Kansas Department of Health and Environment

Saline County residents peppered state and local health officials with questions about lead exposure at a public meeting Tuesday evening in Salina. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment organized the meeting after tests by local doctors this year found elevated lead levels in the blood of 32 Saline County children — most of them from Salina.

One audience member asked during the meeting whether officials were investigating the Exide Technologies plant on Salina’s southern edge, where batteries are manufactured.

Kansas has “reconsidered” its decision to terminate the participation of 11 Planned Parenthood physicians and other medical providers in the state’s Medicaid program, although it’s still trying to cut off Planned Parenthood itself.

State health officials have released warnings about two lakes in south central Kansas because of high levels of toxic blue-green algae. Blooms have been found in Cheney Lake and in Marion Reservoir.

According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, both lakes are still open, but contact with the water is strongly discouraged for people, pets and livestock. Ashton Rucker with the KDHE says blue-green algae can take on a variety of different appearances.

Health officials are planning a public information session in Salina later this month in response to the discovery that 30 children in Saline County have elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Saline County Health Department Director Jason Tiller says the problem surfaced after several families had their children tested for lead. Anyone with more than five micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood is considered at risk.

Update from the AP:

The Obama administration is telling public schools that they must allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

The directive is in formal guidance being sent to school districts Friday by the departments of Education and Justice.

The letter does not impose any new legal requirements, but federal officials say the guidance is meant to clarify school districts’ obligations to provide students with nondiscriminatory environments.

The Sedgwick County Health Department will continue to receive state and federal money to support its local health programs and services.

Sedgwick County Commissioners voted 5-to-0 Wednesday to accept a $1.9 million grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The grant is a longstanding funding source for county health department to carry out its mission to prevent disease and promote wellness in the community.

Health Department Director Adrienne Byrne-Lutz says the grant provides the foundation for several public health programs.

Kansas is one of seven states that rank in the bottom tier in a newly released report measuring states’ readiness to deal with infectious disease outbreaks.

A new computer system is causing long delays in processing Medicaid applications in Kansas.

The Kansas Eligibility Enforcement System finally went live this summer after almost two years of delays and nearly $50 million in projected cost overruns.

It was supposed to streamline enrollment in Medicaid and other social service programs. But a recent audit found that the software needed many more modifications than expected.

Groups that serve Kansans with disabilities say applications that took days under the old system are now taking months.