ST. LOUIS, May 14, 2020 – Buses and some businesses will be able to turn people away for not wearing masks when public health restrictions are lifted on Monday, May 18 in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis. That means people who can’t afford or find masks will be denied services that they…
Read MoreMore than $2M coming to expand COVID-19 testing in STL
ST. LOUIS, May 12, 2020 –More than $2 million in new federal funds is coming to the St. Louis region’s health centers to expand COVID-19 testing. Affinia Healthcare will receive $754,549, Betty Jean Kerr’s People’s Health Centers will receive $606,619, Family Care Health Centers will receive $410,554, and CareSTL Health will receive $398,359. The funding…
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Read MoreCOVID-19 disproportionately harms St. Louis area African American and Black communities
ST. LOUIS, May 7, 2020 — New research on the influence of COVID-19 among St. Louis-area communities finds the region’s African American and Black residents have been especially hard hit by the crisis. The research suggests that COVID-19 mitigation strategies should include a race-conscious lens that can inform policy and public health solutions to the…
Read MoreMissouri Medicaid expansion more important now than ever
By: Heidi B. Miller, M.D. As a primary care doctor, I cringe when I am paged on-call at 2 a.m. by a patient with chest pain who won’t go to the emergency department because of lack of insurance. With sadness and frustration, I must persuade the patient that this is an emergency and he could…
Read MoreThe St. Louis Regional Health Commission Supports Medicaid Expansion
Think about your neighbor who is uninsured, caring for an aging parent, and juggling a part-time job. Picture your server, at the corner restaurant, who gets no benefits and does not qualify for Medicaid or subsidies for Obamacare. Likely, we all know someone who lacks health insurance. Medicaid expansion would keep our friends, family members,…
Read MoreLocal foundation giving $2.2 million worth of grants to black-led organizations
ST. LOUIS, April 29, 2020 – African Americans are some of the hardest hit by COVID-19 in St. Louis and one person is offering millions worth of grants to those who are making a difference in the community. So many people are pinching pennies and trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents. People are…
Read MoreDeaconess funding black-led COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts
ST. LOUIS, April 24, 2020 – “When black people are dying, black people should be in charge of the healing process for what is killing them,” Rev. Starsky Wilson, president and CEO of Deaconess Foundation, told The St. Louis American. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to say something.’” Knowing that money talks, and speaking as the leader of…
Read MoreThe St. Louis Regional Health Commission Advocates for Five Key State and Federal Actions in Response to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic unfolds, the St. Louis Regional Health Commission (RHC) advocates for the following five actions to ensure equitable access to health care for all Missourians: 1. Missouri should expand Medicaid now. The state should immediately expand Medicaid through a State Plan Amendment, which would secure coverage for an additional 200,000…
Read MorePrepareSTL: some visual reminders about how we can save lives
ST. LOUIS, April 20, 2020 – Physicians and health care leaders from BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s Hospital and our academic medical institutions, Saint Louis University and Washington University Schools of Medicine, are partnering to help the St. Louis region through the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic…
Read MoreLocal health organizations partner to reach most vulnerable during coronavirus crisis
ST. LOUIS, April 14, 2020 – The Regional Health Commission, along with the City of St. Louis Department of Health and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, have joined forces to conduct a unified communication and outreach campaign to reach the most vulnerable and underserved population during the coronavirus pandemic. That campaign, PrepareSTL, will…
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