Missouri Health Talks

Jaquie Melloway and John Trapp are the leadership team that run Room at the Inn, the local overnight shelter in Columbia that serves unhoused people. They spoke about some of the things that have surprised them about the folks they serve.

Reighna is an unhoused woman in her 40s. She spoke about some of the systemic challenges that can make it hard for people to climb out of homelessness, but also about the community that supports her.

Amy is an unhoused woman in her 50s who we met at Room at the Inn, the local overnight shelter in Columbia. She spoke about some of the challenges of trying to take care of her health while living on the street with chronic illnesses.

Hogs for Hunger is a program that allows farmers to donate pigs to their local food banks or senior centers for a tax deduction. Since the program began, more than 2.6 million servings of pork have been donated.

Dr. Allison Sindle is a dermatologist with Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, down in the Bootheel. She comes from a farming family and spoke about some of the ways farmers – and farmers' loved ones – can help keep them safe from the sun.

Farming is a common way of life in Shelby County in Northeast Missouri, but farming doesn't come without it's challenges. In the last few years, it was found that the county had one of the highest rates of suicide by firearm in the state.

Emma Alexander and her family live in southwest Missouri and come from a long line of Missouri farmers. She and her 16-year-old son Lucas recently sat down and spoke about how farming and its challenges benefit their mental health and well-being.

Dr. Zane He is a psychiatrist with University of Missouri Health Care. He works at the MU Student Health Center as a sort of “school psychiatrist." He spoke about how he's seen the stigma around mental health change during his career, and about how simply talking about issues can help reduce the stigma around mental health.

According to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, stroke is the sixth leading cause of death in Missouri. Dr. Adnan Qureshi with University of Missouri Health Care is an expert on strokes and spoke about how treatment options for strokes have expanded during his time in the field.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have already been more than 700 measles cases in the United States so far this year. That's more than double the number of cases reported in all of 2024.

The Presser Art Center in Mexico has been hosting a new class, Art for All Abilities, which gives creators with developmental and intellectual disabilities the opportunity to come together and make art.

Jenny Bossaller, a professor of library sciences at the University of Missouri recently sat down with Robin Westphal, the Executive Director of Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia, to talk about the important role libraries can play – as a tool for connection.

The Osage County Branch of the Missouri River Regional Libraries is located in Linn – and for the past year or so, they've been hosting programs that focus on fall prevention and an active lifestyle for area seniors.

The Mexico-Audrain County Library District recently began offering a new service in partnership with a local doctor. Christal Bruner is the director of the library district and spoke about how patrons can now check out blood pressure monitors when they need them, as well as new books that help better explain this and other health conditions.

The Little Dixie Regional libraries, which cover Randolph and Monroe county, serve the health of their communities in lots of ways. Like a collection of small health equipment, such as thermometers and blood pressure cuffs, that can be checked out and a "Healing Library," a collection of interactive kits that allow families to tackle hard topics together.

The Moberly School District recently opened the Little Spartans Clubhouse," an embedded, in-school daycare option for district teachers. Vicky Snodgrass is the director of the Little Spartan Clubhouse and spoke about how this new resource benefits students, teachers – and the community as a whole.

Moberly and Randolph County have a pretty high rate of families being involved in the foster system. Amy Martel and her husband Daniel are trying to change that with Rooted 242 – a café and community space in downtown Moberly where kids aging out of the foster system are given opportunity to learn job and life skills – in a safe and supportive space.

Ashley Swon is a counselor who lives in Moberly and works at Crossroads Counseling LLC based in Fayette. She spoke about the benefits of this home-based care and of giving families skills that help them stay together.

James Williams and Keeyon Howard help run the “Focus on Fatherhood” program in Moberly, which is through Randolph County Caring Community Partners and works to improve the well-being of the entire community by investing in fathers.

Cosmo Evans is a disabled veteran who's nonbinary and intersex. They spoke about their access to medical care that both affirms their gender and benefits their physical health.

Lydia Bennett. She's a pansexual polyamorous person, as well as a resident physician working in emergency medicine. She spoke about how her identity has and hasn't played a role in her work.

Dr. Brittney Marshall has been working in rural healthcare since her clinical days – now as the resident physician at the Family Medicine Clinic in Fayette. She spoke about why she chooses to work in – and loves rural medicine.

Nathan Gilbert is a college student in Columbia who has borderline personality disorder, or BPD – a mental health condition that impacts a person's ability to manage their emotions and can lead to tumultuous relationships. He spoke about his BPD diagnosis and how the condition impacts his life, but does not define him.

Dr. Robin Blount is the chief medical officer at Boone Health. She spoke about the importance of vaccinations – especially as people gather in large groups during the holidays.

Dr. Taylor Miller is a veterinarian and mental health professional with Not One More Vet, a group that's working to combat the high rate of suicide in the field of veterinary medicine. Research shows that veterinarians are twice as likely as other medical professionals, and four times more likely than the general population to die by suicide.

Rona McNally is the director of the Missouri Senior Medicare Patrol, which helps patients prevent and report Medicare fraud. It's estimated that nationally, Medicare losses $60 billion a year to fraud, errors and abuse.

Kip Kendrick, the presiding commissioner of Boone County, spoke about the center's mission to address barriers to employment for public safety employees through providing access to affordable childcare.

Applying for Medicare may seem really scary, but this week we hear from Shannon Hasenstein with Aging Best in Columbia. Her job is to help Missourians find the Medicare plan that is best for them.

Tyler Davis is the first community resource manager at Daniel Boone Regional Library in Columbia. He started full time in January, and his job is to connect patrons with health and social support resources. He spoke about some of the needs he has seen in the community and how he – and the library can help.

Katie Manga is the CEO of nonprofit organization Gateway to Hope, which provides support to breast cancer patients, survivors and anyone impacted by breast cancer or in need of breast health services.

Christina Lee in St. Louis. She works at the St. Louis Empowerment Center as a peer case manager supervisor. She spoke about peer support workers and the important role these folks can play in recovery.

Meghan Kruse is a pediatric nurse practitioner at Columbia Public School's Scholar Clinic, a school-based clinic that serves students enrolled in CPS. She spoke about childhood vaccinations through their clinic, and about the power of having a conversation with concerned parents.

Stacey Andrews in Lynn Meyerkord both work at the AIDS Project of the Ozarks, or APO, in Springfield. They spoke about the history of harm reduction and how folks may already be using harm reduction techniques in their everyday lives.

Grey Riley was diagnosed with ADHD and autism in their youth and with multiple chronic conditions as an adult. They spoke about how being at the intersection of disability and queerness has impacted their life.

In August, the Missouri Department of Revenue updated the process for gender marker changes on a state ID – now requiring proof of gender affirming surgery or a court order.Amariah Hardwick is a trans women who lives in St. Louis and is a leader with Transformations, an organization founded and led by trans women of color.She spoke about the impacts of this change and how the process of transitioning looks different for every person.

Lynne Meyerkord has been working at the AIDS project of the Ozarks, or APO, in Springfield for 37 years and is now the Executive Director.The organization was created in the early days of the AIDS epidemic to help people suffering from HIV and AIDS. She spoke about how HIV has changed in the nearly 40 years she's been working in the field.

Kay Gibson and Valerie Badhorse are the co-chairs of the American Indian Center of Springfield. Kay's tribe is Cherokee and Valerie's tribe is the– Bois Forte Band (boys fort band) of the Minnesota Chippewa. They spoke a little about why they started the center in the first place.

Clay Goddard and Lauren Stockam both work in Springfield. Goddard is the president for Brightli Behavioral Health's Southwest Region and Stockam works in communication and outreach at Springfield-Greene County Health. They spoke about the “Hey Man, You Good” campaign that's working to reduce the high rate of male suicide in southwestern Missouri by getting men to open up.

Amanda Coleman is the vice president of early childhood and family development for the Community Partnership of the Ozarks in Springfield. She spoke about some of the challenges guardians face when trying to find childcare in rural Missouri.

Tony Lutz is 62 and was born and raised in Jefferson City. He spoke about his experiences as a closeted gay man in mid Missouri – during the early days of the AIDS epidemic.

Dr. Thomas Selva, a pediatrician and the Chief Medical Information Officer at University of Missouri Health Care, spoke about how patient portals can empower people to play a larger role in their own healthcare and increase access for patients.

Dr. Crystal Lim is the chair of health psychology at the University of Missouri, and has spent much of her career working with children who are overweight. She spoke about how the treatment of excess weight has changed to focus more of health than size.