May 2, 2022 | By The Active Age
About 30 percent of Kansas nursing home employees have avoided a required COVID-19 vaccination by claiming religious or medical exemptions, an industry representative said. The federal government set a March 15 deadline for nursing home staffs to be fully vaccinated or else the facilities where they work would risk losing Medicaid and Medicare funding. However, […]
| By The Active Age
Senior centers in Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties could receive a boost from money sent to Kansas as part of the America Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package passed last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “We think we will be able to use some of those ARPA dollars in help […]
| By The Active Age
Sedgwick County Commissioners are once again sparring over spending geared toward older residents. At their April 6 meeting, 5th District Commissioner Jim Howell reiterated an argument he’s made in the past, that the commission is ignoring the will of county residents and underfunding those Department on Aging services and programs by millions of dollars. In […]
August 2, 2021 | By The Active Age
Sedgwick County’s use of local tax revenue for older residents is not keeping up with the growth of that population, a new analysis by Wichita State University shows. In fact, per capita spending from that source has fallen 27 percent over the past decade while the population over 60 grew by almost 33 percent. The […]
July 1, 2021 | By Debbi Elmore
As a young man, Swapan Kumar Chaudhuri dreamed of coming to the United States. “I was envious of Americans and all the opportunities here,” he said. Chaudhuri realized his ambition in his late 30s. Since his arrival from Canada in 1996, he has earned a master’s degree from Wichita State University, landed a job in […]
| By Joe Stumpe
“Laughing at Myself: My Education in Congress, on the Farm, and at the Movies” by Dan Glickman (University of Kansas Press, $34.95) Dan Glickman believes the lack of humor in the current political environment is no laughing matter. “I do think there’s a toxic partisanship — an excessively partisan atmosphere in politics […]
April 29, 2021 | By The Active Age
Advocates for older Kansans got some of what they wanted during the 2021 legislative session but found themselves on the losing end of several political battles. The Legislature adjourned April 9 and is expected to return May 3 to consider the budget and any vetoes issued by Gov. Laura Kelly. “We’re hoping a lot of […]
| By Rep. Elizabeth Bishop
The 2021 Kansas Legislature is winding down its business for this year. We return from spring break on May 3, conduct our “wrap-up session” until May 11. We may adjourn sooner, depending on how the action goes. As we finish up, here are some musings on the future. I can’t help but observe that the […]
March 31, 2021 | By Rep. Elizabeth Bishop
On March 18, the Kansas House of Representatives returned to the House Chamber in regular order. No longer socially distanced by using every other desk. And you have never seen 125 more happy people in your life. The new legislators explored their new desks. They have been sitting on chairs or benches in the galleries […]
| By The League of Women Voters Wichita Metro
The League of Women Voters Wichita Metro was contacted last fall by an assisted living facility to help their residents with voter registration for the 2020 General Election. We were honored by this request, and based on this successful project and relationship, the League realized that this effort could be expanded to all senior living […]
March 1, 2021 | By Amy Geiszler-Jones
David Dennis retired from two careers spanning 40 years before deciding to pick up another vocation: elected public official. At 74, Dennis is the oldest commissioner on the five-member Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners. In November, he was re-elected for his second four-year term representing District 3, the county’s western district that includes a big […]
| By Rep. Elizabeth Bishop
The Kansas Legislature is busy churning out bills in 2021. One reason for the frenetic activity is that many bills made it through either the House or Senate in 2020 but then were left incomplete when the pandemic panic set in and the 2020 legislature shut down early. However, so far, most of the action […]
February 5, 2021 | By Rep. Elizabeth Bishop
Editor’s note: The Active Age invited state Rep. Elizabeth Bishop of Wichita, the Kansas Legislature’s most senior member, to share some of her experiences during the 2021 session. This is her first column. TOPEKA — Starting my third term in the Kansas House of Representatives, I knew things were going to be different in the […]