Erin Wisdom
Lifestyles Reporter

Contact Erin via e-mail
Call Erin at 816-271-8580.

A ‘faith take’ on the Fourth
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, July 4, 2009

It’s Independence Day, meaning flags are flying high and fireworks will fill the sky tonight.
But does patriotism have a place only at Fourth of July picnics, or does it also have a connection to faith? The News-Press asked some St. Joseph Christians to share their thoughts:

Religion in brief for July 4, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, July 4, 2009

Religion in brief for July 4, 2009

New CEO brings long list of credentials
by Erin Wisdom
Thursday, July 2, 2009

He has “more degrees than a Texas thermometer,” and he’s the new president and CEO of Heartland Health.
This description was used Wednesday morning in introducing Dr. Mark Laney. Dr. Laney — who had been on vacation in Florida with his family but flew in for the announcement — is president of the Cook Children’s Physician Network. That’s a Fort Worth, Texas-based pediatric multi-specialty group with more than 250 physicians, who see more than 800,000 patient visits annually.
His first day as Heartland’s CEO will be Aug. 1.

The substance behind the ‘sweet surprise’
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials with the popsicle and the punch and the people with no way to back up their beliefs that the high fructose corn syrup in them is bad.
These ads — which are sponsored by the Corn Refiners Association and encourage viewers to seek more information at a Web site, SweetSurprise.com — point out that high fructose corn syrup is made from corn, doesn’t have artificial ingredients and, like sugar, is fine in moderation. But is it true that the product, which has been blamed for the increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes in the United States, really isn’t as bad as it’s been made out to be?

A promise with a capital ‘P’
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 27, 2009

Today, they’re just kids with potato chips and pudding cups, taking a break from the heat in an air-conditioned lodge at
a campground in Stewartsville, Mo.

Heartland wishes Kruse ‘Happy Trails’
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 27, 2009

It was a hoedown in a parking lot at Heartland Regional Medical Center on Friday, as the hospital celebrated 25 years, as well as the retirement of its 25-year CEO.
With local band VandelSnook belting out country tunes and a horse-drawn carriage offering rides, Heartland staff and other community members gathered beneath a large white tent to wish Lowell Kruse the best as he prepares to leave the hospital. The evening also included barbecue, games such as a beanbag toss (officially called the cow-pie fly), as well as plenty of hay bales.

Religion in brief for June 27, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 27, 2009

Religion in brief for June 27, 2009

Prayer vigil seeks changes in health care system
by Erin Wisdom
Thursday, June 25, 2009

In the midst of a lot of talk nationally about health care reform, people gathered locally on Wednesday to pray about the issue.

Swimming safety 101
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

It’s officially summer, and you know what that means: It’s time to swim.
It’s also time for a few reminders about how to stay safe in the pool, lake or wherever else you might go for a dip.

Healthcare notes for June 23, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Healthcare notes for June 23, 2009

The greatest gift
by Erin Wisdom
Sunday, June 21, 2009

Mike Moseman’s mind doesn’t work quite like it used to.
If it did, he wouldn’t have been in the YMCA pool last week with two of his Special Olympics swimmers, helping them float on their backs and muster the courage to hop off the diving board. He wouldn’t have experienced the swim meet several weeks ago where the kids he coaches garnered plenty of medals. And he wouldn’t understand, first hand, some of the challenges that come with the disabilities they face.

Gender gap
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 20, 2009

If you’ve spent much time in church, perhaps you’ve noticed something’s missing. Or, more specifically, someone. Many someones. Men. This is the case, anyway, if attendance at your church reflects the national trend of church attendance being nearly two-thirds female. When it comes to the adults-under-35 demographic, as well as to participation in church activities and in leadership roles other than as pastors, the discrepancy is even greater.

Breast cancer mortality rate high in county
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 20, 2009

Buchanan County has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the 17-county Greater Kansas City area. That’s according to a 2009 community profile presented at the St. Joseph YWCA on Friday by Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Lori Maris, executive director of the organization’s Greater Kansas City affiliate, noted that in addition to its high incidence rate, Buchanan County has the third-highest mortality rate among breast-cancer patients, as well as a high percentage of uninsured women: 14.4 percent of the 18- to 64-year-old age group.

Religion in brief for June 20, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 20, 2009

Religion in brief for June 20, 2009

Heartland search narrows
by Erin Wisdom
Thursday, June 18, 2009

Heartland Health has narrowed its CEO candidates to four.

Go round to get fit
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 16, 2009

“Round” and “fit” generally aren’t terms considered to be closely related.
For that reason, it seemed like it would be fun and somewhat ironic to identify round objects that can go a long way in keeping you from developing — or in helping you shed — a shape like theirs. And as it turns out, there are several that not only provide good workouts but also won’t break your bank account.

Healthcare notes for June 16, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Healthcare notes for June 16, 2009

The gift of good water
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 13, 2009

Today, tarantulas don’t phase her.
But when Cristin Smith first encountered one about a year ago, crawling directly above where she lay in her hammock, she ran into her hut for her machete. That wasn’t long after the 2002 Bishop LeBlond High School graduate arrived in her village in Suriname, the South American country where she’d been stationed by the Peace Corps.

Religion in brief for June 13, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 13, 2009

Religion in brief for June 13, 2009

Just for fun on a Friday
by Erin Wisdom
Friday, June 12, 2009

I thought I’d pass along some articles and blog posts I found interesting and/or entertaining this week.

Medical miracle
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Larry Pike wasn’t in pain, but his body was looking increasingly strange.
In April 2008, comparing his current appearance with a photo of him taken at Christmas just a few months earlier emphasized the change. His face was thinner — a sign of all the weight he’d mysteriously lost — yet his midsection was inexplicably distended.

Healthcare notes for June 9, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Healthcare notes for June 9, 2009

Community health plan cuts 25 positions
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The positions of 25 Community Health Plan employees have been terminated following a cut in funding to a state program CHP contracted with.

Beyond the big day
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 6, 2009

It’s wedding season, which for most soon-to-be-married couples means making final decisions and pulling together last-minute details for the big day.
For some, it also means going through the premarital counseling sessions many churches require. And although the mandatory counseling might seem like just another thing to check off a mile-long to-do list, those offering it hope it’s the thing on that list that benefits the couple far beyond their “I dos.”

Religion in brief for June 6, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, June 6, 2009

Religion in brief for June 6, 2009

Heartland answers PETA critics
by Erin Wisdom
Thursday, June 4, 2009

People aren’t the only ones who are put under anesthesia at Heartland Regional Medical Center, and PETA has taken notice.
The animal-rights organization recently contacted Heartland by e-mail, then through a letter, asking that it stop using live cats in its pediatric advanced life support, or PALS, course. Heartland uses cats rather than mannequins in training because cats’ airways and the challenges to intubate their vocal chords are almost identical to those in an infant.

Don't flip out
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

For most of us, summer has become synonymous with flip-flops and other flat footwear.
But any podiatrist will tell you these aren’t the healthiest choices when it comes to shoes. In fact, plantar fasciitis — the inflammation of a band of tissue on the bottom of the foot that causes heel pain — has actually come to be called “flip-flop disease.”

Healthcare notes for June 2, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Healthcare notes for June 2, 2009

Broadcasting biblically
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Unless you’re in the mood to surf your radio dial or channel listings, chances are you aren’t aware of all the stations available to you. So let the following guide fill you in on some of the Christian radio and television stations in the area:

Religion in brief for May 30, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Religion in brief for May 30, 2009

Insurer CHP leaving market
by Erin Wisdom
Thursday, May 28, 2009

Community Health Plan announced Wednesday its intent to withdraw from the health insurance market.
The company, begun by Heartland Health almost 15 years ago, has signed an agreement with Aetna Health Plans that will create a new company, Community Health Improvement Solutions. This new company will allow CHP employees to keep their jobs and remain in their location at 801 Faraon St. It also will continue to provide the wellness programs CHP offered the businesses that contracted with it — such as on-site health-risk assessment screenings and counseling — while selling Aetna health insurance policies.

Are food labels misleading?
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

You care about buying food that’s good for you — but how trustworthy are the labels you rely on in making your grocery-shopping decisions?
To learn what’s really behind the labels “organic,” “natural” and “whole grain,” take a look at this guide.

Healthcare notes for May 26, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Healthcare notes for May 26, 2009

Changing clothes
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Lora Crowley remembers when it was important for ladies to wear hats to church.
They wore white gloves, too, and couldn’t leave the house without checking to make sure the seams of their stockings were straight. Men wore suits, even in the summer heat at a time churches weren’t air-conditioned.
That was 75 years ago, when Ms. Crowley, a member of Zion United Church of Christ in St. Joseph, was a child. A lot has changed since then, of course — including the clothes of those filling church pews on Sunday mornings.

Religion in brief for May 23, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Religion in brief for May 23, 2009

Muslims hope mosque ‘sheds light on Islam’
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Shamsuddin Rager had never been a Muslim in a city without a mosque until he moved to St. Joseph two years ago.
Mr. Rager, who is originally from Boston, came here from Florida and before that lived in a city in Germany not much larger than St. Joseph — one with five mosques. It was there, almost five years ago, that he converted to Islam.
Of the places he’s lived since, St. Joseph seems to be where Islam and its followers are least understood, he said. But he hopes that will change when the Islamic Center of Greater St. Joseph opens its first mosque later this year and St. Joseph’s Muslim community becomes more visible.

Lessons learned 'in the middle'
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

For Steve and Ruth Myers, the hospital visits were the easy part.
What wasn’t so easy to deal with were the costs that came afterward — and not because the St. Joseph couple couldn’t pay but, rather, because the pile of bills led to a plethora of phone calls as they tried to understand the unexpected charges they’d been dealt after needing treatment on several occasions for unrelated conditions.
Because the Myers have a health savings account and, therefore, a high-deductible insurance policy, they expected their bills to be high until they met their deductible. What they didn’t expect were the out-of-network charges they received, despite the fact that Heartland Health is an in-network provider for their insurance company, United Health, or the balanced billing on their statements — which left them to pay whatever their insurance company wouldn’t.

A journey and a homecoming
by Erin Wisdom
Sunday, May 17, 2009

You won’t find Calf Creek Hollow on a map.
But given the right guide, you will find it up a winding mountain road, past small cemeteries and a swelling creek littered with trash and a hodgepodge of homes — some that hardly look livable. Eastern Kentucky has had a lot of rain recently, but it was dry the day 13 members of St. Joseph’s Journey Church followed pastor Elmer Harris into the pocket of unpaved Appalachia where his home and church are hidden.

A few more words on 'A journey and a homecoming'
by Erin Wisdom
Sunday, May 17, 2009

My story today – “A journey and a homecoming” – was a bit off the beaten path for me.

Making an offering
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 16, 2009

Joyloise Rau married a Catholic and went to Mass every week.
But she was more concerned with working and raising her family than with stopping to consider spiritual things — until after her children were grown, she’d lost her husband and the family business was struggling.
“You face challenges and reach the point where you think, ‘There’s got to be a purpose in all this,’” she says. “If you don’t have faith to deal with it, life would just be meaningless.”
Her search for a faith that would make a difference in the midst of her difficulties led Ms. Rau about five years ago to an oblate group in St. Joseph led by Benedictine Sister Evelyn Gregory. An oblate — which literally means an offering — is a Christian lay person, either married or single, Catholic or not, who seeks to incorporate elements of monastic life into his or her life.

Religion in brief for May 16, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 16, 2009

Religion in brief for May 16, 2009

St. Joseph Skeptics host presentation
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 16, 2009

St. Joseph Skeptics host presentation

Islamic Center to build mosque in St. Joseph
by Erin Wisdom
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Plans for St. Joseph’s first mosque will be on display at an open house Saturday. The Islamic Center of Greater St. Joseph will host the event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 24th and Messanie streets, near where it plans to build its mosque. The center hopes the mosque will be complete by the time Ramadan begins Aug. 22, president Ramadhan Washington said. “It’s our most holy month, so we hope to have it up by then to be able to accommodate believers,” he added.

It takes a Village Greeter
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Johannah Hausman had heard dialysis was awful.
When her husband, David, began needing it three hours a day, three days a week, in early 2008, she didn’t want to leave him by himself at DaVita St. Joseph Dialysis Center. But the longer she sat at his side, the more it seemed there had to be more she could do.
And now, “I just do whatever they need done, except windows,” she laughs. “I don’t even do my own windows.”

Marathoning minister
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 9, 2009

He could have taken the bus.
But Dr. Jimmy Albright, senior pastor of Wyatt Park Baptist Church in St. Joseph, wouldn’t pass up an early morning run along the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Some days, he made it all 12 miles to the excavation site before everyone else on the archeological dig arrived by bus.

Religion in brief for May 9, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 9, 2009

Religion in brief for May 9, 2009

Churches unite for 'Day of Prayer'
by Erin Wisdom
Thursday, May 7, 2009

St. Joseph will join cities across the country today in observing the National Day of Prayer — but once again, in a way that stands out.
One Church, the annual event in which churches come together to pray for the city, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Summit Auditorium on the campus of Riverside Church, 5401 Mitchell Ave. The unity demonstrated by the event has drawn the attention of National Day of Prayer state director Tom Otley, who will be in attendance and will read the governor’s proclamation.

High hopes to hear again
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Linda Kerner didn’t set out to be ground-breaking.
The St. Joseph woman simply wanted her hearing back — something a traditional cochlear implant could accomplish, if only she were a good candidate for one. But the fact that she wasn’t a good candidate opened the door for Ms. Kerner to become the first person in the United States to receive a version of the device that might benefit not only her but also many others with hearing loss.

Healthcare notes for May 5, 2009
by Erin Wisdom
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Healthcare notes for May 5, 2009

Stories to tell
by Erin Wisdom
Saturday, May 2, 2009

Janeen Burnham didn’t want to go on the mission trip Brookdale Presbyterian Church was taking to a place in the Ozarks for troubled boys.
The St. Joseph woman just couldn’t see that she’d be able to serve any purpose there — at Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch in Lampe, Mo. — not having the skills for ranch work or the youth she assumed she’d need to connect to the boys. But she did have bolts of material in her garage that a friend with an interior design business had recently offered her.