Month: February 2020

Sen. Braun backing veterans home bill

Sen. Kevin Braun

State Sen. Kevin Braun, R-5th Dist., is backing a bill to establish a veterans home in northeast Kansas.

A study done by the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs in 2013 found a need in the northeast Kansas area for a veterans home, he said.

There are currently veterans homes in Dodge City, Kansas, and Winfield, Kansas, and the trend of the population is a move toward urban areas, he said.

The northeast Kansas area as defined by the bill would include Wyandotte, Douglas, Jefferson, Leavenworth and Shawnee counties, he said.

Currently, veterans can go to regular nursing homes and will be covered under VA services, and some may be covered by Medicaid. A home specifically for veterans would do a little better at making sure that veterans receive all of their veterans-related services, Sen. Braun believes.

The bill would require the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs office to submit an initial application to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for construction of a state veterans home facility in northeast Kansas. Funding would be through the veterans home construction grant program.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Braun into the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Braun is a member of the committee and is the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Subcommittee on Veterans. He was instrumental in establishing the subcommittee in 2019.

Sen. Braun served 32 years with two deployments in the Kansas Army National Guard. He stated there was some inaction in the past on the part of the House in establishing a veterans home for northeast Kansas.

Kansas has no novel coronavirus cases, according to KDHE

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued an update on Feb. 25 stating that Kansas has no COVID-19 cases and no persons under investigation for the novel coronavirus.

According to KDHE, a map of COVID-19 cases by Johns Hopkins University incorrectly identified 36 cases in Kansas.

The cases actually represent the cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship and were inaccurately placed in Kansas during the mapping process, the KDHE stated in its update. The KDHE is asking for a correction of the map.

The CDC stated on Feb. 25 that the risk is currently low for average residents of the United States. The COVID-19 virus started in China, where the most cases have been reported.

However, it is likely that there will be more cases identified in the United States during the coming days, according to the CDC. The CDC is working closely with different levels of government to respond to the public health threat. Some advice is being offered to local communities and health institutions to prepare for the possible spread of COVID-19. Some travel restrictions have been issued by the U.S. government to prevent the spread of the new virus.

For more information on the novel coronavirus in Kansas, visit http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus/index.htm.

For more information on the novel coronavirus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html.