Month: June 2021

CoxHealth and Citizens Memorial Hospital have announced a partnership to help stroke patients receive faster treatment.

A new program, called Telestroke, will remotely connect stroke patients at CMH to neurologists at Cox South. The program allows treatment to begin within minutes of a patient’s hospital arrival.

“We’re excited to partner with CoxHealth in bringing this life-saving resource to the communities we serve. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in Missouri, and we are dedicated to improving those outcomes for our patients suffering from cerebrovascular disease,” Michael Calhoun, CMH chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Telestroke serves as an innovative solution for meeting the unique needs of our rural health care system and ensuring that our patients always receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place for best patient outcomes.”

The Telestroke program has been in use between Cox’s locations in Branson, Monett, and Barton County, but the partnership with CMH is the first such arrangement outside of the CoxHealth system.

“This project demonstrates the commitment that CMH and CoxHealth have to advancing stroke care for the region,” Dr. Benjamin Lisle, medical director of Stroke at CoxHealth, said. “People of the Ozarks deserve the best stroke care that we can provide, and both of our institutions are committed to meeting that need.”

A Lebanon man’s appeal of a death sentence to the Missouri State Supreme Court has been rejected.

Jesse Driskill claimed that he received ineffective counsel and that important evidence was withheld during his trial for double murder. Driskill was convicted of killing Johnnie and Coleen Wilson in their home on July 26, 2010. The Wilsons had celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary and came home to discover Driskill had broken into their home.

Driskill claimed among other issues that prosecutors did not reveal making a deal on a prison sentence for a man who testified against him. He also claimed his counsel was ineffective for not calling witnesses on Driskill’s mental health problems.

The Court said the circuit court’s denial of Driskill’s claims weren’t “erroneous” and upheld the lower court’s decision.

A woman is in the Greene County Jail after her plans to transport meth went to the dogs.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says that Virginia Sanchez, 40, of Compton, California, was pulled over on Interstate 44 for speeding. The trooper suspected something was wrong after questioning Sanchez and two passengers, so he called for a K9 officer.

K9 James indicated something was in the spare tire area of the car. Troopers then uncovered 64 pounds of methamphetamine in the spare tire.

Interstate 44 is a major corridor for drug trafficking.

Sanchez reportedly admitted to police that the drugs belonged to her. She is being held without bond in the Greene County Jail for the Drug Enforcement Agency.

MoDOT has closed the passing lane of westbound Interstate 44 following a sinkhole opening up in the median.

The closure is being conducted for “safety reasons,” according to a press release.

The passing lane at Mile Marker 75, under the West Bypass bridge, will be indefinite until all necessary repairs are made to the area. MoDOT officials said that weather conditions will have an impact on how long the lane will be closed.

The Springfield Police Department has released the name of a man killed in a motorcycle crash over the holiday weekend at Kansas Expressway and Broadmoor.

Officers say Nathaniel Likins, 19, Republic, was traveling southbound on Kansas Expressway towards Broadmoor Sunday afternoon.

The motorcycle hit the curb along the median and ran off the roadway before slamming into a tree.

Likins was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say investigators are still looking into the circumstances involved in the crash, which is the sixth fatal motor vehicle wreck in the city in 2021.

Local health officials say not only is the COVID-19 vaccination rate falling in Greene County, but there’s been a 37% increase in new cases of the virus in the last week.

This includes two consecutive days of 63 new positive cases prior to the Memorial Day weekend.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department says according to data collected in patient interviews, 97% of positive cases in the county are among people who are not fully vaccinated.

Last week, the health department says it received confirmation of three cases of the Indian variant B.1.617 of SARS-CoV-2 among Greene County residents.

Health leaders also say early research indicates the natural immunity resulting from having COVID-19 may be ineffective against this variant, while a study by researchers from Emory University shows promise that people fully vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna immunizations could still neutralize the B.1.617 variant.

In Greene County, just 38% of adults 18 and older are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, which is behind the statewide rate of 44.1% and the national rate of 51.5%.

The health department continues to recommend people who are unvaccinated continue wearing masks and practicing physical distancing.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has a person of interest in the accident that claimed the life of a woman in May.

“We have a person of interest in the case,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike McClure told KWTO.  “No charges and no arrests have been made yet.”

MSHP investigators have been looking for an SUV that passed a FedEx truck in a No Passing Zone near the top of a hill outside Rogersville on State Highway 125. The SUV being in the wrong lane caused Mercedes Luna, 21, to swerve, lose control, and slide into the path of the FedEx truck.

Luna was killed in the crash as the driver of the SUV sped away. Luna, a student-teacher in the Logan-Rogersville school district, would have graduated from Drury University this year.

The FedEx truck had surveillance video that captured the SUV involved in the accident and the MSHP gave a photo to local media, asking for the public’s help in finding the driver.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has a person of interest in the accident that claimed the life of a woman in May.

“We have a person of interest in the case,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike McClure told KWTO.  “No charges and no arrests have been made yet.”

MSHP investigators have been looking for an SUV that passed a FedEx truck in a No Passing Zone near the top of a hill outside Rogersville on State Highway 125. The SUV being in the wrong lane caused Mercedes Luna, 21, to swerve, lose control, and slide into the path of the FedEx truck.

Luna was killed in the crash as the driver of the SUV sped away. Luna, a student-teacher in the Logan-Rogersville school district, would have graduated from Drury University this year.

The FedEx truck had surveillance video that captured the SUV involved in the accident and the MSHP gave a photo to local media, asking for the public’s help in finding the driver.