Homicide victim identified

The victim of a homicide Aug. 24 in the 3600 block of Oakland Avenue has been identified.

Davion Lyman, 18, a resident of Kansas City, Kan., was the victim, police said.

The incident is under investigation by the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department’s major case unit. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

Local residents participate in Bacon Fest benefit

Matt Hall with Sassy Pantry participated in the Bacon Fest this past weekend at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by William Crum)
Matt Hall with Sassy Pantry participated in the Bacon Fest this past weekend at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by William Crum)

by William Crum

Wyandotte County people participated in the Bacon Fest, a benefit for the Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City, this past weekend.

The Rehabilitation Institute offers a broad range of medical programs to help with physical, developmental and cognitive disabilities. Their services are wide ranging. An example of the institute’s services is a program that teaches people with disabilities to drive. Another program the institute offers is for people who have lost an arm or a leg.

One of the participants at the Bacon Fest was the Sassy Pantry. At this event they gave out samples of their bacon jams and jellies. This company is based in Wyandotte County.

One of the other companies is Assurant employee benefits, which is an insurance company that has offices in Kansas City Mo. This company encourages its employees to get involved in the local community. A lot of the employees from Assurant volunteer their time in Wyandotte County. Their booth was called “Kiss the Pig.” It allowed people attending the event to sit down and have their photo taken next to a picture of a pig.

While there this past weekend, a young lady who has a disease that causes tumors came up to get her picture taken.
To learn more about the Rehabilitation Institute of Kansas City, go to the website www.rehabkc.org or call at 816-751-7700.

Kay Findley with Sassy Pantry participated in the Bacon Fest benefit this past weekend at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by William Crum)
Kay Findley with Sassy Pantry participated in the Bacon Fest benefit this past weekend at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by William Crum)

HCF announces more than $345,000 for insurance marketplace outreach

by KHI News Service

The Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City announced it will award more than $345,000 for outreach, education and enrollment efforts for the next health insurance marketplace open enrollment period, which begins Nov. 15.

Five organizations will use the funding to provide enrollment counselors, increase collaboration and recruit additional enrollment partners in the Kansas City area. The funding also will support health insurance literacy efforts.

Grantees, funding amounts and their programs:

Enroll Wyandotte, $99,900
Focuses on performing community marketplace outreach, engaging faith communities, training nonprofit staff/volunteers, and building health insurance literacy.

Cover Missouri, $30,000
Regularly convenes Missouri-based application counselors and navigators for shared learning, creates materials for distribution, and builds awareness through social and earned media.

Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved, $48,620
Partners with federally qualified health centers and other safety net clinics in Kansas to provide training and technology for in-person enrollment assistance.

Mid-America Regional Council, $60,500
Convenes marketplace stakeholders throughout the KC-area for regular updates and planning.

United Way of Greater Kansas City, $106,025
Operates the 2-1-1 comprehensive information and referral line and connects consumers with available services. United Way communications will be used to promote awareness of the marketplace

During the first enrollment period that ended in March 2014, 152,335 Missourians and 57,013 Kansans signed up for health insurance through the marketplace.

“Uninsurance is associated with many negative health outcomes, including forgoing or delaying necessary medical care,” said Dr. Bridget McCandless, president and chief executive of the foundation. “Encouraging enrollment in available health insurance options holds the promise of leveraging federal subsidies to achieve affordable coverage for HCF’s target population.”

United Way 2-1-1 and coverkc.org will serve as the central information hub for Kansas Citians looking for information and resources regarding the health insurance marketplace.

“We learned this past year that the enrollment infrastructure in Kansas City was not adequate to handle the high volume of in-person enrollment requests that occurred during the final weeks of the first open enrollment period,” said Jessica Hembree, the foundation’s program and policy officer. “Focus groups with area enrollment counselors also demonstrated that collaboration and learning between outreach and enrollment stakeholders will be crucial to increased efficacy in the coming enrollment period.”

The KHI News Service is an editorially independent initiative of the Kansas Health Institute. It is supported in part by a variety of underwriters. The News Service is committed to timely, objective and in-depth coverage of health issues and the policy-making environment. More about the News Service is at khi.org/newsservice or contact at 785-233-5443.
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