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Missouri medical professional says temperature change not the cause for influenza, notes early outbreak

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You may have heard the common wives’ tale, if you don’t wear your coat outside, you’ll catch a cold. But, Natelie Frazier-Cook, Advanced Nurse Practitioner at St. Francis Medical Center in southeast Missouri’s Cape Girardeau, said that isn’t the reason sickness spikes when the weather changes.

“The change in temperature, I think that there’s more people that stay indoors,” said Frazier-Cook. “And if someone already has a virus and then you’re staying indoors around them, you’re more likely to become sick with a virus as well.”

Fraizer-Cook said it’s not about being outside but inside.

“If you’re around someone that has a virus, two or three days later after you’ve been around them is when you’re going to start developing symptoms. And you are usually contagious for about four days into those symptoms,” said Frazier-Cook.

In Cape Girardeau County, the Health Department said there have been 13 reported cases of the flu since the end of September. In St. Francis County, that number is 19.

“The flu season started a little bit earlier this year,” said Frazier-Cook. “We started seeing some cases positive in September, so it’s definitely here in our area. It’s time to get your flu vaccine.”

According to Frazier-Cook, the main differences between the common cold and flu are body aches and a fever.

“Give it a few days. I think that what we see a lot of times is that people are sick just for a couple of days and they come into be seen. And we normally don’t treat with antibiotics unless a patient has been sick for five to seven days,” said Frazier-Cook.

Nurses recommend visiting a primary care doctor or urgent care if you have common cold or flu symptoms, not the emergency room. Also, make sure to get your flu shot before the end of the month.

If the cooler temperatures are keeping you inside, don’t forget to wash your hands but also disinfect surfaces in the house.

(Missourinet media partner KFVS-TV contributed this story)

 

McCaskill and Hawley blast each other’s positions during final Missouri Senate debate

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Missouri’s two major U.S. Senate candidates clashed over civility, tax cuts, tariffs and health care during their heated final debate Thursday afternoon in Kansas City.

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) waves to supporters at the Mizzou Homecoming parade in Columbia on October 20, 2018. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) and GOP Senate nominee Josh Hawley debated at KMBC 9 News in Kansas City, before a live studio audience. The moderators were veteran KMBC political reporters Kris Ketz and Michael Mahoney, and audience members also asked questions. The audience members were primarily from western Missouri.

Some analysts believe Missouri’s race could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate in January.

The race’s tone was an early debate topic. Missouri Attorney General Hawley says he’s concerned with what he calls a “culture of incivility”, as well as confrontation and violence.

“It is extremely concerning to see our politics come to this level,” Hawley says. “I have never attacked my opponent personally. I’m not going to.”

Senator McCaskill is calling on both sides to “turn down the temperature.”

Missouri GOP Senate nominee Josh Hawley walks with supporters at the Mizzou Homecoming parade in Columbia on October 20, 2018. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

“There are people being ugly on both sides,” says McCaskill. “And I really got to disagree with you (Attorney General Hawley). He has spent this entire campaign trying to trash me personally.”

During the debate, Hawley blasted former Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, saying she said you can’t be civil with those who you disagree with. He also notes some people have been driven out of restaurants, apparently referring to a recent incident involving U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

McCaskill responds by talking about incidents on both sides.

“It’s really interesting to listen to his answer, because did you notice he blamed it all on the Democrats. That’s the problem. This is a problem on both sides,” McCaskill says.

McCaskill and Hawley also blasted each other on tax cuts.

McCaskill calls for making tax cuts for middle-class families permanent.

“The Republicans had it backwards. They made the rich people’s tax cuts permanent. They made the middle-class tax cuts temporary. I’d like to flip those,” says McCaskill.

Hawley says he’s open to additional tax cuts for the middle-class.

“Senator McCaskill says that she wants to make the tax cuts permanent, but she voted against them. Let’s just be honest, she voted against the middle class tax cut,” Hawley says.

Hawley says the tax cuts are benefiting working families, while McCaskill says they haven’t provided wage growth.

This was the third and final debate between the two. They debated last week in St. Louis.

The election is November 6.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Report says Columbia is “the brightest spot in the Missouri economy” (AUDIO)

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A recently-released report from two University of Missouri researchers says Columbia’s economy is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Missouri since 2001.

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce hosted Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe on October 16, 2018 at the new Drury Hotel (photo courtesy of Columbia Chamber of Commerce)

Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick notes the report says the Columbia metro area’s growth rate has been more than double the rate reported statewide.

“Then you also have things like American Outdoor Brands, they’re in the process of getting opening and hiring,” McCormick says. “And (Colorado-based) Aurora Organic Dairy is doing their project, and you got Beyond Meat that’s doing an expansion.”

Massachusetts-based American Outdoor Brands manufactures firearms and outdoor sports and recreation products. They are set to open a massive 630,000 square foot distribution center, which is expected to create about 150 jobs.

A spokeswoman for Beyond Meat tells Missourinet it’s expanding in Columbia and is adding jobs. The company now has multiple sites in Columbia, including a location near Lemone Industrial Drive. The company is now global. Beyond Meat’s website says the company’s mission is to create delicious plant-based burgers, sausage, crumbles and strips, made directly from plants.

The report is written by Mizzou researchers Joseph Haslag and John Holtmann Jr. It describes Columbia as the “brightest spot in the Missouri economy.”

The report says the Columbia metro area has seen the highest average annual growth rate among the state’s four largest metropolitan areas since 2001. McCormick says Columbia has seen big projects like the new Drury Plaza Hotel near I-70 and Highway 63.

“You’re seeing some great things, I mean this hotel is beautiful and they just finished it up and it just opened. You can still smell the new carpet, right,” says McCormick.

The report notes Veterans United Home Loans has seen a 79% increase in employment between 2013 and 2017, and that Columbia Public Schools (CPS) has seen a 17% employment increase. Haslag and Holtmann also found that Veterans United hired one of every five new employees in the Columbia metro between 2006 and 2017.

The Columbia area is the only one of Missouri’s four largest metropolitan areas in which the economic growth rate has exceeded the average annual growth rate in the nation, according to the report.

McCormick praises the report, adding that education, insurance and health care are still the city’s three economic drivers.

“What’s great about Columbia is it has such a diverse business base and you’re seeing it even diversify more with some of the new manufacturers come in, which is always very helpful,” McCormick says.

Columbia is home to the University of Missouri, Stephens College and Columbia College. State Farm and Shelter Insurance are two of the top ten employers in town, as is Veterans United Home Loans.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick and Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth, which was recorded on October 16, 2018 at the new Drury Plaza Hotel in Columbia:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

McCaskill thinks she would ‘win in a walk’ if people knew who paid for ads against her

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U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, says corporate interests are paying for political ads opposing her in next month’s election. She tells Missourinet affiliate KWIX in Moberly the companies want to ensure they can increase prices of the 20 most common drugs in Medicare by 10 times the inflation rate annually.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley debate at KETC-TV in St. Louis on October 18, 2018, as people watch in an outdoor public viewing area. (Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI)

“I actually think I’d win this election in a walk if people knew who was paying for the ads against me,” she says.

McCaskill says the amount of greed that walks the halls of the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C. is stunning.

“Standing up to them is pretty important. Josh Hawley is embraced by the pharmaceutical industry,” she says. “I am not. They would like to take me out because I have been a thorn in their side.”

She has taken on drug makers in a variety of ways, including her investigation finding that the top three pharmaceutical manufacturers have shipped $1.6 billion in addictive prescription drugs to Missouri from 2012 to 2017. According to McCaskill’s report, the volume distributed by McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health represents more than 260 doses for every Missourian during that period.

Another report released this year by McCaskill’s office says the top five opioid manufacturers gave nearly $9 million in five years to 14 pain management groups. She says the organizations have often “amplified messages favorable to increased opioid use”.

McCaskill, who faces Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley, is considered one of the most vulnerable U.S. Senate incumbents in November’s election.

Last year, Hawley launched an investigation about the marketing of opioid drugs by ten pharmaceutical companies. Hawley alleges they fraudulently misrepresented serious risks posed by opioids they distribute and sell.

Kansas City television station KMBC is airing a debate today at 9 p.m. between McCaskill and Hawley.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri’s governor to sign treatment court bill Wednesday in Liberty and Springfield

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Bipartisan legislation expanding Missouri’s treatment court system to all counties will be signed into law Wednesday by the governor in two cities. Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, has scheduled bill-signing ceremonies for Wednesday afternoon in both Liberty and Springfield.

House Speaker Todd Richardson (left) speaks to Majority Leader Rob Vescovo and State Reps. Travis Fitzwater and Kevin Austin during the September 12, 2018 special session in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the bill during September’s special session. Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Chairman Bob Dixon said treatment courts work.

“Giving some additional tools to the judiciary, prosecutors, law enforcement frankly, so that we can see good results is a good thing,” Dixon said.

Treatment courts include DWI and veterans treatment courts. Dixon spoke to Missourinet during the September special session, where his Senate committee approved the bill unanimously.

Dixon says treatment courts have “a tremendous record of success.”

“This measure will, we believe, enable courts to be more effective, to be more precise,” said Dixon.

The Missouri House approved the bill in September by a 141-1 vote.

Governor Parson says expanding treatment courts will allow more people to receive treatment, rather than being incarcerated in what he describes as “our already overcrowded prison system.”

The bill is sponsored by State Rep. Kevin Austin, R-Springfield, the House Assistant Majority Leader.

“If there is a county or a circuit that does not have, for example, a drug court but they have a candidate, a defendant that’s been charged with a crime that would be an ideal candidate for a drug court, they can transfer that defendant from their county to a county that does have a drug court,” Austin testified in September, before Chairman Dixon’s committee.

Parson will sign the bill Wednesday at 1:30 at the James S. Rooney Justice Center in Liberty, where he’ll be joined by several lawmakers, including State Sen. Lauren Arthur, D-Kansas City. Arthur’s district includes Liberty.

The governor will also sign the bill Wednesday afternoon at 3:45 at the Greene County Historic Courthouse in Springfield. Senator Dixon, Representative Austin and several other lawmakers will join him there.

The bill was a top priority for both House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, and House Minority Leader Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, during the special session.

State Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, notes Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill spearheaded the creation of Missouri’s first drug treatment court in 1993, when she was the Jackson County Prosecutor.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Speaker Richardson will be Missouri’s new Medicaid director (AUDIO)

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Missouri’s House Speaker has been appointed as the new state Medicaid director, effective November 1.

Missouri DSS Director Steve Corsi (at podium) announces that Speaker Todd Richardson will be the state’s new Medicaid director on October 22, 2018 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) Director Steve Corsi has appointed House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, to the post.

Governor Mike Parson (R) tells the Capitol Press Corps the appointment highlights his priority of bringing stability to state government.

“It has been 22 months since we had a permanent Missouri HealthNet director,” Parson says. “This (DSS) division has oversight over $10 billion of the state budget.”

Richardson notes the Medicaid budget is now about 35 percent of Missouri’s $28 billion operating budget.

“The growth in spending is affecting nearly every other area of our state’s budget. At the same time, our health outcomes with Missouri HealthNet are not where they need to be,” says Richardson.

Richardson and Governor Parson tell Missourinet they are focused on reforming Medicaid, not expanding the program.

State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, favors placing the Medicaid expansion issue on a statewide ballot.

Richardson says his mission is to have a sustainable program that produces better health outcomes at an affordable price for Missouri taxpayers.

He says he’ll travel across the state for most of his first 60 days, with a goal of developing a “comprehensive road map” for MO HealthNet’s future.

“My focus is not going to be on expanding the Medicaid eligibility,” Richardson says. “It’s going to be how do we work with its existing population to improve health outcomes, and how do we put it on a path to financial stability.”

DSS says about one million Missourians are currently on Medicaid. Corsi says one of the challenges Richardson will face is recent hospital closures in rural Missouri.

Director Corsi also says Richardson will examine rising Medicaid costs, which Corsi says are driving overall health care costs.

Richardson tells Capitol reporters he will resign his seat in the Legislature on November 1. The post does not require Senate confirmation. Richardson’s salary will be $225,000, according to Corsi and the governor’s office.

Richardson was first elected to the Missouri House in November 2010, and is in his fourth and final term. He was prohibited from seeking re-election to the House, under term limits.

 

Click here to listen to the full news conference with DSS Director Steve Corsi, Governor Mike Parson and House Speaker Todd Richardson, which took place in the governor’s office in Jefferson City on October 22, 2018:

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

McCaskill and Hawley clash at Missouri U.S. Senate debate

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Missouri’s two major U.S. Senate candidates clashed over international trade tariffs, tax cuts, the minimum wage and gun regulations during a televised debate Thursday night in St. Louis. Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and GOP Senate nominee Josh Hawley debated before a live studio audience of Missourians at the KETC-TV studios.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley debate at KETC-TV in St. Louis on October 18, 2018, as people watch in an outdoor public viewing area. (Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI)

Some analysts believe Missouri’s race could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate beginning in January.

The Trump Administration’s tariffs highlighted a key difference between the two candidates, a difference both highlighted during separate August presentations to the Missouri Farm Bureau in Jefferson City.

Senator McCaskill said tariffs are “brutal” for Missouri and the state’s bean farmers will not break even this year.

“Our economy is so dependent on the exporting of agricultural goods,” McCaskill said. “These tariffs have killed commodity prices.”

McCaskill added that tariffs have hurt manufacturers. She said Mid-Continent nail factory in southeast Missouri’s Poplar Bluff is “hanging on by a fingernail”.

Hawley, the Attorney General, noted that he’s been endorsed by the Missouri Farm Bureau and McCaskill won’t return President Blake Hurst’s phone calls.

“We are in a trade war,” said Hawley. “It’s a trade war that we did not start. Certainly our farmers didn’t start it, China started it many years ago. But if we’re going to be in the war, I’m for winning it.”

Hawley also praised President Trump’s recent trade deals with Canada and Mexico and says 75% of America’s ag exports go to the countries.

The two candidates agree on one key issue: both oppose cutting Social Security and Medicare.

That was the first issue that PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff, the moderator, asked about during the debate. Hawley says Americans have paid into the system.

“I don’t support any changes to those programs for anyone who is currently receiving benefits or who is going to be receiving benefits,” Hawley said.

Hawley told the audience that Senator McCaskill voted to cut $716 billion from Medicare in order to pay for the Affordable Care Act. McCaskill responded by saying that was not a Medicare cut, but instead was a cut to the profits of health insurance companies.

“And what did we do with that $715 billion, we filled the donut hole for Medicare prescription program part D,” said McCaskill.

McCaskill said Missouri seniors can now enjoy more prescription benefits.

While both say they support the Second Amendment, McCaskill and Hawley also disagree about the issue of guns during the debate.

McCaskill noted she was raised in rural Missouri, and that her father was a hunter. She said she supports universal background checks and a ban on bump stocks, which make semi-automatic weapons fire more rapidly.

“But what the NRA (National Rifle Association) has peddled for years is that you can’t support the Second Amendment and gun safety at the same time, and you can,” McCaskill said.

Hawley favors legislation to include health records in the background check system, and said McCaskill voted against that.

“I think we need to fix the national background check system,” said Hawley. “We have a background check system, a national system, but it doesn’t work that well because there’s a giant loophole right in the middle of it. And that is, it doesn’t include mental health records.”

Hawley also called for guns to be kept out of the hands of criminals and “dangerous people.”

The two candidates also clashed on the federal tax cut and on the minimum wage. Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the Brett Kavanaugh hearings came up during the debate.

The “Missouri 2018 Senate Debate” was presented by KETC, St. Louis Public Radio KWMU and KSDK Channel 5. KETC is St. Louis’ PBS affiliate.

In addition to facing questions from Woodruff, KSDK’s Mike Bush and KWMU’s Jo Mannies, McCaskill and Hawley also took questions from the audience.

McCaskill and Hawley also debated near St. Louis in September, at the Missouri Press Association’s candidate forum.

(audio is courtesy of St. Louis Public Radio, KWMU)

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Missouri line workers in Florida use chain saws, just to clear roads (AUDIO)

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Missouri line workers from the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) who’ve been sent to the Sunshine State to help Floridians impacted by Hurricane Michael are encountering brutal conditions.

Florida’s governor says Hurricane Michael is the worst storm to ever hit the Panhandle (October 2018 photo courtesy of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives)

AMEC spokesman Jim McCarty tells Missourinet the 123 Missouri line workers who are in Quincy, Florida had to use their chain saws for more than three hours Friday, just to clear roads to get to Talquin Electric headquarters near Tallahassee.

Florida Governor Rick Scott says it’s the worst storm to ever hit the Panhandle, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson tells CNN it’s the “worst destruction that the Panhandle has seen for however long that I’ve been living. It’s akin to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 where everything was leveled.”

McCarty notes the Talquin Electric Cooperative was near the center of the massive storm.

He notes Talquin sustained severe damage to its distribution and transmission lines, which are complicating power restoration efforts.

“At the height of the outages, 98 percent of Talquin members were without power. Talquin’s infrastructure has sustained comprehensive damage – approximately 1,000 broken poles and numerous downed wires – throughout the entire service territory, that will lead to extended restoration times,” Talquin Electric wrote on its Facebook page.

McCarty also notes that the Quincy area has numerous trees, which were tossed into lines by Hurricane Michael. He says photos from the scene “show a tangle of wire, broken poles and trees that will have to be cleared before lines can be replaced.”

The 123 linemen represent 23 Missouri cooperatives. Linemen from as far away as Osage Valley Electric Cooperative in western Missouri’s Butler and Tri-County Electric Cooperative in northeast Missouri’s Lancaster are in Florida.

McCarty is still requesting prayers for the workers, noting they are seeing damage that is much more extensive than South Carolina in September. He also notes crews are on the lookout for alligators.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

State officials look to boost pay for some Missouri veterans home workers

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Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe says the Missouri Veterans Commission is working to find ways to enhance pay for some state veterans home workers. Kehoe, a Republican, tells Missourinet commissioners are talking with the state Legislature and federal government about pay raises.

Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe

“It’s very tough to find the skilled workforce it takes to take care of folks, whether it’s a veterans home, a private home or a county-run home. The challenges it’s faced in taking care of people are similar to the industry. We just have to make sure we do the best we can to recruit and retain the best people,” Kehoe says.

Missouri’s Veterans Homes are located in metro St. Louis, St. James, Mexico, Warrensburg, Cape Girardeau, Cameron and Mt. Vernon. The homes manage a combined total of 1,350 beds.

The St. Louis Veterans Home has been investigated several times since 2017 about reports of inadequate care. New leadership took over there this year with a focus of improving care and recruiting additional nursing staff.

The troubled facility led to investigations at all of the state’s veterans homes. An independent organization visited the sites over a two-day period and found things like fear of retaliation against staff who report problems, staff opposition to mandatory overtime and lack of paperwork for infection and sanitation issues and drug dosage.

The state’s website lists current job openings for nursing staff ranging in pay from $11.35 an hour for a certified nursing assistant, $16.65 an hour for a licensed practical nurse to $1,979 on a semi-monthly basis for a registered nurse.

The Missouri Veterans Commission operates the homes. The commission is a division of the state Department of Public Safety.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

Judge’s decision prevents Planned Parenthood’s Columbia facility from performing abortions

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Missouri is down to one abortion clinic after a court decision Wednesday.

A federal district court declined Planned Parenthood’s request to block a requirement that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

The organization’s Columbia clinic hasn’t had such a doctor since medical staff at the University of Missouri voted to stop offering those privileges in 2015 during an abortion probe by Republican state lawmakers.

Last month, a federal appeals court overturned a 2017 decision that blocked enforcement of Missouri laws that require admitting privileges and that abortion clinics to be licensed as outpatient surgical centers.

That decision didn’t take effect while Planned Parenthood considered whether to seek review of the case by the full appeals court (the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals).  But Wednesday’s ruling will prevent the Columbia facility from offering abortions.

The procedure is now only available in Missouri at Planned Parenthood’s St. Louis facility.

In addition, the license of the Columbia health center expired Tuesday.  Planned Parenthood says it’ll once again ask the court that declined its request Wednesday to block the admitting privileges requirement once the Columbia facility’s license is renewed.

In November 2016, Planned Parenthood’s two operators in Missouri filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the two restrictions. The litigation came after the U.S. Supreme Court determined earlier that year that Texas restrictions almost identical to Missouri’s were unconstitutional.

After the 2017 decision by a federal district court, Planned Parenthood announced intentions to expand its abortion services in Missouri. At the time, the procedure was only available at its St. Louis facility. Plans included offering either surgical or medication abortions in Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, and Joplin.

The Kansas City operation lost its abortion facility license in August. The clinic said it sought timely renewal of its license, but the state Department of Health and Senior Services delayed the license after saying the agency was unable to conduct a complete inspection of the facility in June.

The clinic did not have an abortion doctor at the time and had stopped offering the procedure in late March when the provider left. The Kansas City center has since arranged for a new provider and continues to push for its license.

A planned expansion of services to Springfield and Joplin had initially been delayed by Missouri passing further restrictions in 2017.  Planned Parenthood the Wednesday decision requiring admitting privileges could further complicate plans for its facilities in Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia.