U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Missouri Hospital Under Attack For Barring Gay Partner Visitation Rights

A change.org petition is in the works as angry comments continue to accumulate on the Facebook page for Research Medical Center in suburban Kansas City. Yesterday, news broke that it forced a gay man from the bedside of his sick partner. In an interview with FOX 4 News, Roger Gorley says that he w ... More >>

Of Course You Don't Want to Find a Mouse in Your Salad -- But You Shouldn't Want Bagged Greens in It, Either

Is there any specimen of contemporary consumer convenience more beautiful than the bagged salad? The shiny plastic clamors for our attention from the supermarket shelves. You want a specific leaf? Bags trumpet the virtues of arugula or iceberg, baby spinach or hearts of romaine. Can't decide? Grab a ... More >>

St. Louis Archdiocese Fight Against Contraception: Mandate Lawsuit Dismissed

Last May, the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Catholic Charities went up against the United States government with a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a health care contraception mandate -- and this week, a federal judge decided to dismiss the case. But the battle is not over. So say offic ... More >>

Unlikely Food Product Names: "Golden Smell" Edition

As part of our lifelong commitment to self-edification, Gut Check subscribes to a plethora of e-mail lists generated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the result being that our brain is hopelessly saturated with information that's of infinitesimal use to us (along with just about ... More >>

Springfield Asks Feds to Shut Down Larry Rice's Day Shelter

​Claiming to be fed up with handling complaints leveled at Larry Rice's Veteran's Coming Home Center, Springfield City Manager Greg Burris has formally requested on behalf of Springfield civic leaders that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rescind the deed to the center.The move wou ... More >>

Hercules Agrees to $245K EPA Fine Over Clean Air Act Violations

​A chemical manufacturing plant in Louisiana, Missouri, just north of St. Louis, failed to properly monitor for leaks of hazardous air pollutants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency charges -- leading to a $245,521 fine. The settlement was filed in federal court this morning, four years ... More >>

Dancin' in the Streets About Birth Control, Bollywood-Style

Dancing birth control pack? Check.​By now, surely you've heard that the Department of Health and Human Services has determined that birth control is basic preventive health care and is required to be provided without a co-pay by health insurers. (You've probably also heard about the moronic compar ... More >>

Take Me to Your Feeder: Welcome to the world's largest candy convention. Be advised: Resistance is futile.

U.S. House Voting to Defund Planned Parenthood

Rep. Mike Pence doesn't want you to have these.​As soon as today or tomorrow, members of the U.S. House of Representatives could approve bills to strip Planned Parenthood and other reproductive care centers of federal funding. Such a move would leave millions of low-income women nationwide without ... More >>

Tyson Foods Visionary Dies.

Donald J. Tyson, who turned his father's Arkansas chicken business into one of the largest meat producers in the world, died yesterday. He was 80 years old. The New York Times has his obituary, featuring the story of Tyson Foods' massive growth under Mr. Tyson. He retired in 1994, but not before fin ... More >>

DEA Bans Synthetic Marijuana Chemicals

The DEA has outlawed these "highly abused" substances​The Drug Enforcement Administration enacted an emergency ban today on five chemicals used to manufacture "fake pot" products such as K2, Spice and Blaze. According to the agency's website, the chemicals are now listed alongside heroin, cocaine ... More >>

Wash U Program Aims to Prevent Pregnancy in Foster Girls

​Nearly half of all girls in Missouri's foster care system are pregnant or give birth before age 19. That's a lot of babies facing challenges from their first breath of life -- many of these girls and young women are aging out of the system without health insurance of their own or a reliable safet ... More >>

Aging LGBT Folks Get Federal Boost

​Yesterday, the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging launched with a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It's the first group of its kind: a federally funded/administered assistance-and-advocacy support network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans as they ... More >>

USA Today Tells the Sad Story of Venice, Illinois

​Back in January, Riverfront Times published "Meltdown in Venice," a feature story detailing the  many troubles of Venice, a tiny, rundown industry town just across the river from St. Louis in southern Illinois. Hundreds of people there -- almost all of whom are poor and black -- suffer from ... More >>

Ask a Mexican: The Mexican explains why some Mexicans are Minutemen, douches

Fake Reefer Madness: From Kansas To New Orleans, K2 Synthetic Marijuana Is a Hot Topic

Image Via K2 or 1932?​Our counterparts at The Pitch in Kansas City  have been high on K2 synthetic marijuana for months.They started writing about the controversy in Kansas over the faux-dope back in November, when Republican lawmakers in that state began pushing to ban the substa ... More >>

Dr. Feelbad: When a west-county physician went haywire, no one intervened to shut him down

Podiatry and Crime: Who Knew?

focusedfootcare.comUntil this past week, we here at Daily RFT had no idea about the clear connection between foot medicine and crime. But certainly such a connection exists. Consider the case of David Quang Pham. He's the St. Louis podiatrist indicted last week for fraudulently billing Medicaid and ... More >>

Podiatrist Charged With Bilking Medicaid; Billed Amputees with No Feet

flickr.com/photos/noprawnsDr. Pham, I presume?At first glance a press release today from the U.S. Attorney's office looks like dozens of dull media alerts the prosecutor routinely sends out alleging Medicaid fraud. Then I noticed this outrageous line in the release regarding podiatrist David Quang P ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Friday, 3.27

A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services finds a lack of proper record-keeping on safety issues throughout the food chain. (Reuters)NBC has canceled superstar chef Marco Pierre White's first U.S. cooking show, Chopping Block, after only three episodes. (Eater)A dairy surplus at ... More >>

2007 MTV VMAs Wrap-Up: Stream-of-Conscious about Britney, Timberlake and more

Get Poked, Get Paid

Clinical drug trials offer good money, comfy dorms -- and sometimes even a free buzz. But beware: They're gonna suck your blood like Dracula.

Homeless Holy Wars

The defiant Reverend Larry Rice infuriates big developers and city leaders over a proposed shelter in a downtown federal building

These You've Got to See

Five educational films that'll alter your mind

Left Behind

Bellefontaine Neighbors residents have lived -- and died -- with asbestos for years. The problem's an open secret, but little has been done.

Standard of Care

When a childbirth went terribly wrong, the blame game began. Dodging responsibility was everybody's first order of business.

Hard to Heal

Fred Rottnek, doctor to the downtrodden, tried his luck playing the boardroom politics of one of the city's most prestigious charities, Grace Hill. He lost. So did the homeless of St. Louis.

Heavy-Metal Racket

John Chamis and other residents of lead-contaminated Herculaneum are tired of getting jerked around by regulators and by Doe Run. They're demanding answers -- and results.

Daycare Nightmares

In response to growing demand, the number of daycare facilities in Missouri is increasing each year. So are the problems.

Letters to the Editor

Published the week of May 24, 2000

Throwing in the Towel

Under mounting pressure, a local nonprofit agency finally agrees to give up its contract to provide Head Start services to 2,500 preschoolers

SHORTCHANGED

For years now, the Human Development Corp. has taken in millions of tax dollars to provide Head Start services for 2,500 of the city's low-income children. It has never come close. And the problems just begin there.

LOSING WAIT

Thousands of St. Louis children are stuck for years in foster care before they get permanent homes.
The feds are demanding the wait be shorter. But for the city, that's easier said than done.

Seeing Red

After years of taking it on the chin, Bob Goeggel struck back at his competitor. Thanks to his accusations of fraud, the state's largest ambulance company is on the operating table and the feds are doing the cutting.