By Jim McLean
KHI News Service
TOPEKA, Jan.
17
Kansas Action for Children”s
2007 legislative agenda is topped by four health policy goals.
The goals are:
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Expanding Kansas” newborn screening program;
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Limit student access to vending machines in schools;
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Increasing the state”s childhood immunization rate; and
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Strengthening the state”s seat belt law
“We see newborn screenings as an enormous priority,” said Shannon Cotsoradis, associate director of the non-profit advocacy organization.
Currently, Kansas is one of a handful of states that test newborns for fewer than 10 serious and life-threatening disorders. Cotsoradis said KAC will actively support the Kansas Department of Health and Environment”s proposal to increase the number of conditions tested for to 29, the number recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics.
“These are all treatable conditions,” she said. “We can prevent really devastating consequences
and expensive consequences down the road.”
The screening proposal carries an estimated price tag of $2.3 million. About $1.17 million of that will be covered by fees charged to parents. Lawmakers will be asked to provide approximately $191,000 to cover the cost of treating newborns found to be suffering from one or more of the conditions.
While Cotsoradis expects the proposal to limit student access to vending machines to be a tough sell, she said it is an obvious place to start addressing the worsening problem of childhood obesity.
“We feel very strongly about it,” she said.
A recent survey by the Kansas Health Institute revealed that more than 58 percent of Kansas K-12 public school students have access to vending machines during the school day.
To reduce the number of teenagers killed and injured on Kansas streets and highways, Cotsoradis said KAC would propose a “primary” seat belt law for all children under 17. A primary law would allow teenage drivers to be stopped for failing to wear a seat belt. Currently, the state”s “secondary” law only allows drivers pulled over for another traffic violation to be ticketed for failing to wear a seat belt.
The Kansas Department of Transportation reports that 85 percent of the teenagers killed in 2004 Kansas motor vehicle crashes were not wearing seat belts.
The Kansas Highway Patrol, KDOT and KDHE are leading a coalition that will push for the imposition of a primary law for all Kansas drivers and vehicle occupants.
In an effort to further improve the state”s childhood immunization rate, KAC will support a pilot program to allow nurses to administer vaccinations in federally-supported clinics that participate in the Women Infants and Children program.
“We think it shows promise as a strategy,” Cotsoradis said.
Currently nearly 83.8 percent of Kansas children receive a standard set of vaccinations by their second birthday. State and local health officials are seeking to increase that rate to 90 percent and keep it there.
The
Immunize Kansas Kids project
, administered by KDHE and the Kansas Health Institute, and funded by the Kansas Health Foundation, is developing a plan for reaching the 90 percent goal.
Jim McLean is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at
jmclean@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 110.