad recently celebrated his 90th birthday and our family hosted a party in his honor. Jokingly, I told Dad that on his 100th birthday wed celebrate by going to Hawaiiand that ...more

---

A grant of $10,000 has been awarded by the Helen S. Boylan Foundation to the Dental Hygiene Clinic at Missouri Southern State University to enable the group to be the first in the area to offer a ...more

---

Some of the terms used on food labels can create more questions than answers. "It is pretty serious when you have to walk in to a grocery store with an encyclopedia to understand the food labels," ...more

---

Preferred Family Healthcare (PFH) acquired the Scott Greening Center, also known as Youth Dependency Inc., and will take over operations effective October 1, 2009. The center located at 1315 East ...more

---

Mason Tvert, executive director of SAFER and co-author of the book, Marijuana is Safer takes the podium at Missouri Southern State University to promote his ideology. Photos by Vince ...more

---

"One part 'real life' advice, two parts healthy lifestyle, and a splash of initiative is all you need to find a slimmer, healthier you." That's the advice of Jerry Sorlucco, political figure and ...more

---

People who have been awakened by a sharp strong breathtaking pain in their big toe in the middle of the night know that gout is a very real condition. According to Tammy Roberts, a nutrition and ...more

---

The Newton County Health Department is advising the public to take precautions this year when swimming and recreating in area creeks and streams. Recent sampling data in Newton County confirms that ...more

---

Many people pull off ticks with their fingers and crush them with their finger nails, but do they take the time also to wash their hands afterwards? And this procedure for removing and killing ...more

---

People with a lot of belly fat are at a higher risk for health problems than people who carry fat in other areas according to Tammy Roberts, nutrition and health education specialist, University of ...more

---

The 2008 Kiss-A-Pig Event held November 8, 2008, at Twin Hills Country Club in Joplin raised over $30,000 for local programs and research for the American Diabetes Association, according to ...more

---

JEFFERSON CITY - The Ozark Center is one of 10 agencies that will take part in the Department of Mental Health's Help for the Home Front, a program that focuses on helping those who live with a ...more

---

Consider this significance of driving behind trucks transporting broiler chickens from farm to slaughterhouse: Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found evidence ...more

---

The Joplin City Health Department has announced that a contract to continue to provide WIC services for federal fiscal year 2009 has been signed with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior ...more

---

Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, is a chemical used to make plastic food and beverage containers, dental sealants and the resin lining in cans. The Food and Drug Administration has concluded that ...more

---

A young child arrives at the emergency room after several days of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea and is sent home with a diagnosis of viral gastritis and treatment for the symptoms. The child ...more

---

The Freeman McDonald County ambulance station in Jane, MO has been awarded a grant of $379,355 to help purchase two ambulances and emergency equipment. The grant was awarded by the US Department of ...more

---

Congress took a major step in the fight against Lou Gehrig's Disease recently when the House of Representatives passed the ALS Registry Act (S. 1382). The legislation sponsored by Senator Harry Reid ...more

---

A slew of caffeinated energy drinks now on the market should carry prominent labels that note caffeine doses and warn of potential health risks for consumers, according to Johns Hopkins scientists ...more

---

For the past two weeks, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has been investigating an outbreak of E. coli 0111 in northeastern Oklahoma. This outbreak has resulted in persons becoming ...more

---

ST. LOUIS The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC has announced that it is providing a $20,000 grant to the Community Clinic of Joplin to fund programs to combat chronic diseases that ...more

---

The Joplin Health Department is recommending that consumers and retailers follow the latest FDA guidelines concerning the consumption of certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes due to ...more

---

Missouri's walking and bicycling environment is "so poor that even simple, basic changes will create very noticeable improvement,"according to the Missouri Bicycle Federation in a report they issued ...more

---

Patients who could benefit from the legalization of marijuana for medical use in the state of Missouri and their supporters gathered in the Missouri state capitol today. Their purpose was to ask ...more

---

A program offering services to families affected by methamphetamine abuse in southwest Missouri has recently been launched by a Chicago-based private non-profit human service organization. Circle of ...more

---

A committee chaired by Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has been named to make recommendations by October 1, 2008 to Governor Matt Blunt and the General Assembly regarding the long care needs of ...more

---

Recent headlines about the so-called killer bug (MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and the difficulty of treating it with traditional antibiotics are raising alarms about the ...more

---

Did you know... breathing home indoor radon causes nearly one hundred times more deaths each year than carbon monoxide poisoning? radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer behind ...more

---

Poultry workers in the United States are 32 times more likely to carry E. coli bacteria resistant to the commonly used antibiotic, gentamicin, than others outside the poultry industry, according to a ...more

---

by Christian BasiNews Bureau, University of Missouri COLUMBIA, MO – Although society is accustomed to seeing Garfield-sized cats, obese, middle-aged cats can have a variety of problems ...more

---

Virtually every day more research is focusing on issues impacting senior citizens. One example is a recent study that suggests that seniors should keep their minds active as a key to good ...more

---

A study by an international team of cardiac imaging specialists, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins, concludes that sophisticated computed tomography (CT) scans of the heart and its surrounding ...more

---

by Gloria Linnertz November is not my favorite month. So many times in November my husband Joe and I had to put on our badges of courage and faith to make it through difficult situations. It was ...more

---

ST. LOUIS — Living with the HIV virus often does not stifle the maternal instinct in women, according to research conducted by Nancy Cibulka, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing at Maryville ...more

---

Katie Couric on a "60 Minutes" broadcast last month reported on the potentially dangerous diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children. At least one doctor at his clinic was prescribing off-label ...more

---

COLUMBIA, MO - A new knee-surgery device investigated by University of Missouri-Columbia researchers that will help to repair meniscus tears, which were previously defined as irreparable, has been ...more

---

Are you confused by the Medicare advertising you see on TV, mail you get in your mailbox, and telephone calls you might receive? Do you understand the difference between " Original Medicare" and ...more

---

Dolly, a sheep, made headlines when she was born without a father but rather the identical copy of another adult. Ian Wilmut and his colleagues at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland ...more

---

by Beverly Scroggins,Community Services DirectorThe VantAge Point Area Agency on Aging The Area Agency on Aging has received several calls recently from seniors who have been contacted by ...more

---

Baltimore - In a survey of more than one thousand infertility patients with frozen embryos, 60 percent of patients report that they are likely to donate their embryos to stem cell research, a level ...more

---

The transmission electron micrograph (magnified x 45,700) shows Ehrlichia chaffeensis in the cytoplasm of cells. Note: E. chaffeensis is enveloped by two layers of membranes and has tubular ...more

---

More than 26 million people worldwide were estimated to be living with Alzheimer's disease in 2006, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public ...more

---

by Bob KulpNewton County Health Administrator Neosho, MO – The recent case of a man with drug resistant tuberculosis who traveled internationally has many people wondering how safe Americans ...more

---

You may not be able to relive your youth, but part of your brain can. Johns Hopkins researchers have found that newly made nerves in an adult brain's learning center experience a one-month period ...more

---

Memorial Day is the perfect time to remember and practice summer protection against ticks and mosquitoes, according to a comments by Roger Brock, Newton County Health Department environmental ...more

---

Albert Midoux of Anderson, a leading voice in environmental protection matters, years ago had warned that the algae growth from agricultural waste and point source pollution had reached its limit. ...more

---

Hospitals do not charge every patient the same price for medical care. Uninsured patients and those who pay with their own funds are charged 2.5 times more for hospital care than those covered by ...more

---

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered to their surprise that two drugs commonly used for treatment might be beneficial in treating other more serious disorders. These researchers discovered ...more

---

A study of young adult rats by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health provides evidence that explains exactly how exposure to lead during brain development produces ...more

---

Gov. Matt Blunt in Springfield today called for $500,000 in state funds for the Show Me Healthy Women Program. The funds will expand the program to 1,225 more Missouri women, but at the expense of ...more

---

Johns Hopkins emergency medicine specialists have developed a tool to help hospitals prepare for disasters with the potential to overwhelm services, and they are providing the software for ...more

---

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 76 million Americans suffer from foodborne illness each year. Many of these illnesses can be prevented with safe food handling. ...more

---

Missouri and Kansas are now part of a $4 generic prescription program initially launched by the Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in Tampa, FL on September 26, 2006. The announcement by Wal-Mart includes ...more

---

Children afflicted with insect-bite rashes are often misdiagnosed or referred for extensive and costly tests, but a new, easy-to-remember set of guidelines developed at the Johns Hopkins Children's ...more

---

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have uncovered a surprising and novel way of lowering blood sugar levels in mice by manipulating the release of sugar by liver cells. The results, published in the June ...more

---

Doctors sat on a panel to discuss the issue of obesity in America during the Public Affairs Conference held at Missouri State University last week. While they all had different ideas, they could ...more

---

Dr. Allen Parmet associated with Midwest Occupational Medicine of Kansas City, MO gestures to his audience about the danger of exposure to the chemical diacetyl. (Photo by Vince Rosati) Students ...more

---

Physicians and patients often too lax about monitoring In a strongly worded review published in a recent edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the head of the Johns ...more

---

JEFFERSON CITY - State Fire Marshal Randy Cole warns Missourians of recently recalled products by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that could potentially be a fire hazard. "I urge any ...more

---

This poem commemorates the voters of Oklahoma in 2004 who by 53 percent to 47 percent increased the state cigarette tax by 80 cents to $1.03 per pack, as well as taxes on other tobacco products. The ...more

---

Government policies in Burma that restrict public health and humanitarian aid have created an environment where AIDS, drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria and bird flu (H5N1) are spreading unchecked, ...more

---

Drawing on lab experiments and computer studies, Johns Hopkins researchers have learned how a common protein delivers its warning message to cells when an infectious agent invades the body. The ...more

---

Guy Pollard's idea was just that, an idea, when he stepped into the office of Springfield SCORE. But Pollard's Pill tell™, an aid to helping people with the drugs they take, is now being ...more

---

New prescription drug plans for those qualified for Medicare will begin Jan. 1, 2006, but there is no automatic enrollment. According to Annette FitzGerald, family financial education specialist, ...more

---

An online petition calling for a Congressional investigation into the safety of fluoridation has been posted on the Fluoride Action Network website. Maureen Jones, the director of Citizens for ...more

---

What Missouri governor Matt Blunt calls "an effective tool" currently is available for Missourians who want to quit smoking and quit using other forms of tobacco. 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) ...more

---

St. Louis – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) is considering whether to exempt several streams from new water quality rules. Two streams are in Barton County. Under ...more

---

Seeking cures in Missouri Imagine your parent or grandparent is suffering from Parkinson’s disease or your child is stricken with diabetes. You helplessly watch the agonizing toll the ...more

---

Joplin - Southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt welcomed the addition of Joplin's first federally qualified health center (FQHC) to serve the needs of the area's low-income patients. "Federally ...more

---

When I first started having panic attacks, I naturally thought that something was physically wrong with me. I would have periodic moments where it felt like I could not catch my breath in a way that ...more

---