By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service

WICHITA — Three years ago, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of hospitals’ efforts to encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies ranked Kansas 42st in the nation.

“We have a lot of room for improvement,” Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Robert Moser said Thursday, addressing a gathering of nearly 200 front-line physicians and nurses, public health officials nurses and health care advocates.
Thursday’s event, called the Kansas Health Summit on Breastfeeding, marked the start of a foundation-funded campaign aimed at improving the state’s breastfeeding rates, which, according to the CDC, are 40 percent at six months and 23 percent at 12 months after birth. Only 11 percent of the state’s mothers are thought to be breastfeeding “exclusively” after six months. All three percentages are below the national average.

“We’re here to build a blueprint for how to change the culture in Kansas so that more moms and babies have the opportunity to breastfeed,” said Virginia Elliott, vice president for programs at the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, a co-sponsor of the event with the Kansas Health Foundation, which is the primary funder of the Kansas Health Institute, the parent organization of KHI News Service.

“We know (breastfeeding) is the healthy choice, but it’s just not the easy choice in this culture,” Elliott said. “Our breastfeeding rates show the barriers that moms and families are facing.”

These barriers, Elliott, Moser and others said, include:

• a long-standing underestimation of the health benefits associated with breastfeeding.

• a shortage of readily available breastfeeding counselors.

• hospital maternity wards that adhere to outdated care regimens.

• health insurance policies that are overly restrictive.

• easy access to formula.

• formula companies’ marketing campaigns.

• reluctance to breastfeed in public.

• unfriendly work environments.

“We have a lot of industry in McPherson, and it can be difficult for mothers to step off a 12-hour shift (production) line to go pump” breast milk, said Dr. Alicia Chennell, who has delivered 23 babies since moving to McPherson in mid-July.

“The health benefits of breastfeeding are extraordinary for mom and for baby,” Chennell said. “(Breastfed) babies will have fewer infections, fewer incidents of diabetes, less asthma, less obesity … and for moms there’s less cancer and less diabetes. It also helps with maternal weight loss after delivery, which is always fantastic, and the bond that breastfeeding builds between mom and baby is pretty fantastic too.”

The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Todd Wolynn, a pediatrician and CEO at the National Breastfeeding Center in Pittsburgh, stressed the importance of helping business leaders recognize the economic benefits of breastfeeding. He noted that studies have shown that breastfeeding mothers are less likely to miss work due to having to stay home to care for a sick child.

“Dollars evoke change,” he said.

Wolynn also encouraged attendees to be ever-alert to formula companies’ marketing efforts. “I’m not here to demonize the industry,” he said. “But let’s remember: Every mother who isn’t breastfeeding is an industry client.”

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said the Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to cover breastfeeding supplies and access to counseling before and after delivery.

“The problem we have is that this is considered preventive care, but HHS hasn’t been very specific in defining what qualifies as preventive care,” she said “So the insurance companies may have polices that say where you have to buy – or rent – a breast pump, or tell you what brand, or require you to have a prescription. It’s not very standardized.”

During the morning’s question-and-answer sessions, three comments from audience members prompted brief applause. The comments called attention to:

• How KanCare companies’ policies undercut access to breastfeeding supports for low-income women.

• How OB/GYNs could – and should – do more to encourage breastfeeding.

• The success of a Wichita program geared toward young mothers who are still in high school.

Afterward, many in the audience toured the maternity unit at Wesley Medical Center, which is in the final stages of becoming the state’s first hospital to earn a “Baby Friendly” designation.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A group of Wyandotte County Democrats is supporting Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign.

Nearly two dozen people attended the announcement Friday at a new public library in Kansas City, Kansas.

Brownback is being challenged in his bid for a second term by Democrat Paul Davis, who has been endorsed more than 100 current and former Republican officials.

The pro-Brownback Democratic group is co-chaired by Nathan Barnes, a former commissioner of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Barnes said he’s “impressed” with the governor, and he praised Brownback’s support of small businesses.

Speaking at the event, Brownback said he has plans for urban opportunity zones to help high-poverty areas. He said governing is “not about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about making things better for the people.”

By KHI NEWS SERVICE

TOPEKA — Five Kansas organizations are among nearly 200 recipients of funding awards announced Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nearly $212 million in awards, supported in part by the Affordable Care Act, will be distributed to support programs to prevent and control chronic diseases, which are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Chronic diseases are responsible for seven of 10 deaths among Americans each year, and they account for more than 80 percent of the $2.7 trillion spent annually on medical care in the United States.

The Kansas organizations receiving funding are:

• The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department will receive $1.3 million over three years for work to improve nutrition, increase physical activity and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

Community Health Director Chris Tilden said the grant will enhance the work of LiveWell Lawrence, a coalition of more than 170 people working to improve the health of Douglas County residents.

“This is work that will be carried out through that partnership,” he said. “Without that strong coalition, we wouldn’t be able to do this work. They’ll be central to moving this forward.”

The coalition will focus on three projects: expanding Safe Routes to School, improving the local food system and combating the growing use of electronic cigarettes.

“The evidence suggests that’s there’s growing use of e-cigarettes among youth,” Tilden said. “In a college town with a very young population, we’re concerned about the potential negative impacts of e-cigarettes.”

• The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will receive more than $3.2 million to support community projects designed to prevent and control diabetes, heart disease, obesity and associated risk factors.

• KDHE also received $564,797 to enhance public health work.

• The University of Kansas Center for Research Inc. will receive $723,299 for projects related to racial and ethnic approaches to community health.

• The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas will receive $194,876 to support efforts to prevent heart disease, diabetes, stroke and associated risk factors.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Officials in Lawrence are investigating the theft of two days’ worth of mail addressed to the Municipal Court.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports reports the mail was taken Tuesday and Wednesday from a secure post office box in the downtown post office.

Municipal Court administrator Vicki Stanwix urged anyone who had sent mail to the court to call and determine if their mailings were received. People who sent checks for parking tickets, speeding violations and other fines are also encouraged to watch their bank accounts.

Lawrence police and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating how the mail was taken from the court’s secure box. Stanwix said postal officials are taking additional steps to secure the court’s mail.

GARDEN CITY- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 12:30 p.m. in Finney County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Chevy passenger vehicle driven by Diane K. Rose, 62, Garden City.

The vehicle was a trailer eastbound on Kansa156 seventeen miles east of Garden City. The trailer started swerving causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. It came to rest in the ditch.

A passenger in the vehicle Betty Jane Thomas, 82, Topeka was transported to St. Catherine’s Hospital. Rose was not injured.

The KHP reported they were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City woman has been awarded $250,000 in damages after a metro radio station falsely identified her as a porn star, and there was a chance she could get more.

The Kansas City Star reports Ashley Patton of Olathe, Kansas, sued the owner of 96.5 The Buzz radio station after one of its DJs identified her on an April 2012 morning show as a porn star.

She was added to a list of names the station posted on its website, which also had a link to the podcast of the show.

Both sides agreed that Patton was not and never had been involved in the pornography industry.

The federal jury that awarded her damages was deliberating Friday afternoon on how much to assess in punitive damages.