The consultants recommended accepting federal Medicaid-expansion funding but using it to underwrite private insurance purchases for poor Oklahomans. SB 640 would have given these citizens a choice of private insurance or the present SoonerCare insurance plan. The Leavitt Partners wanted to push eligible clients to use the ACA’s health-insurance exchange and Indian Health Services. SB […]
health
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Prana power
If you’ve been looking for a good excuse to take up yoga, you might check out Hidden Dragon Yoga on Saturday for a kick-asana experience. The American Lung Association (ALA) is teaming up with Hidden Dragon for “Breathe In, Help Out,” which aims to combat lung disease and other associated issues through the practice of […]
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Crouching pose, Hidden Dragon
Specializing in hot yoga, Hidden Dragon, owned by Vicki Bryant and Desirae Penton, officially opened June 10 in a massive warehouse space at 26 N.E. 10th. “We love what Oklahoma City has become, and we wanted to be a part of that,” said Penton. “Yoga is for everyone. In our studio, I’m going to push […]
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Field trip
Zumba class at the North Little Rocksenior wellness center credit: Tim Farley The 15-member group, led by Mayor Mick Cornett, City Manager Jim Couch and MAPS 3 Director David Todd, checked out the programs and equipment of that city’s Patrick Henry Hays Senior Citizens Center. Facility director Charley Baxter and North Little Rock Mayor Joe […]
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One at a time
Pete White Credit: Mark Hancock Council members were scheduled this week to decide whether to accept a subcommittee’s recommendation to begin negotiations with one potential wellness center operating partner instead of two, as city staff had originally suggested. In a 4-3 vote, the health and wellness subcommittee opted June 26 to recommend negotiations with the […]
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Kid stuff
Educare, a preschool program for at-risk youth, is credited as one of Oklahoma’s high points for early childhood education. Credit: Shannon Cornman Oklahoma was one of two states with the greatest gains in overall child well-being, moving from 40th place to 36th in the 2013 Kids Count Data Book, an annual study by the Annie […]
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Getting past coal
Rixmann lauded a coal-fired power plant in Colorado that was retrofitted recently, touting it as a model for Oklahoma. My research shows that Colorado Springs City Council members were vehemently opposed to spending an additional $121 million on top of tens of millions already invested in retrofits for the plant. The council was particularly opposed […]
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Out of shape
Credit: Brad Gregg According to the American Fitness Index compiled by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), OKC is the least fit city in the U.S. The. Least. Fit. According to the annual survey, Minneapolis is the healthiest city, based on the overall general wellness of its people and a wealth of other factors, […]
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Brain gain
Jonathan Wren Rheal Towner, who oversees the MRI center, and Jonathan Wren, a computer scientist, have studied and tested genes that can serve as mapping tools to help doctors in the removal of brain tumors and, eventually, in sending drugs directly to the tumors. Towner and Wren, whose mother died of brain cancer when he […]
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Get off of coal
In addition to the many immediate public health risks associated with coal-fired energy plants, the immense scale of environmental damage caused by modern mining practices should be regarded in sheer horror. For the workers, exposure to coal dust and other hazards is the cause of numerous life-threatening and long-term health problems. The high volume of […]