By ELLE MOXLEY

It’s a common problem for mail order pharmacies such as Overland Park-based OptumRX – patients will return prescription drugs, unopened.

“Let’s say when their physician changed their prescription, they forgot to to notify us that the original cycle of medications they were on needed to change,” says Tim Wicks, CEO of OptumRX.
Usually, those returned prescriptions end up in the trash.

But many OptumRX employees felt they were being wasteful when they had to destroy usable, hermetically sealed drugs. So they asked Kansas lawmakers to create an Unused Medication Donation Program so those drugs could be diverted to patients in need.

Since the law went into effect in 2009, OptumRX has donated medication with a wholesale value of more than $10 million to 38 clinics, including safety-net providers and federally qualified health centers.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback called the drug donation initiative an example of “corporate citizenry.”

“People need these products, and they’re expensive products. So here’s a way we can get $10 million worth of value in pharmaceutical products into the hands of Kansans at virtually no cost,” Brownback said.

In total, the program has brought in about $11.5 million in donated medication across the state.

Elle Moxley is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

DETROIT (AP) — Nissan and BMW are recalling more than 94,000 vehicles because the fuel pumps can fail and cause stalling.

The recalls cover 76,000 Nissan Rogues from the 2014 model year and another 18,000 BMW 2, 3 and 4 series models from 2014 and some 4 series cars from 2015.

Both automakers say in documents posted Friday by government safety regulators that improper nickel plating inside the pump can cause them to fail. That can cause engines to stall and increase the risk of a crash. Both companies used pumps made by the same supplier, Robert Bosch.

Nissan will notify owners in May and BMW will start in late April. Both will replace pumps for free.

The problem was discovered through complaints and warranty claims.

Neither manufacturer reported any crashes or injuries.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Plans for a new national education and training soccer center in Kansas City, Kansas, have scored a goal.

The city’s government on Thursday gave final approval for construction of the center, with plans for it to be the home base for U.S. Soccer and its national teams.

The Kansas City Star reports the $62 million center would be built on 174 acres near the home of Sporting Kansas City.

The center will be funded mostly by sales tax revenue bonds. It is expected to be completed sometime in 2017.

U.S. Soccer has already signed a 20-year lease to be the primary tenant of the center.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of another man at a Salina bar.

Saline County jurors on Thursday returned the verdict against Douglas Aldrich after his second trial for stabbing 36-year-old Jerry Bird in February 2003 outside the Red Kitten Bar.

Prosecutors said Bird told Aldrich to leave the bar after he became combative. Aldrich contended he stabbed Bird in self-defense.

Aldrich was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 51½ years in prison in 2003. That conviction was set aside in 2012 after complaints about his attorney’s effectiveness.

The Salina Journal reports under state sentencing guidelines, the new conviction is likely to cut decades off the time Aldrich will remain in prison.

Sentencing was set for April 24.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A former librarian has left the University of Kansas library a $1 million gift.

The university announced Thursday that Alexandra “Sandy” Mason left the estate gift to the Kansas Endowment from her retirement account. The money will establish the Ann Hyde Fellowship for Medieval and Early Modern British and European Manuscripts.

Mason was the Spencer Research Library’s first librarian, working from 1957 until 1999. She died in 2011. Hyde, Mason’s lifetime friend, was manuscripts librarian at Spencer before retiring in 2000. She died in 2014.

The university said Mason played a significant role in building the library’s collection. She received numerous professional awards for her work at Kansas and internationally.