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Former CEO of acclaimed Menninger Clinic to speak at Larned State Hospital conference

(Click to enlarge)

KDADS

LARNED – Larned State Hospital (LSH) will host “Frontiers in Mental Health,” its 14th annual mental health conference August 7-9, 2017, in the Larned Community Center, Larned State Hospital Superintendent Bill Rein announced today.

Bill Rein, Larned State Hospital superintendent

“This annual conference has become one of the premier behavioral health events in Kansas. We conduct this conference annually to aid the professional development of those working in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work and corrections, but it is open to anyone with an interest in mental health,” Superintendent Rein said.

LSH is the largest psychiatric facility in the state serving the western two-thirds of Kansas with nearly 1,000 employees and the capacity to treat more than 450 patients. The hospital is accredited by The Joint Commission (TJC) and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) is responsible for administrative oversight of the hospital.

“Larned State Hospital has put together an outstanding lineup of speakers and timely, relevant topics. This conference will enhance the knowledge and treatment skills of all who attend, and help them to better care for the people we serve,” KDADS Secretary Tim Keck said.

For more information and to enroll in the conference, please see: https://kdads.ks.gov/Frontiers-Mental-Health-Conference.

Topics to be addressed in-depth at the conference include:

· “The Relationship of the Post-Psychotic Adjustment Process to Recovery”
· “Healing Wounded Persons – A Psychiatric Perspective”
· “Best Practices in the Evaluation of Adjudicative Competence”
· “The Interrelatedness of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders”
· “Effectively Incorporating Daily Risk Management and Ethical Reasoning in Behavioral Health Settings”

Featured speakers at the conference will be:

· Dr. Walt Menninger

· Dr. Mary D. Moller, DNP, ARNP, PMHCNS-BC, CPRP, FAAI, an internationally known psychiatric mental health nurse clinician, researcher, educator and presenter. She is an advanced registered nurse practitioner who is dually certified as a clinical specialist in adult psychiatric mental health nursing and a psychiatric rehabilitation practitioner. She is an Associate Professor at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA where she is coordinator of the psychiatric nurse practitioner Doctor of Nursing Practice program. She teaches psychopharmacology, psychopathology, group therapy, 1:1 psychotherapy, mental health assessment and advanced practice nursing including legislative activity related to independent practice.

· Dr. Patricia Zapf, who obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Forensic psychology from Simon Fraser University in Canada and currently holds the position of Professor in the Department of Psychology and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, and is Director for CONCEPT Professional Training. She is the editor of the American Psychology-Law Society book series; associate editor of Law and Human Be­havior; and is on the Editorial Boards for five journals in psychology and law. Dr. Zapf is on the board of directors for the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services and has served as president of the American Psychology-Law Society. The author of nine books and man­uals and more than 100 articles and chapters, mainly on the forensic evaluation and the conceptualization of criminal competencies, Dr. Zapf was appointed Fellow of the American Psychological Association and Distinguished Member of American Psychology-Law Society in 2006 for outstanding contributions to the field of psychology and law for her work in competency evaluation. She has conducted more than 2,500 forensic evaluations in both the United States and Canada and has served as an expert witness in a number of prominent criminal cases.

· Steve Denny, LSCSW, LCAC, has worked professionally in the field of behavioral health since 2002 and been employed by Four County Mental Health Center in Independence, Kansas since 2005 specializing in treating individuals with substance use disorder. He currently serves as director of clinical services, which includes general outpatient services, crisis services and substance abuse services. He has supervised special projects serving targeted populations in geriatric mental health, early childhood mental health services, at-risk dual diagnosis populations and served on multiple community and state organizations. His presentation will focus on the interrelated complexities of substance use disorders and mental health disorders. The co-occurring “lens” will be presented as a useful framework for risk assessment and diagnostic evaluation. The goal of his presentation is to increase knowledge and skills in treatment planning, intervention, and discharge planning.

· Dr. David Barnum, Ph.D., Diplomate of the National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists, completed his doctoral training in clinical psychology with a specialization in health psychology at The University of Kansas. After his internship at Temple University Health Sciences, he began a 20-year career in community mental health, with particular emphasis in establishing and expanding clinical training programs as a means for developing professional staff in rural and under-served areas. Currently, he is the Clinical Director and Director of Clinical Training at Larned State Hospital as well as a co-owner of The Family Therapy Institute Midwest. He has served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Kansas and Benedictine College. Dr. Barnum has been an ambassador for the National Health Service Corps, is a past-president of the Kansas Psychological Association and served on the Continuing Education Committee of the American Psychological Association. He is a frequent presenter at local, national and international conferences on topics including diagnosis, ethics, risk management, clinical training and supervision, family psychology, autism spectrum disorders, treating family injustice, elements of effective psychological treatment and Ericksonian approaches to treatment, among others. He has published work in the treatment of children affected by abuse and foster care health psychology. He is currently co-chair of the Hospital Ethics Committee at Larned State Hospital.

NW Kan. students earn distinction at Wichita State University

WICHITA — Wichita State University has announced the names of more than 2,700 students who were on the WSU dean’s honor roll for spring 2017.

To be included on the dean’s honor roll, a student must be enrolled full time (at least 12 credit hours) and earn at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

WSU enrolls about 14,500 students and offers more than 50 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in six undergraduate colleges.

The following northwest Kansas students earned a spot on the dean’s honor roll:

Dorrance
Chad M. Zeek

Goodland
Tanya R. Weiss

Hays
Paige K. Coffman
Sara R. Schoenthaler
Sarah E. Wiesner

Hoxie
Sydney P. Dingler

Sharon Springs
Tyne J. Allaman
Hallie M. Kuhlman

Victoria
Brooke A. Schmidt

WaKeeney
Cade A. Papes

Sunny, hot Sunday

Today
Sunny, with a high near 97. South southwest wind 6 to 14 mph.

Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 70. South wind 9 to 14 mph.

Monday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. South southwest wind 8 to 10 mph.

Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 73. South southeast wind 11 to 13 mph.

Tuesday
Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. South southwest wind 10 to 17 mph.

Tuesday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Wednesday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 99.

Wednesday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.

Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 97.

KHI: Analysis of the U.S. Senate health bill; potential impact in Kansas

KHI

TOPEKA–Kansas Health Institute has developed an issue brief describing the main elements of the U.S. Senate’s proposed legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a bill entitled the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that compared to current law, the BCRA will result in 22 million more uninsured Americans and will also reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion by 2026. These impacts are primarily the result of ending enhanced federal funding for Medicaid expansion, reducing premium tax credits, eliminating cost-sharing subsidies, and enforcing slower growth in future Medicaid spending.

The brief highlights how the BCRA differs from current law and from the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA) and discusses elements of the BCRA that would affect Kansans, including:

  • Repealing both the individual and employer mandates for insurance coverage;
  • Requiring a six-month waiting period for individuals who experience a gap in coverage;
  • Making premium subsidies unavailable to individuals who have access to any employer-sponsored insurance and less generous for some who remain eligible, and ending cost-sharing subsidies after two years;
  • Allowing states to use Section 1332 waivers to waive essential health benefits requirements and other provisions that could affect individuals with pre-existing conditions;
  • Phasing out enhanced federal funding for Medicaid expansion, but proposing to address the “coverage gap” by allowing more low-income people to use tax credits to pay for premiums; and
  • Fundamentally changing how Medicaid is financed by creating hard caps on federal funding.

KHI also has prepared a memo in response to questions about how Medicaid per capita caps proposed in the AHCA and BCRA might affect Kansas.

The analysis shows that if the AHCA version of the caps had been in place in 2015 and 2016, Kansas would have needed to return $79 million in federal funds. The BCRA uses a different Medicaid growth rate than the AHCA to calculate spending targets starting in 2025, and the analysis shows that if that rate had been in place in 2015 and 2016, Kansas would have needed to return $211 million in federal funds.

The Kansas Health Institute delivers credible information and research enabling policy leaders to make informed health policy decisions that enhance their effectiveness as champions for a healthier Kansas. The Kansas Health Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy and research organization based in Topeka, established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation.

New Hickok’s Steakhouse to open July 24 on Vine

By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

A new steakhouse with a Wild West theme will open on Vine Street at the end of July.

Hickok’s Steakhouse will be in the remodeled space that last housed Peter Mandy’s restaurant at 3402 Vine. It is set to open July 24.

The restaurant will serve steaks, seafood and fresh sides paired with more than 120 offerings of beer from around the country and a wall of hand-picked wines.

Operating partner Daman Hoar said his vision for the restaurant is efficient service with quality, fresh-made dishes.

Hoar has spent his entire career in food service, working in steakhouses and in fine dining in the Harris Casino system.

Operating partner Daman Hoar shows a chiller that will be used in Hickok’s Steakhouse.

Hickok’s will offer steaks, including ribeyes, sirloins, porterhouses and bison, if the demand is there.

“You may pay more for it,” he said, “but it has to be good.”

The restaurant’s grill has a smoking tray. Hoar would like to source fruit woods for the smoker for what he contends is a milder smoke than the traditional hickory.

The restaurant also has a small-batch smoker. Hoar would like to try sarsaparilla-smoked chicken.

“It’s fantastic,” he said.

Hickok’s will have the ability to grind its own hamburger and cut its own steaks as well as custom bread appetizers and chicken fried steaks and chicken.

This butcher block will be used by kitchen staff to cut the restaurant’s steaks and meats.

A cheese melter will allow Hickok’s to serve dishes, such as poutine, a Canadian dish made with gravy and cheese curds.

Hoar is a fan of seafood and expects to offer a weekly seafood special, which could include salmon, scallops, shrimp, halibut or sea bass.

Grilled oysters are a favorite Hoar picked up while working in Louisiana, and he hopes to offer them at Hickok’s as well.

The restaurant is equipped with a commercial steamer so it can offer lobster tails as an entrée or with a steak along with king crab legs.

Other offerings could include duck breast and veal. Sides could include creamed spinach, brussels sprouts, lobster mac and cheese, freshly baked bread, and hot one-pound potatoes.

The restaurant plans to source locally when able, including local pork and flour from locally sourced wheat.

The interior of the building is undergoing a complete renovation, using materials that harken back to Hays’ western heritage. The restaurant is working with the Ellis County Historical Society in attempts to reproduce some local historical photos for the restaurant.

Work is still being completed on this banquet room. This wall will soon be covered in reclaimed barn wood from rural Kansas.

Reclaimed barn wood from a granary in rural Kansas is being used on several walls of the restaurant.

The windows on the west side of the building were closed off to create ambiance and add privacy in the main dining hall, which will seat 40 and be available for private parties.

“We wanted to create an atmosphere you would want to eat in,” he said.

The restaurant will seat a total of 110 with both booths and tables. Hoar hopes to eventually add outdoor patio seating, which could provide seating for an additional 50 diners.

The wall dividing the kitchen from the dining area will include wine racks from which diners can hand-pick their bottles.

Some wine selections will be offered by the glass. Bar selections will also be offered. Selections will be dependent on customer demand.

The restaurant hopes to offer about 120 selections of bottled beer, which will be stored in these coolers.

Hoar said he wants to be a good neighbor to the residents and other businesses in Hays.

“We want to be another option,” he said.

The restaurant has a fairly large kitchen for the size of its seating area, and Hoar said he would ultimately like to add a to-go area in the rear of the building where diners could pickup family style meals.

Hoar anticipates the restaurant will employ about 40 people. The business is taking applications now and will begin hiring in earnest beginning the week of July 17.

The exterior of Hickock’s Steakhouse on Vine Street in Hays.

Going strong after 225 years: Our love-hate relationship with the First Amendment

Lata Nott

Common practice for liberals and conservatives now is to take turns calling each other enemies of the First Amendment. The results of this year’s “State of the First Amendment” survey gave us the opportunity to consider these insults — and after the numbers are crunched, who is the real enemy of the First Amendment?

Well, no one. And, everyone.

Most of our fellow citizens, regardless of their political ideology, are quite fond of the First Amendment, at least in the abstract. The people who think that the First Amendment goes too far are a minority — 22.5 percent of us. A majority of Americans (67.7 percent) thinks that the press plays an important role as a watchdog on government; a slightly narrower majority (58.8 percent) thinks that freedom of religion should extend to all religious groups, even those widely considered extreme or fringe.

That’s the good news: Even in a time of great political turmoil, we’re generally supportive of the First Amendment’s protections.

The bad news: When it comes down to specific applications of the First Amendment, we’re less positive, and also deeply divided along ideological lines. Both liberals and conservatives have certain pain points where they balk at the amount of protection that the First Amendment provides.

Liberals are more likely than conservatives to think:
Colleges should be able to ban speakers with controversial views.
People should not be able to express racist comments on social media.
Meanwhile, conservatives are more likely than liberals to think:
Government officials who leak information to the press should be prosecuted.
Journalists should not be able to publish information obtained illegally, even if it serves the public interest.
Government should be able to determine which media outlets can attend briefings.
Government should be able to hold Muslims to a higher standard of scrutiny.
Worth noting: Some of these differences in attitude may not be a direct result of whether you’re a liberal or a conservative; instead, they might be circumstantial. Do more liberals support press freedoms because that’s a core value of liberal ideology — or because the press is a watchdog on the government, which liberals don’t currently control?

Do more conservatives think that colleges shouldn’t be able to ban speakers because of a greater commitment to free speech — or because most banned speakers, at least in recent years, have tended to be conservative? It will be interesting to see in subsequent years if attitudes change as circumstances change.

One thing that unites the majority of Americans right now: Most of us, liberals and conservatives, prefer to read or listen to news that aligns with our own views.

That’s true even if you think that the news media reports with a bias, as most Americans do (56.8 percent). Apparently, we’re not inclined to correct that bias by taking in multiple and varied news sources. Instead, we’re more likely to double down on the news that fits in with our pre-existing ideological perspectives.

This finding is both obvious and disheartening: Everyone likes reading and hearing news that confirms what they already believed. That’s one of the factors that keep us so divided.

Lata Nott is executive director of the First Amendment Center of the Newseum Institute. Contact her via email at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @LataNott.

1 dead, 3 hospitalized after Kansas motorcycle accident

JEFFERSON COUNTY – One person died and three other were injured in an accident just before 4p.m. Saturday in Jefferson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Harley Davidson driven by Timmy E. Elling, 59, Kansas City, was westbound on Kansas 92 two miles east of Ozawkie.

The motorcycle rear-ended a 2015 Harley Davidson driven by Donald P. Shalz, 61, Kansas City, and slid into the ditch on the westbound side of the highway.

Elling, Shalz, a passenger on the 2014 Harley Debra L. Elling, 57, Kansas City, and a passenger on the 2015 Harley Cindy K. Shalz, 62, Kansas City, were transported to Stormont Vail.

Debra Elling died from her injuries. All four were wearing helmets.

Sentencing set for Kansas teen convicted of setting fatal fire

Sam Vanochen in court during his August 2016 murder trial- pool photo Hutch News

RENO COUNTY – A sentencing date is finally scheduled for a Kansas teen convicted of setting the fire at his home that killed his mother and sister.

Samuel Vonachen, 18, will be sentenced on Friday, July 28, at 3 p.m., according to District Attorney Keith Schroeder.

There has been a delay in the sentencing because Reno County Judge Trish Rose wanted the teen to undergo another mental evaluation. The state tried to appeal the decision, partly because evaluations had been done prior to trial showing that he was competent.

A Reno County jury convicted the teen for the killings of his mother and sister who died after he set fire to the family home in September 2013. His father was able to escape.

Vonachen was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder for trying to kill his father and aggravated arson for the actual setting of the fire.

Kansas man drowns at Lake of the Ozarks

VERSAILLES, Mo. (AP) — A 25-year-old Kansas man has drowned while fishing at the Lake of the Ozarks.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the family of Connor Mohr, of Overland Park was reported him missing Saturday morning after he was fishing at a dock and didn’t return.

Mohr was found in the water near the dock after a brief search.

Filing: Kansas ID theft suspects had 429 job applications

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A search warrant shows authorities are investigating two suspected identity thieves found with a box filled with hundreds of Dollar Tree job applications apparently obtained by going through trash containers in Wichita.

The warrant was filed recently in U.S. District Court in Kansas. It outlines the investigation into a pair found three years ago with employment applications for 429 people as well as forgery tools. Some of those applications included copies of driver’s licenses and Social Security cards.

Chesapeake, Virginia-based Dollar Tree said in an email that it’s committed to safeguarding personal information of its workers and job applicants. The discount store chain says it has specific processes in place to support this commitment.

The company says it’s investigating the Wichita incident.

Dollar Tree has 10 stores in Wichita.

Report: Kobach is absent from meeting of election officials

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on state elections officials who are gathering in Indianapolis (all times local):

11:45 p.m.

California’s chief elections official is puzzled by the absence of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach from a gathering of elections officials from across the U.S.

Kobach is the co-chair of a White House voter fraud commission that’s investigating allegations made by the President Donald Trump without proof that there were millions of fraudulent ballots cast during last November’s election.

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Saturday that it’s “awkward, to put it mildly” that Kobach opted against attending the National Association of Secretaries of State conference in Indianapolis this weekend.

Kobach, a Republican, sent letters last week to all 50 states requesting voter information, including dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers, addresses and voting histories.

The request drew blowback from Republicans and Democrats alike.

Padilla, a Democrat, said that if Kobach was serious about working with states to improve the integrity of U.S. elections, he would have attended the conference.

A spokeswoman for Kobach did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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10:50 a.m.

Illinois has joined 15 other states in refusing to provide detailed voter information to a White House commission investigating President Donald Trump’s allegations of widespread voter fraud.

The Illinois State Board of Elections sent a letter on Friday declining to provide the information requested by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is co-chairing White House commission.

Last week, Kobach sent letters to all 50 states requesting voter information, including dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers, addresses and voting histories.

The request drew blowback from Republicans and Democrats alike.

The Illinois letter comes as state elections officials from across the country are gathering in Indianapolis for conference.

 

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The U.S. Department of Justice and the president’s commission on voter fraud sent letters to states last week seeking information about voter registration.
STEPHEN KORANDA / KPR

Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice are asking states including Kansas for information related to the National Voter Registration Act — a move made the same day that the president’s commission on voter fraud sent a request for “publicly available voter roll data.”

In a letter sent June 28, Justice Department officials requested data on how states purge registrations of people who have died or moved. The letter seeks information to confirm that states are complying with federal law and keeping voting lists updated.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on the same day sent requests for voter registration information to all states in his role as vice chairman of President Donald Trump’s commission on voter fraud. Numerous states have said they will not provide some or all of the information that Kobach requested.

Washington’s secretary of state earlier this week made public the request she received from the Justice Department.

When asked if Kansas had received a similar letter, Kobach spokesperson Samantha Poetter confirmed it.

“We have received this letter,” Poetter said Wednesday in a statement. “We are currently reviewing it.”

Poetter wouldn’t say what Kobach thinks of the request. When asked for a copy of the letter, she said she would have to check with the office legal department.

The letter sent to Washington state asks for a variety of information, including the process used to remove voters who have moved or died. It also asks for the number of voters removed from voting lists.

“As part of our nationwide enforcement effort, we are reviewing voter registration list maintenance procedures in each state covered by the NVRA,” said the letter, which was signed by DOJ Voting Section Chief T. Christian Herren.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a Freedom of Information Act request in response to the letter, raising concerns about the breadth of the DOJ request.

“The DOJ offered no explanation or justification for the unprecedented time-bound request,” the center said in a letter.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR, a partner in the Kansas News Service.

Police: Kansas woman shot standing outside home

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and asking the public for help with information on the incident.

Just after 11:53 a.m. Saturday, Police were dispatched to St. Francis Hospital in Topeka after a report of a woman in her 40s was shooting victim and had just arrived by private vehicle, according to a media release.

The victim advised officers, she’d received the gunshot wound while standing outside a residence in the 900 Block NE Monroe in Topeka.

The victim’s injuries appear to be non-life threatening, according to police

There’s no available suspect information at this time – Anyone with knowledge of this incident, or any other crime is asked to call the Topeka Police Department at 785-368-9551, or Crime Stoppers at 234-0007

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