Eating Disorders Awareness Week: Feb. 26 to March 3
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Mo. – National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) — from Monday, Feb. 26 to Sunday, March 3, 2024 — seeks to educate, raise awareness about and bring hope to people with eating disorders and disordered eating.
Adult high school becomes a Recovery Friendly Workplace
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The MERS Missouri Goodwill Industries Excel Center in Columbia is the first school in Missouri to become a Recovery Friendly Workplace. This designation recognizes employers that promote workplace cultures that reduce stigma and provide recovery resources to address the challenges surrounding substance use disorders.
Harm reduction advice for safer holidays
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Use of legal and illegal substances sometimes increases during the holidays. It might be extra celebratory cocktails with friends or self-medication to deal with depression or stress. While there is no safe way to use any substance, health experts have developed an approach to help people engage with substances in safer ways, said Michelle McDowell, senior coordinator for University of Missouri Extension Community…
Our Community, Our Health: learning from local voices
BENTON, Mo. – Maude Harris really wants to know what people in Scott County think about the COVID-19 vaccine and other community health measures.
Recovery Friendly Workplace designation: “A good business decision”
Becoming a recovery friendly workplace was a no-brainer, says Theresa Calvert, vice president of Ace Pipe Cleaning Inc., a Kansas City, Missouri, company with 200 employees. “It’s not only the right thing to do for our employees; it’s a good business decision, too,” Calvert said. Ace is among the first six companies to receive this designation since the University of Missouri Extension Recovery designation process has been available…
September is Suicide Prevention Month
COLUMBIA, Mo. – During drought, plants and livestock suffer.So do farmers. Life in rural America can be rough, especially when weather-related events such as drought and flood put crops and livestock at risk.University of Missouri Extension agronomist Valerie Tate knows this all too well. Tate has lost some friends and neighbors to suicide, a topic that still breaks her heart.
Survey seeks worker input on recovery friendly workplaces
Sidebars: Success story: Tower Rock Stone Co. and B
A key Missouri asset: MU Extension generated $1.2 billion economic impact in FY21
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension generated an estimated $1.2 billion economic impact throughout Missouri in fiscal year 2021, according to a recent impact analysis. That amount contributed to the University of Missouri System’s overall $6.5 billion economic impact statewide.
Statewide survey shows that drugs affect 70% of Missouri employers
A new statewide survey illustrates a growing substance use disorder problem in Missouri workplaces. According to the survey of 619 Missouri business owners and human resource professionals, more than 70% of Missouri employers surveyed say they are suffering consequences such as absenteeism, decreased productivity and accidents.
Health entrepreneurship could boost access to care
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Missouri ranks below the national average in many key measures related to health and access to health care, especially in rural parts of the state. A new report from University of Missouri Extension suggests that “health entrepreneurship” might be one solution to the state’s shortage of care providers.
MU Extension releases 2021 mental health toolkit
COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension and Show-Me Farm Safety recently released a new Together We Can toolkit to help rural Missourians access mental health resources.
Opioid use disorder: 'significant consequences' for Missouri's economy
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Opioid use disorder suppresses Missouri’s labor force participation rate by an estimated 3% among workers ages 25 to 54, according to a study by the American Action Forum. Only Arkansas and West Virginia experience greater losses in labor force participation due to opioid addiction.
Recovery friendly workplaces: A model for building a stronger Missouri workforce and economy
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mike Thibideau recalls the dread he felt that Monday morning when he called his boss to tell him he was in treatment for addiction.
MU Extension and partners combat COVID-19 misconceptions
COLUMBIA, Mo. – With Missouri seeing hundreds of new COVID-19 cases each day, University of Missouri Extension and partners are working to decrease these numbers as much as possible.
Reducing influenza in your community
UNIONVILLE, Mo. – In addition to educating people in Putnam County on topics such as farm leases and fence laws, University of Missouri Extension county engagement specialist Joe Koenen also strives to educate his north-central Missouri community on the importance of staying healthy this flu season.
MU School of Medicine recognizes National Rural Health Day
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri School of Medicine joins health care organizations across the country to honor the thousands of health care students and professionals serving the unique health needs of an estimated 57 million rural Americans.
Getting employees in recovery back into the workplace
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Opioid addiction keeps an estimated 1 million Missourians out of the workforce and costs the state about $1 million an hour, including the loss of jobs and wages. A new University of Missouri community health initiative will help rural communities counter the effects of the opioid crisis by focusing on local workforce recovery efforts, which could also help faltering rural economies.
UM System Health Care Finder: Helping to identify and solve local health care needs
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The new University of Missouri System Health Care Finder aims to increase Missourians’ access to health care and boost the state’s health care outcomes.
Working together can discover solutions to parking for Main Street
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Most towns have parking problems, normally in the downtown area. Whether you are a Springfield, a Republic or an Ash Grove resident, there are ways to get more parking without paving, striping or getting a permit.For starters, it is important to find hidden parking, according to David Burton, a county engagement specialist in Greene County with University of Missouri Extension.
MU develops program to prepare for alternative care site staffing
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri is helping to lead a statewide effort to retrain and deploy retired nurses and other health care providers to alternative care sites (ACSs) for recovering COVID-19 patients. The coordinated response ensures that staff would be immediately available to assist whenever the need may arise.
Lessons learned during 2007 ice storm can help deal with stress of sheltering in place
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- If experience is a great teacher, then the 2007 ice storm that hit southwest Missouri taught us some valuable lessons. The storm left many families stranded indoors for a week or more without electricity and other modern conveniences.
New research identifies behavioral health crisis in agriculture
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Amid mounting pressures — floods, bankruptcies, consolidation and a credit squeeze — rural Missourians struggle to access mental health services. Mental health challenges are a growing public health concern in rural Missouri, according to a new report from the Missouri Hospital Association, Missouri Department of Mental Health, Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Missouri Farm Bureau and University…
Kathleen Quinn named senior program director for health and safety
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Kathleen Quinn, associate dean for rural health at the University of Missouri, has been named senior program director for health and safety. This new position is a collaborative effort between the MU School of Medicine and the MU Office of Extension and Engagement. One goal of the position is to solve rural health care challenges, a key aim of the NextGen Precision Health Initiative.