Josh Conaway

The Alzheimer’s Association released its annual Alzheimer’s disease Facts and Figures report on March 2. According to the report, the number of people with Alzheimer’s in the United States is 6.2 million, with 120,000 living in Missouri. The report emphasized a growing burden on healthcare systems from Alzheimer’s patients.

 The report estimates the care of those patients cost taxpayers $973 million in Missouri last year. The organization also found COVID-19 caused more dementia related deaths in 2020.

Drury University is offering a scholarship to members of law enforcement who are pursuing a degree through the school’s evening and online program.

The Howell County Health Department, City of West Plains, and the Missouri National Guard will hold a mass vaccination Friday, February 26 from 7:30 AM to 4 PM for those who received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on January 29th. The clinic will be held at the West Plains Civic Center. There are designated times of arrival depending on last name. For example, those with last names A through C are asked to show up between 7:30 AM and 9 AM. Visitors are asked to bring their vaccination cards.

On March 11, the city of Springfield and author Peter Kageyama will host a virtual meeting to discuss strategies to engage with local communities in the wake of COVID-19.

The meeting, held over Zoom, is called “The Emotional Infrastructure of Places: Engaging Our Community following the Pandemic.”

Kageyama is the author of the books “For the Love of Cities,” and its follow-up “Love Where You Live.”

A longtime fixture of Springfield’s downtown area, Patton Alley Pub, will be closing its doors permanently this year.

A national group that represents nursing homes says many are struggling to stay above water financially due to the pandemic.

CoxHealth is offering a treatment to help people with food allergies build a tolerance to those foods.

Some people with allergies to peanuts may soon be able to enjoy classic snacks previously off limits to them, like PB & J and Ants on a Log, thanks to CoxHealth’s new oral immunotherapy treatment. 

Michelle Dickens, nurse practitioner in Cox’s allergy department, says the treatment works by “microdosing” the allergen multiple times a day to get a patient’s body used to it. 

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks will make $1.75 million in scholarships for college and trade school available to students starting February 1, when the scholarship applications open.

Nearly 1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students across central and southern Missouri, through 450 different scholarship funds. The scholarships are for the 2021-2022 academic year. The Community Foundation of the Ozarks says scholarships amounts vary from $650 to $6,000, and many scholarships can be renewed for up to three years. 

A new report on Missouri’s nursing workforce in 2020 shows rural areas still lag considerably behind urban areas in how many nurses are available.

The report, put together by the University of Missouri and the state’s nursing board, found that while metropolitan areas have an average of 156 nurses per 10,000 residents, in rural areas that number drops to about half that--just 77 nurses per 10,000 residents.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced Thursday the state is moving on to Phase 1B of the vaccine rollout, which includes first responders, residents 65 or older, and people with certain medical conditions.  But KSMU has learned that there are still some nursing homes in Greene County that have not yet received the vaccine — and long term care facilities were in the top priority category, Phase 1A.

While the coronavirus ground many services to a halt in Missouri, some jobs couldn’t stop. One of those jobs is looking after inmates in jails and prisons.

Jake Bass-Barber has worked as a detention officer in Greene County for the past two years. As part of his job he does security rounds around the jail every 30 minutes, and lets out inmates for recreational time three times a day. He serves meals in the housing units.