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Elana Gordon

Elana Gordon covers the health beat at KCUR. She was previously a production assistant for KCURâ

Shots - Health News
5:19 pm
Mon March 4, 2013

Got A Health Care Puzzle? There Should Be An App!

Credit Courtesy of GetHealth Limited
The GetHealth app was a runner-up at the recent Hackovate Health Innovation Competition held in Kansas City, Mo.
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Originally published on Mon March 4, 2013 5:41 pm

Kansas City, Mo., is looking to boost its health-tech cred.

So the city that's home to Cerner Corp. and other health information firms seemed a natural to host something called the Hackovate Health Innovation Competition.

A mashup of innovation and old-school hacking (though none of the participants was bent on doing harm, we're assured), the goal of the competition was to improve the nation's health system and help people navigate the complexities of the Affordable Care Act.

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The Salt
9:51 am
Thu December 27, 2012

Hospital Bids Bye-Bye To Big Macs, Others May Follow Suit

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Credit Keith Srakocic / AP
Visitors to one Kansas City hospital will no longer be able to buy a Big Mac on the premises.
Credit Elana Gordon
A sign outside an entrance at the Truman Medical Centers' main campus in Kansas City, Mo., announces the closure of the McDonald's located on-site.
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Originally published on Thu December 27, 2012 1:25 pm

The McDonald's at the Truman Medical Centers' main campus in Kansas City, Mo., has closed, ending an epic, two-decade stint inside the hospital and making it the fifth health facility in the past few years to give the Big Mac the boot.

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Health
5:02 am
Tue November 13, 2012

Missouri, Kansas Reject Health Exchanges

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Originally published on Tue November 13, 2012 7:36 am

Immediately after last week's election, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced the state would not be setting up its own health insurance exchange. Next door in Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback announced that Kansas will have no involvement in running a state exchange either. The moves open the door for increased federal involvement in health care in staunchly Republican territory.

Food
4:55 am
Mon July 9, 2012

Kansas City Hospital Offers Healthy Food Choices

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Originally published on Tue July 10, 2012 8:51 am

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

One of the places you'd expect to find healthy food is in hospitals - boring, but healthy. But in recent decades, fast food restaurants have worked their way into hospitals around the country. That's despite growing evidence linking fast food menus to high rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Elana Gordon from member station KCUR in Kansas City takes us to one place that has been wrestling with that situation.

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The Salt
1:42 pm
Mon April 9, 2012

Fast Food Chains In Cafeterias Put Hospitals In A Bind

Credit Tony Dejak / AP
The McDonald's inside the Cleveland Clinic, 2004, in Cleveland.
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On one side of a wall inside the Truman Medical Center cafeteria in Kansas City, Missouri, the menu features low-calorie, low-fat and low-sodium meals. On the other side of the wall is a McDonald's, featuring hamburgers and french fries.

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Health Care
4:33 pm
Sun March 25, 2012

Health Care Law Puts Free Clinics At A Crossroads

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Credit Elana Gordon / KCUR
The Duchesne Clinic in Kansas City, Kan., is just one free clinic that might have to adjust the way it operates under the new health care law.
Credit Elana Gordon / KCUR
Dr. Glenn Hodges, a volunteer at Health Partnership Clinic in Johnson County, Kan., says he will continue to focus on those without coverage even if the clinic he volunteers at accepts Medicaid and private coverage.
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Originally published on Sun March 25, 2012 5:06 pm

Free health clinics have long been places people turn to when they don't have health insurance or any money to pay for care. But the health law's expansion of coverage puts free clinics in uncharted territory.

While the law goes before the Supreme Court this week, health providers are already gearing up for a surge in patients with insurance.

Around the country, hundreds of free clinics have been established over the past 50 years to treat patients like Patsy Duarte.

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