VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he is letting all priests in the church’s upcoming Year of Mercy absolve the “sin of abortion” if they seek forgiveness with a “contrite heart.”
Francis said in letter Tuesday explaining his decision that he has met many women bearing “the scar of this agonizing” decision to abort. He said God’s forgiveness cannot be denied to those who repent, and thus is giving all priests the discretion to absolve the sin in the Holy Year of Mercy running Dec. 8, 2015 until late November 2016.
JETMORE- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after 6:30a.m. on Tuesday in Hodgeman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Honda Civic driven by Melissa V. Nunez, 37, Garden City, was eastbound on Kansas156 six miles west of Jetmore.
The vehicle hit a deer that came out of the north ditch.
Nunez was transported to the Hodgeman County Hospital. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State students will have to sign a sportsmanship pledge before they can pick up their tickets for sporting events this year.
The pledge requires students to refrain from using profanity and inappropriate chants and to show respect for all athletes, coaches, fans and officials.
The Wichita Eagle reports the sportsmanship pledge is the first in the Big 12 Conference.
The pledge comes after problems arose during a Kansas State-Kansas basketball game last season in Manhattan. Students chanted inappropriate language during the game and stormed the court afterward, and one student seemed to intentionally bump a Kansas player.
Kansas State officials say students who behave badly during games will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to almost 24 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman in her Salina home in 2014.
The Salina Journal reports 29-year-old Michael P. Darnell was sentenced to 23 years and 9 months in prison Monday. He had been found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual battery.
According to authorities, Darnell entered the woman’s home after he knocked on her door and she answered on May 15, 2014. Prosecutors say Darnell struck the woman in the face, dragged her through the house and groped her.
The woman managed to escape after convincing Darnell to go outside and smoke.
Darnell has been ordered to register as a sex offender and pay about $1,000 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 38-year-old man has been found guilty in the shooting of a Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy in March 2013.
The Wichita Eagle reports Jason Perez was found guilty Monday on several charges including attempted first-degree murder and two counts of burglary in the shooting of deputy Lucas Powell.
According to authorities, officers tried to stop Perez and Clara Crosser, who were weaving in and out of traffic, and a chase through three counties ensued. The pursuit ended when Powell confronted the two on a farm outside of Potwin.
Police say Crosser shot the deputy in the right eye, while Perez fired multiple shots at the officer but missed. Crosser was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
The planned revitalization and expansion of the Seaton Complex will allow Kansas State University’s College of Architecture, Planning & Design to better support its nationally recognized degree programs. (Photo Courtesy of K-State News and Communications)
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University is planning a groundbreaking ceremony for a $75 million renovation of expansion of a 100-year-old campus building.
The ceremony for the Seaton Hall renovation is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. The building houses the College of Architecture, Planning & Design, or APDesign.
The project is being paid for with $60 million in state bonds and $15 million in private gifts and student fees. The project on the 194,000-square-foot project is expected to be ready for fall classes in 2017.
Tim de Noble, dean of APDesign, says the project will turn Seaton Hall into an environmentally sensitive and technically innovative building. The project also will include improved security and technology.
The Regnier family’s V+H Charitable Foundation made a lead gift of $4 million to the project.
Photo by Susie Fagan A recently unsealed “whistleblower lawsuit” alleges Lawrence Memorial Hospital defrauded Medicare and Medicaid.
By JIM MCLEAN
A former emergency room nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital has filed a federal “whistleblower” lawsuit alleging that the hospital falsified patient records to obtain higher Medicare and Medicaid payments.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. on behalf of Megen Duffy alleges that top hospital officials knew about the fraud, which began in 2007, and threatened to fire employees who objected.
“Defendant (LMH) designed a system to submit false records and reports that violated best practices, jeopardized patient safety, and defrauded the federal government,” the complaint states.
Duffy worked as a registered nurse at LMH from August 2009 until she was fired in October 2013 for allegedly threatening another employee. The complaint states that the reason for Duffy’s termination was “fabricated” and notes that she objected to the record-keeping policy on several occasions.
Specifically, the lawsuit charges that emergency room personnel were instructed to alter the arrival times of possible heart attack patients to coincide with the times automatically generated by the electrocardiogram monitors.
“Defendant went to great lengths to ensure that its emergency department staff falsely recorded and reported EKG times as patient arrival times,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, the practice was in part designed to conceal “any time the patient spent in the waiting room, at registration or in triage.”
Submitting records to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that indicated patients with heart attack symptoms were being connected to EKG monitors the minute they arrived significantly improved LMH’s performance data, according to the complaint. The inflated scores qualified the hospital for higher incentive payments under a federal law designed to reward hospitals for meeting high standards of care.
Janice Early, vice president of communications and marketing at LMH, said Friday that hospital officials were not yet aware of the lawsuit.
“But I can unequivocally state that the hospital has no such policy to falsify any kind of documentation to maximize reimbursement,” Early said.
Olathe attorney Robert Collins, who represents Duffy, said false-claims actions are held to a higher standard than other kinds of lawsuits to dissuade frivolous claims being pursued on behalf of the federal government.
“So, these cases don’t get dismissed the way some other cases do,” Collins said in an interview. “We’ve got some strong witnesses and some strong evidence to move forward with.”
The lawsuit was originally filed more than a year ago but was sealed until recently so officials from the U.S. Justice Department could investigate the charges and decide whether to join the case. They chose not to participate and the case was unsealed.
The department’s decision isn’t necessarily a reflection of the merits of the LMH case. Due to staff limitations and other factors, the government intervenes in fewer than 25 percent of false claim lawsuits filed on behalf of the government.
“So, an increasing number of these are being declined and left to the private attorneys to pursue on behalf of the government,” Collins said.
In 2014, the federal government recovered more than $2.3 billion in health care-related false claims. Those cases involved Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, the health care program for the military.
The LMH lawsuit doesn’t specify how much Duffy is attempting to recover for the government, but Collins said when combined with penalties, it could reach as high as $10 million. If she prevails, Duffy would be entitled to between 25 percent and 30 percent of whatever is recovered.
Recent reductions in Medicare reimbursements have put many hospitals under financial pressure, particularly those operating in states that haven’t expanded their Medicaid programs to offset the cuts.
Kansas is one of 19 states that has not expanded Medicaid eligibility to levels called for in the https://www.khi.org/news/article/kansas-groups-gear-up-for-yet-another-run-at-medicaid-expansion Affordable Care Act. The nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund estimates that if Kansas policymakers continue to say “no” to expansion, it will cost the state nearly $1 billion additional federal funds over the next seven years.
Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials will learn soon whether the state’s tax collections in August met expectations.
The report due Tuesday from the Department of Revenue is coming a little more than a month after Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director announced $63 million in adjustments to the state’s $15.4 billion budget to lessen the chances of a deficit.
The state finished its 2015 fiscal year on June 30 with tax collections $26 million short of expectations, and collections fell another $5.4 million short in July.
Even with budget adjustments and sales and cigarette tax increases taking effect in July, the state won’t have much of a financial cushion in cash reserves.
Budget problems arose after lawmakers slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging as an economic stimulus.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The latest government progress report on Kansas crops shows more crops maturing as fall harvest nears.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 16 percent of the Kansas corn crop was now mature.
About 57 percent of the state’s corn crop is in good to excellent condition, with 32 percent rated as fair. About 11 percent is in poor to very poor condition.
The agency also reported that 2 percent of the sorghum in the state has also matured.
Soybeans also are mostly faring well in Kansas with 81 percent now setting pods, and 6 percent dropping leaves.
About 88 percent of sunflowers in the state are now blooming.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has sided with an anti-abortion group that challenged a key birth control provision of the Obama administration’s health care overhaul.
March for Life sued the Obama administration last year over a requirement that health insurers cover the cost of contraceptive services.
The organization said the requirement violated its strongly held position against abortion. The group holds an annual march in Washington.
Religious organizations are exempt from the requirement. But in a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said groups did not need to voice religious objections to challenge the requirement.
Alliance Defending Freedom, whose lawyers represented March for Life, said Leon’s decision was the first to side with an organization that opposed the contraceptive mandate on moral rather than religious grounds.
TOPEKA– Governor Sam Brownback has signed a proclamation declaring September as Campus Fire Safety Month.
As college students settle into dormitories, residence halls and off-campus housing, State Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen urges students to take the threat of fire seriously.
“Many students are living away from home for the first time and simply don’t realize the fire risk,” said Jorgensen. “Awareness and fire safety education of our college students are essential in reducing the number of fires, and are lessons that last a lifetime.”
National Campus Fire Safety Month provides an opportunity for colleges and universities across the nation to educate students about the dangers of fire and their role in creating a fire-safe environment.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal offers the following safety tips for students:
· Make yourself familiar with college or university policy on improper use of appliances, decorations, smoking and candles.
· Familiarize yourself with what your response will be in the event of a fire and practice your response.
· Do not obstruct or disable smoke alarms or any other fire protection devices.
· Do not play jokes with fire alarms. False alarms get people hurt.
· Never neglect a fire alarm signal as a false alarm. Respond to every alarm as an actual fire event.
· Alcohol use has been strongly associated with fire fatalities.
· Take personal responsibility for your safety.
Additional information on campus fire safety is available online at www.FireSafeCollege.com.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A government survey has found that there are more than 23.7 million acres of farmland rented out by landlords in Kansas.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported the number Monday in its first survey of landowners since 1999.
Their survey, conducted last year, also found that there are 83,776 landlords owned farmland in Kansas. But only 14,359 of those were actually farmers, the majority of them are non-farming landlords.
Cropland made up for 65 percent of all farmland rented, while 33 percent was rented for pastures. The rest of the land was used for forests and other uses.
The agency also reported that landowners expect to transfer 5.04 million acres to other owners in the next five years.
