Rebecca Smith
Health ReporterRebecca Smith is an award-winning reporter and producer for the KBIA Health & Wealth Desk. Born and raised outside of Rolla, Missouri, she has a passion for diving into often overlooked issues that affect the rural populations of her state – especially stories that broaden people’s perception of “rural” life. She created a conversations-based journalism project, Missouri Health Talks, in 2016 that empowers people throughout the state to share their stories of access to healthcare – in their own words.
She has degrees in both Journalism and Chemistry from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, and often says health reporting is the perfect marriage of individual’s stories and reporting on science.
You can reach her at smithbecky@missouri.edu or 573-882-4824.
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Earlier this year, the American Heart Association updated its guidelines for cholesterol testing to include screening for lipoprotein(a) at least once in an adult’s life. -
For the past several days, parts of Missouri have been under an extreme heat warning with high temperatures and heat indexes well above 100 degrees. -
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Registered Dietician Merri Leach and Social Worker Sarah Spoonemore work together at the Mosaic Medical Center in St. Joseph. They spoke about the importance of wraparound care for cancer patients, and focusing on a patient’s mental health, social wellbeing, financial stability, nutrition and more. -
Local advocates want to use new, hyperlocal data about Columbia’s homeless population to advocate for policy changes. They say the data confirms what they were already hearing. -
On this month’s Socially Transmitted, KBIA's Najifa Farhat and Rebecca Smith look at nicotine-free vapes, which allow people to inhale other substances, such as ginseng, melatonin and caffeine. -
A sting from an Asian needle ant can cause anaphylaxis. -
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Dr. Tyler Severance is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at University of Missouri Healthcare, which means he works with kids who have blood and cancer disorders. He spoke about some of the short and long-term impacts cancer treatment can have on kids -
Earlier this year, the Food & Drug Administration removed the “black box” — a warning signaling significant side effects — from hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, for the treatment of menopause. This came after years of research demonstrating the safety of the treatment. Now, women are talking more about their experiences and their treatment options, which could have significant impacts on their health — and the US economy.
