About the Janet Sevier Gilbreath Award
Each year, the Health Fund’s Board of Directors selects one outstanding project from among all current funded projects to receive the Janet Sevier Gilbreath Special Project Recognition Award, named in honor of our first Board Chairperson.
At the time of Janet Sevier Gilbreath’s retirement in 1988 as the first Chairperson of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, the Health Fund Board of Directors honored her with the establishment of the “Janet Sevier Gilbreath Special Project Recognition Award.”
As Chairperson of the Wesley Taskforce appointed by the Kansas West Conference to develop a strategy for use of the $32 million coming to the conference, as defender of the Taskforce’s vision of an independent grantmaking agency growing out of the church’s role in healing, and as the Fund’s first Chairperson in implementing the vision, Janet’s ministry has sustained and motivated others associated with this project.
Through her vision, determination, and Christian values, Janet has given the Health Fund a character which will ensure that the Fund will forever be the church at work in a caring, professional manner to see that healing, health, and wholeness are received and appropriated by persons in this Conference and beyond.
This award will be given each year to a project supported by the Health Fund which has, in the determination of the Board, done the most to advance the Fund’s and Janet’s vision of the Christian healing community.
As the work of the Health Fund continues to adapt to new challenges and opportunities, in 2010 the Board of Directors updated the criteria used to select the award recipient to better reflect the Fund’s focused, strategic approach. The new criteria for selection include:
- Scale – the project reached a reasonable number of participants based upon the need it was designed to address (local, regional, or state).
- Achievement of goals and objectives – the project had measurable goals and objectives and made substantial progress in meeting the planned targets.
- Leveraging – the project demonstrated value beyond that achieved solely with the resources provided by the Health Fund.
- Operational excellence – the project was conducted with best practices of management and has a governance structure which adds value to the work.
- Benefits to the “least of these” – the project targeted its work at the improvement of lives for populations which are under-served and often overlooked by free markets.
- Social justice and diversity – the project was motivated by a sense of social justice which empowers and enables. The project reflects a reasonable diversity in its board, staff, and participants.
Award recipients
2022 – Kansas Hospital Association
Rural Emergency Hospital Model
2021 – Russell Child Development Center
Kansas Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) Initiative
2020 – Rainbows United, Inc.
Kansas Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) Initiative
2019 – Prairie View
Tri-County Children’s Mental Health Project
2018 – Stormont Vail Health
Integrating Community Prenatal Breastfeeding Support
2017 – Kearny County Hospital
Pioneer Care Advocacy Team
2016 – Pratt Regional Medical Center
Hospital-Based Marketplace Navigator Program
2015 – Northwest Kansas Council on Substance Abuse, Colby
Healthy Social Emotional Development of Young Children in Northwest Kansas
2014 – Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, Manhattan
Business Case for Breastfeeding
2013 – Compass Behavioral Health, Garden City
“Change the First Five Years…and You Change Everything”
2012 – University of Kansas School of Medicine – Wichita Family Medicine Residency Program at Smoky Hill & Salina Family Healthcare Center
Patient-Centered Medical Home Transformation Project
2011 – Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved, Topeka
Kansas Dental Hubs Project
2010 – Kansas Head Start Association, Lawrence
Parent Health Literacy Project
2009 – Rawlins County Dental Clinic, Atwood
Establishment of a dental clinic in a rural, underserved region of Kansas
2008 – E.C. Tyree Health & Dental Clinic, Saint Mark United Methodist Church, Wichita
Expansion of a health ministry at the E.C. Tyree Health Center by providing dental care
2007 – GraceMed Health Clinic, Wichita
Rising above financial challenges to become one of the larger community health centers in Kansas, providing medical and dental care in multiple Wichita locations
2006 – Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas Dental Clinic, Pittsburg
Establishing one of the largest oral health safety-net clinics in Kansas
2005 – United Methodist Western Kansas Mexican-American Ministries, Garden City
Lifetime Smiles – comprehensive oral health program
2004 – Kansas Dental Charitable Foundation, Topeka
Kansas Mission of Mercy – free dental clinic serving nearly 2,000 Kansans in need each year
2003 – Higher Ground / Tiyospaye, Wichita
Learning the Ropes – adventure-based prevention, early intervention, and substance abuse treatment for youth
2002 – City of Leavenworth / Waterworks Board
Community water fluoridation
2001 – Family Consultation Service, Wichita
Expect Respect – supporting healthy teen relationships
2000 – United Methodist Homes, Topeka
Forever Friends Intergenerational Center – bringing children in day care and seniors together
1999 – American G.I. Forum of Kansas, Ulysses
Teens with Tots – providing training and support for teen parents and their children
1998 – Palco United Methodist Church
PUMKids Patch Day Care – providing rural access to vital family support services
1997 – The Family Life Center of Butler County
Multi-county sexual assault and domestic violence shelter and KIDSAFE intervention and counseling program
1996 – Association of Kansas Hospices
Development of regional, Medicare-certified hospice system covering Kansas
1995 – United Methodist Urban Ministry, Wichita
Low-income medical and dental clinic expansion
1994 – Health Ministries of Harvey County, Inc., Newton
Development of a low-income medical and dental clinic
1993 – Clay County Child Care Center
Head Start program serving Clay, Cloud, Republic, and Washington counties
1992 – Kansas Action for Children, Inc., Topeka
An Ounce of Prevention – advocacy campaign to increase childhood immunization rates
1991 – Osborne County Hospice, Inc.
Medicare-certified end of life care
1990 – Hospice, Inc., Wichita
ConnectCare – addressing needs of those affected by HIV
1989 – Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas, Wichita
COMPEER Program – friendship and support for those with mental illness
1988 – United Methodist Western Kansas Mexican-American Ministries, Garden City
Low-income medical clinic – providing access to primary care
