A conversation with Qiana Thomason

In this episode, Health Forward Communications Intern Tiana Ford visits with KCMO Health Department experts Dinyelle Baker and Connie Farakhan about how organizations can advance health literacy. They also discuss the KC Health IQ program, which aims to address real-time critical health issues in our community through partnerships and education.

This month, we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by inviting artist, poet, teacher, and long-time Kansas Citian José Faus to join us for a conversation about the importance of the arts in building community power.

How do we know we're making an impact? In this episode, Health Forward's Andrés Domínguez and Jane Mosley tackle this frequently asked question as they take a deep dive into learning, research, and equitable evaluation. They also discuss Health Forward's first equity and inclusion metrics report about our grantmaking, which you can check out on our website: https://healthforward.org/about/equity-inclusion-metrics/ The report highlights demographic information from our partners, grantees, consultants, and contractors to provide a deeper sense of how inclusion is happening and where there are opportunities to improve.

We are sharing something a bit different in honor of Black Maternal Health Week. In this episode, Kansas City storyteller Olivia Hill visits with Amber Smith from KC Health Collaborative. Their intimate and wide-ranging conversation covers civil rights, integration, generational trauma, and what it's like to visit the doctor as a Black woman. Olivia Hill is a playwright, visual artist, professional chef, and small business owner. You can learn more about her at oliviahillwrites.com. Amber Smith is a project manager with KC Health Collaborative and supports the Kansas City Health Equity Learning and Action Network. You can learn more about KC Health Collaborative at kchealthcollaborative.org and the Action Network at kchealthequity.org.

Racial healing is at the heart of racial equity. It restores individuals and communities to wholeness. It repairs the damage caused by racism. It facilitates trust, builds authentic relationships, and bridges divides. To mark the National Day of Racial Healing, we convened local journalists from The Kansas City Beacon, Flatland/KCPBS, and KCUR to discuss how storytellers can tell more representative, inclusive, and healing stories about the diverse communities that make up our region.

Oklahoma and Missouri both expanded Medicaid in 2020. Why has expansion gone so smoothly in Oklahoma? Why has Missouri's expansion and enrollment been so difficult? In this episode, Health Forward Foundation's Nate Madden compares and contrasts Medicaid expansion journeys with Carly Putnam and Emma Morris from Oklahoma Policy Institute.

Health Forward Foundation's Nate Madden and McClain Bryant Macklin discuss the current state of Medicaid expansion in Missouri. How did we get here? What obstacles have gotten in the way? What happens next?

It's hard to understand policy unless you really feel it. Season one of Forward Focus is highlighting what we advocate for and how policy impacts real people. In today's data-driven society, disaggregating public health data is an absolute necessity. It's the best way to identify communities in greatest need of targeted resources. In this episode, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives McClain Bryant Macklin discusses data disaggregation with Juliann Van Liew from the Unified Government of Wyandotte County's public health department, Missouri State Senator Barbara Anne Washington, and Victor Rubin from PolicyLink.

It's hard to understand policy unless you really feel it. Season one of Forward Focus is highlighting what we advocate for and how policy impacts real people. High-speed internet touches nearly every aspect of our lives. But some people have better access than others. While the digital divide isn't new, the pandemic has brought more attention to the issue than ever before. In this episode, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives McClain Bryant Macklin discusses efforts to close the digital divide with Angela Siefer from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and David Jordan from the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund.

It's hard to understand policy unless you really feel it. Season one of Forward Focus is highlighting what we advocate for and how policy impacts real people. Kansas is one of the few remaining states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Unlike in Missouri, Kansas voters do not have the ability to expand Medicaid via ballot initiative. In this episode, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives McClain Bryant Macklin discusses the current state of Kansas Medicaid expansion with April Holman from Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, and visits with David Sabata, a rural Kansan and archeologist who spends part of the year without health coverage.