Rebecca Smith

Judy Baker is the Democratic candidate for the 19th district state senate seat. She is running against Republican Incumbent Caleb Rowden. She recently sat down with KBIA’s Noah Zahn to talk about some of her health policy goals in an election special from Missouri Health Talks.

Baker’s opponent, Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, did not respond to our request for an interview by airtime.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Mathew Gass and Matt Lemon both work at Burrell Behavioral Health. Mathew Gass is the President of the Central Region, which includes Columbia, and Matt Lemon is the Director of Communications for the entire Burrell system – based in Springfield.

They spoke about some of the mental health impacts the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has already had on Missourians, and about the long-term community-wide mental health impacts the pandemic is likely to leave in its wake.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Each year in Missouri, thousands of people are held in jails, many of them before being convicted of any crime, simply because they cannot afford the cost of their bail.

To combat this problem, one local group is working on a short-term solution to this problem with a Community Bail Fund – despite the additional complications of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Casey Hanson is the Director of Outreach and Engagement for Kids Win Missouri, a statewide coalition of childcare providers and advocacy groups. She's been speaking with lots of childcare providers during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and says that many are struggling.

She spoke about the impact the pandemic is having on the well-being of providers and about some of the possible long-term impacts on kids’ development if childcare providers have to close their doors. 

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Jabar is an inmate at Jefferson City Correctional Center. He’s been in prison for 25 years, after being sentenced to death row at 17. He is one of the youngest Missourians ever to be put on death row. Then after a retrial at age 19, he was sentenced to life without parole.

Jabar maintains his innocence, has written numerous books for children, as well as adults, based on his life growing up in St. Louis and his time in prison, and because of a law passed back in 2016, he has the chance to apply for parole as soon as this month.

This law allows people sentenced to life without parole prior to August 2016, for a crime they committed before they turned 18, to apply for a parole hearing after serving 25 years.

He spoke with me about how being in prison from such a young age has changed him, and about what keeps him going.

As a note, Jabar is a nickname.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

A return to pre-pandemic childcare subsidy reimbursements has some Missouri childcare providers feeling left in the lurch.

The Columba Public School Board voted 6 -1 Monday night to begin the school year entirely online – a change from the intended in-person/hybrid plan introduced just a few weeks ago.

There’s a lot to learn when we sit down and share with folks from other generations – whether it’s sitting down with you child, your parent, a grandparent or a family friend. So, we here at KBIA decided to explore some of these intergenerational relationships through conversation.

Local Black Lives Matter organizer, Christopher Watkins Jr., recently sat down with his 13-year-old daughter, Jordyn Cole, to talk about the racism and prejudice they have experienced in Columbia schools.

Amie VanMorlan is a mother of two, a pediatric endocrinologist and the incoming President of the Columbia SEPTA or Special Education PTA.

She sat down with me to talk about some of the concerns parents and educators have about the return to school this fall for kids with disabilities – including her own son, Damien.

There’s a lot to learn when we sit down and share with folks from other generations – whether it’s sitting down with you child, your parent, a grandparent or a family friend. So, we here at KBIA decided to explore some of these intergenerational relationships through conversation.

Local Black Lives Matter organizer, Christopher Watkins Jr., recently sat down with his 13-year-old daughter, Jordyn Cole, to speak about what it was like to grow up Black in Columbia.

Missouri has entered its sixth month of navigating the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and for dozens of health departments across the state, CARES Act funding has been slow to arrive.

That means crucial public-health positions like contact tracers and case investigators have been left unfilled. So, Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services has found one creative stop-gap – Masters in Public Health student volunteers.

Lynelle Phillips and Scott Clardy both work with Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services. Scott is the Assistant Director and Lynelle is a professor at the University of Missouri who leads a team of contact investigator volunteers.

They spoke about the bad rap that college age students get when it comes to testing positive for COVID-19 and about some of the ways college students can help keep themselves and their community – safe. 

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Amie VanMorlan lives and works in Columbia. She’s the incoming President of the local SEPTA, or special education PTA, a pediatric endocrinologist and the mom of Sagan and Damien.

Sagan is an upcoming senior, and Damien is an almost 7th grader who has Fragile X syndrome. This condition can lead to intellectual disabilities and autism, and is the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability.

Amie spoke about some of the ways Damien and rest of the family are adjusting to the world of COVID-19.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Many things have changed for dental practices since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic – starting with several months of closures dealing with only oral health emergencies. Now, dentists are having to figure out how to preserve PPE, or personal protective equipment, enforce social distancing and minimize the risk of disease spread as they reopen their practices.

And while these are serious challenges, some practitioners and oral health advocates are encouraged at a possible positive outcome of the ongoing pandemic – the increased interest in and implementation of teledentistry.

Carlos Wade is an inmate at the Southeast Correctional Center in the Bootheel, and is currently working in the facility’s medical unit to keep things sanitized and, ideally, help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Southeast Correctional Center recently had an outbreak of COVID-19 cases – where 47 inmates and 20 staff members tested positive, so Carlos called me to talk about what life is like in prison during the ongoing pandemic and about some of his concerns.

According to the Department of Corrections, since the initial sentinel, or facility-wide testing was done, all but one inmate and three staff members have recovered from COVID-19.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Verna Laboy and Dee Campbell-Carter have both lived in Columbia for many years and work with the Live Well by Faith program through Columbia/Boone County Public Health & Human Services, a community-based program that targets chronic health conditions, like hypertension and diabetes, in Black churches.

Verna is the health educator and leader of the program, and Dee is a lifestyle coach. They shared – as Black mothers and grandmothers – just a few of their experiences with systematic racism throughout their lives, and they spoke about how racism is a trauma for everyone.

Dr. Mack Taylor lives and works in the Bootheel. He’s the Chief Dental Officer for the SEMO Health Network and the provider at the Bernie dental clinic.

He spoke about the “new normal” of dental practice during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and how new safety precautions are impacting the care available to patients.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Dr. Opeoluwa Sotonwa is the executive director of the Missouri Commission for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing in Jefferson City.

He spoke about the importance of accessible communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Missourians and about some recent advances – like the availability of clear masks and American Sign Language interpreters at Governor Mike Parson’s COVID-19 briefings – and how those have impacted the lives and well-being of all Missourians during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Sunday's protest at Boone County Courthouse marked a month of continuing Black Lives Matter marches in Columbia, spurred by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Verna Laboy is a health educator for Columbia/Boone County Public Health & Human Services, and runs the Live Well by Faith program, a community-based health program that targets chronic health conditions through black churches. 

The program supports health ministries at 17 black churches in the area by providing health programming, training and resources for people in the congregation, and leaders within each church help run programming and do data collection.

She spoke with Dee Campbell-Carter, a lifestyle coach for the program, about just a few of the ways the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is impacting the black community here in Columbia – and how they’re supporting one another.

Missouri Health Talks gathers Missourians’ stories of access to healthcare in their own words. You can view more conversations at missourihealthtalks.org. 

Hundreds gathered in Downtown Columbia this weekend for several demonstrations protesting police violence after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. 

Tashel Bordere is a specialist in youth development with the University of Missouri’s Department of Human Development and Family Science. She researches grief and loss in African-American youth.

She spoke with host Janet Saidi about cumulative loss and its impact on marginalized communities during the on-going coronavirus pandemic, as well as the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police.

This is an excerpt from KBIA’s daily talk show, the Check-In with Janet Saidi, on Wednesday, June 3. You can hear the full show – here.

Protestors walked the streets of Columbia Monday night, as part of the ongoing nationwide response to the killing of George Floyd while in custody of the Minneapolis police.

The Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing announced today that they’re making clear, accessible masks available to Missourians.

These accessible masks have clear fronts, which allow people to clearly see an individual’s mouth while they speak. This aspect of communication is critical for those who read lips and an integral part of effective communication for those who speak American Sign Language.

Many routine medical procedures have been postponed or rescheduled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but there is one common medical condition that cannot be put off so easily – pregnancy.

So, hospitals in Mid-Missouri have had to determine the best ways to keep moms, babies and staff safe, as well as reduce anxiety for expectant mothers.

Today, new guidance was announced for a wider reopening of businesses and activity in Columbia and Boone County.

According to the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, there have been 108 positive COVID-19 cases in the area, with nine being active and one person hospitalized.