Author: Nancy McCready

Podcast episode 41: Chase Blasi

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.

In episode 41, we interview Chase Blasi, Kansas senator and Senate majority leader. He is a fifth-generation Kansan who grew up in West Sedgwick County and represents Senate District 26 in the Kansas Legislature.

In this episode, Senator Blasi discusses his background and how his interest was sparked in politics.

He first became interested in politics in 2010 while in high school — a time when the Tea Party made headlines and was coming into prominence. He became a volunteer for Mike Pompeo’s campaign for Congress, who successfully was elected to public office and went on to hold many high-level positions, including CIA director and secretary of state.

In 2017, he joined Kansas Senator Susan Wagle’s office while she served as president of the Senate. He then worked for Senator Ty Masterson’s office after that; he, too, served as president of the Senate. After working five years as a staffer, Chase decided to leave the Statehouse.

“Only then, four months later, my senator (Gene Suellentrop) resigned, and I thought, well maybe I should run for office and and run for the Senate,” he said. “And so next thing you know, four months later, I’m back in the Senate — not as a staffer, but now as a senator.”

He was elected in a precinct special election and is now entering his fourth year of service in the Senate and his second year as senate majority leader. He became the youngest person to serve in either position.

He also discusses:

  • Servant leadership
  • His experience as a young senator and the perspective that brings to the Legislature
  • How being a father makes him a better legislator
  • The high cost of child care
  • Efforts to pass a statewide ban on cell phones in schools and how he built a non-partisan coalition to support it
  • His focus on child health issues for the 2026 legislative session
  • Leadership Kansas
  • What gives him hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Senator Blasi is an innovative leader in Kansas.

Listen now

Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode!

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Please see the Pioneers in Health page on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes.  

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Health Fund president named to national health board

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Health Fund President and CEO David Jordan was elected to the national Grantmakers in Health Board of Directors this month.

Grantmakers in Health is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to helping foundations and corporate giving programs improve the health of all people. Its mission is to foster communication and collaboration among grantmakers and others, and to help strengthen the grantmaking community’s knowledge, skills, and effectiveness.

David joins Regan Gruber Moffitt, of St. David’s Foundation, as the newest members to the board.

“David and Regan bring deep experience in philanthropy and a powerful commitment to advancing better health for all, and we are excited for them to join the GIH board,” said Qiana Thomason, GIH Board Chair and President and CEO of the Health Forward Foundation. “We are grateful for their leadership, dedication, and willingness to serve.”

David’s three-year term begins in March.

“I am honored to be elected to serve on the Grantmakers in Health Board of Directors,” David said. “GIH is doing great work to support better health for all, and I am excited to support this important organization.”

Read full announcement

Child care subsidy program report, recommendations released

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Access to affordable, high-quality child care is essential to the well-being of Kansas families, the strength of our workforce, and the long-term economic prosperity of our state.

Reliable child care allows parents to work, pursue education, and provide stability at home. For employers, it means a dependable workforce and stronger productivity. And for children, high-quality early care and education builds the foundation for healthy development and lifelong learning. When families can find and afford the care they need, the benefits ripple across local businesses, communities, and the entire state.

A cornerstone of this system is Kansas’ Child Care Assistance Program, which helps families offset the cost of care through subsidies. When administered effectively, these subsidies enable parents to join or remain in the workforce, pursue education or training, and provide stability for their children — while also giving providers the predictable revenue needed to sustain their programs and deliver high-quality care.

Yet, in Kansas, only 7.4% of potentially eligible children are currently served by the program. To better understand the barriers and identify solutions to increase participation, the Health Fund supported a research initiative that took an honest, data-driven look at how the program is functioning today and where improvements are most needed.

This report, released publicly in January 2026, provides recommendations on what actions could improve access for families and increase participation by child care providers. View the full report or the research brief below.

Download full report

Download research brief

Watch webinar

Podcast episode 39: Janet Stanek

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.

In episode 39, we interview Janet Stanek, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Janet Stanek is the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), appointed by Governor Laura Kelly. KDHE has three divisions, including Health, Environment, and Health Care Finance, which includes the Medicaid program (KanCare) and the State Employee Health Benefits Plan, where Stanek previously served as the Director.

Secretary Stanek has worked in health care for more than 40 years, but her initial sights were elsewhere. They were on computer science. However, after just one year in college, she knew it wasn’t for her.

A college guidance counselor encouraged her to look at a new emerging field called medical record technology.

“He said computers were going to play a big role in that,” she said. “And he was right.”

She completed a two-year degree in medical record technology and then obtained a bachelor’s degree in medical record administration. And so began her career in health care.

She first worked as a medical biller in a small hospital and then worked her way up to COO and senior vice president at Stormont Vail Health, a large hospital in Topeka. She said her experience working in small, critical-access hospitals was invaluable to her career.

“In those hospitals, you learn a lot, and I would say that was the bedrock of my advancement to bigger hospitals and learning so much more, because everything replicates to a bigger scale,” she said.

In this episode, she shares highlights from her time in hospital administration.

She also discusses the evolution of technology in medical record keeping and lessons that apply to today’s newest technology with artificial intelligence.

She also discusses:

  • How the health care landscape has changed throughout her career
  • Workforce shortages
  • Her experience as director of the State Employee Health Benefits Program
  • The challenges large employers face in keeping health care costs down while maintaining robust coverage for employees
  • The importance of employee satisfaction
  • The role of KDHE
  • Efforts to strengthen public health
  • KanCare 3.0
  • How KDHE is working to mitigate current challenges, including federal budget cuts
  • How KDHE supports strengthening health care in rural communities
  • The Rural Health Transformation Fund
  • What gives her hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Secretary Stanek is an innovative leader in health care.

Listen now

Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode!

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Please see the Pioneers in Health page on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes.  

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New webinar: Learn about Kansas’ child care subsidy system

Posted on by Nancy McCready

What changes could improve the state’s child care subsidy system? Join our webinar at noon Jan. 8 to hear what Kansas families and providers had to say.

Access to affordable, high-quality child care is essential to the well-being of Kansas families, the strength of our workforce, and the long-term economic prosperity of our state.

Reliable child care allows parents to work, pursue education, and provide stability at home. For employers, it means a dependable workforce and stronger productivity. And for children, high-quality early care and education builds the foundation for healthy development and lifelong learning. When families can find and afford the care they need, the benefits ripple across local businesses, communities, and the entire state.

A cornerstone of this system is Kansas’ Child Care Assistance Program, which helps families offset the cost of care through subsidies. When administered effectively, these subsidies enable parents to join or remain in the workforce, pursue education or training, and provide stability for their children — while also giving providers the predictable revenue needed to sustain their programs and deliver high-quality care.

Yet, in Kansas, only 7.4% of potentially eligible children are currently served by the program. To better understand the barriers and identify solutions to increase participation, the Health Fund supported a research initiative that took an honest, data-driven look at how the program is functioning today and where improvements are most needed.

The registration for this webinar has now closed. To view the presentation, as well as report and research brief that were released, click here.

View report & presentation

Podcast episode 38: Mark Fleury

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.

In episode 38, we interview Mark Fleury, principal of policy development-emerging science at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He specializes in research, drug development, and regulatory policies, along with other science and technology-related projects.

In this episode, Mark discusses growing up in Kansas and how a love of math and science as a kid led him to becoming an engineer, where he saw an opportunity to make a difference. He majored in chemical engineering with an environmental minor at Kansas State University.

“What drew me there was the chance to use math and science to solve real-world problems,” Mark said.

Upon graduation, he went to work for Cargill for a number of years, where utilized his skills to design industrial wastewater treatment plants and then oversaw them being constructed. He found great satisfaction in seeing a project from the design phase through completion.

However, Mark began realizing he wanted to use his problem-solving skills in a different way and went back to school to pursue a PhD. He wanted to pursue public health and tackle problems related to disease.

“I realized that policy was a way to drive the science to create an environment that was conducive for those discoveries to make their way into new therapies and treatments for patients,” he said.

Mark received an opportunity to work in Senator Claire McCaskill’s office in Washington, D.C., at a time when the Affordable Care Act was being debated. During that time, he learned an extensive amount about how to deliver and pay for health care.

From there, he eventually found his way to working on cancer research and policy — and ultimately found his way to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, where he works today within the emerging science portfolio of work.

“Our work really is across the continuum of cancer — from before you even know you have cancer to well into the journey,” he said.

He highlighted current policy initiatives focused on getting insurance companies to cover certain testing that would help cancer patients receive the best care.

“The best and most innovative treatments in the world are of little use if you can’t access them and don’t have an ability to pay for them,” he said.

He also discusses:

  • The purpose of the Cancer Action Network
  • Cancer research
  • Biomarkers and pharmacogenomic testing, which studies how a person’s genetic makeup affects their response to specific drugs
  • Clinical trials
  • The importance of early detection
  • Efforts to drive more investment in childhood cancers
  • Drug shortages
  • What gives him hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Mark is an innovative leader in health care.

Listen now

Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode!

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Advent series: Helping the hungry

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Advent resources support special focus on helping the hungry.

As people of faith, our hearts and our values call us to feed the hungry. Our commitment to justice, mercy and love in action drives us to come together toward a future where families and children no longer fear whether they’ll eat tomorrow.

This Advent season, the Health Fund has partnered with the Great Plains Conference to offer resources to help raise awareness of the profound impacts of food insecurity and to illustrate how each of us can help.

These resources will include lectionary scripture, worship liturgy, a church bulletin and additional facts about food insecurity in Kansas and Nebraska.

We encourage you to use these resources throughout Advent to help shine a light of hope, joy and love this Christmas season. 

Week 1

Church bulletin: To be printed on an 8.5×11 and then cut in half

Nebraska
Kansas

Lectionary scripture and worship liturgy:

Week 2

Church bulletin: To be printed on an 8.5×11 and then cut in half

Lectionary scripture and worship liturgy:

Week 3

Church bulletin: To be printed on an 8.5×11 and then cut in half

Lectionary scripture and worship liturgy:

Week 4

Church bulletin: To be printed on an 8.5×11 and then cut in half

Nebraska
Kansas

Lectionary scripture and worship liturgy:

Podcast episode 37: Jodi Schmidt

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.

In episode 37, we interview Jodi Schmidt, executive director of the Care Collective at the University of Kansas Health System. The Care Collaborative is a patient safety organization dedicated to delivering high-quality clinical care to improve the health of people living in rural Kansas communities. Founded in 2014 and accredited by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the collaborative is a network of health care providers and care teams who use evidence-based treatment models to achieve the best outcomes.

Jodi is also past president of the National Rural Health Association and representative to the American Hospital Association’s Small and Rural Hospital Governing Council; past chair of the Kansas Hospital Education and Research Foundation and member of the Kansas Hospital Association’s Rural Emergency Hospital task force; and Sunflower Health Plan’s rural and community advisory boards. 

In this episode, Jodi shares how she pursued journalism in college and never intended to work in health care. However, she graduated at a time when health care organizations were realizing they needed to communicate with their patients and communities. So, she accepted a job with Hadley Regional Medical Center as the first communications professional to help them develop a strategic communications plan.

As she worked in health care communications, she began to develop a passion for how health care impacts people’s lives. She even went on to pursue a masters in health care administration. She began to understand how important a regional health care facility was in supporting rural communities and was part of the first network survey in the country.

“You could see in action what was possible when you connected resources across a region and saw the opportunity that it brought to patients to expand access to care through that sort of networking,” she said. “So at that point, in the late 80s and early 90s, I was hooked, and I’ve been in rural health care in Kansas in one way, shape or form ever since.”

She also discusses:

  • The ability for rural health care facilities to innovate and react quickly
  • Challenges for rural hospitals
  • Her experience as a hospital CEO in southeast Kansas
  • Expanding the availability of low-cost food
  • Managing health
  • Her experience serving as the president of the National Rural Health Association
  • The Care Collaborative and its mission and initiatives
  • The Medicare Shared Savings Program
  • The Rural Health Transformation Program
  • What gives her hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Jodi is an innovative leader in health care.

Listen now

Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode!

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Please see the Pioneers in Health page on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes.  

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Health foundations join forces to donate to Kansas foodbanks

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Health philanthropies join forces to support local, state food efforts

NOVEMBER 14, 2025 – Four Kansas health philanthropies joined forces to support local and statewide efforts to help fight hunger. The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, Kansas Health Foundation, Sunflower Foundation and REACH Healthcare Foundation are together contributing more than $381,000 to support Kansas food banks and community pantries before year-end.

Food banks and pantries were struggling to meet an increase in demand even before the recent government shutdown and disruption in funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These events further strained their operations, as more people needed help feeding their families.

“Kansans are struggling to put food on their tables right now, and it’s important we help where we can in the short term,” said David Jordan, Health Fund president and CEO. “While philanthropy can play a role in the current crisis, it can’t fulfill the role of government. The need is far too great.”

For every one meal provided by a food bank, SNAP provides nine, according to Feeding America.

“We know these contributions alone cannot solve the ongoing issue of food insecurity in Kansas,” said Ed O’Malley, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation. “They can, however, help shine a light on the ongoing needs of so many of our Kansas friends and neighbors. KHF joins with other funding partners, as well as statewide and community-based partners like Hunger Free Kansas, to work toward a future where no Kansans go hungry.”

The growing demand comes as food banks and pantries head into the holiday season, which is typically their busiest time of year. The foundation leaders said they encourage everyone to donate to their local food pantries and banks.

“Food banks and their dedicated network of partners do remarkable work every day to keep Kansans fed,” said Brandon Skidmore, president and CEO of Sunflower Foundation. “Our support is meant to reinforce that network as it responds to extraordinary demand during this challenging time.”

They also urged Kansans to reach out to state and federal policymakers to stress how vital programs like SNAP are key to fighting food insecurity.

“SNAP remains one of the most effective tools we have to prevent hunger and support healthy families. It is critical that policymakers continue to support efforts to protect SNAP,” said Brenda Sharpe, president and CEO at REACH Healthcare Foundation. “We encourage everyone to contact their elected leaders and voice the importance of safeguarding this important program.”

To learn more about Kansas’ statewide food banks, please visit:

To locate and make a donation to your local food pantry, please visit: https://kansasfoodsource.org/

###

ABOUT THE HEALTH FUND

The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund (Health Fund) is a statewide health foundation working to improve the health of all Kansans since 1986 by funding innovative ideas, sparking conversations and convening those who can make a difference. Learn more at www.HealthFund.org.

ABOUT THE KANSAS HEALTH FOUNDATION

The Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) is a nonprofit organization based in Wichita but statewide in its focus. At KHF, all our work centers on our mission: to improve the health of all Kansans. As part of our strategic framework, developed by our staff and board of directors, KHF also strives to accomplish three primary purposes: empower Kansas to lead the nation in health; eliminate the inequities that create health disparities; and, for KHF to become THE model for philanthropic impact. To learn more, visit https://kansashealth.org/.

ABOUT SUNFLOWER FOUNDATION

Sunflower Foundation was established in 2000 as a statewide health philanthropy with a mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of all Kansans. The foundation believes that a thriving, sustainable nonprofit sector contributes to healthy communities and is committed to investing in mission-aligned nonprofits through grants, education, advocacy, collaborative learning, and capacity building. To learn more, visit www.SunflowerFoundation.org.

ABOUT REACH HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION

REACH Healthcare Foundation is a charitable foundation dedicated to improving health coverage and access to quality, affordable healthcare for uninsured and medically underserved people. The foundation focuses its support in a six-county service area that encompasses Allen, Johnson, and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and Cass, Jackson and Lafayette counties in Missouri, as well as the City of Kansas City, Missouri. To learn more, visit www.reachhealth.org.

Podcast episode 36: Dr. Scurlock

Posted on by Nancy McCready

Welcome to the Pioneers in Health podcast. In this podcast, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders from our nation and from your backyard who are working to improve health.

In episode 36, we interview Corey Scurlock, MD, MBA, founder and CEO of the leading telehealth company Equum Medical. Equum Medical helps health systems in rural and urban areas fill critical gaps in clinical care through telehealth services.

Dr. Scurlock is an anesthesiologist and critical care physician who completed his residency in anesthesiology through the Baylor College of Medicine and his fellowship in surgical critical care through Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also obtained a master’s in business administration from Cornell University.

Dr. Scurlock shares how he grew up in a rural town in Texas and was the first in his family to attend college. After college, he pursued medical school. Upon completing his extensive medical training, he went to work as the medical director for the Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.

He said he worked hard to move up in his career with the aspiration that he’d have an impact on the health care system.

“It had taken a whole lot of sacrifice and work to get from point A to point B, and when you’re doing that, when your head’s down in sort of the battle of moving up and moving toward your career, you have a vision that your career is going to have a big impact — and you want to have a big impact. I really wanted to have an impact on the U.S. health care system.

“In those first couple of years being an attending, I realized it wasn’t what I thought it would be,” he said. “I wasn’t having as much impact as I wanted.”

That’s when he decided to pursue his master’s in business administration, pursuing his education at nights and on weekends. He became focused on leadership and change management. And, in 2011, he saw a new form of care that changed the trajectory of his career.

“I saw a telemedicine center, and I said, ‘Look, this really is a great equalizer. This is a way to take care of patients at scale,” he said.

He decided that was how he could make a bigger impact through his career and help more patients, especially those in rural areas where there aren’t as many medical providers available. So, he founded Equum Medical, based on the mission of creating equality in health care — providing the same level of care regardless of geography.

He shares his passion for telehealth and the benefits it can provide.

He also discusses the growing workforce challenges in health care across America, including shortages in providers and provider burnout.

He said half of U.S. counties don’t have a psychiatrist and that half of psychiatrists are 60 or older and nearing retirement age. There’s also a lack of cardiologists, neurologists, critical care physicians and hospitalists. And, he said, now the country is facing a nursing shortage.

He shared examples where telehealth has reduced the workload on rural doctors, thereby reducing burnout and turnover.

“What used to be just a rural issue is now an urban issue, too, in terms of staffing,” he said.

He also discusses:

  • His passion for equalizing heath care in rural communities
  • How telehealth can help bridge the gap in rural health care delivery
  • The next phase of telehealth
  • The three pillars of telehealth
  • The regulatory environment and challenges in implementing telehealth
  • The use of artificial intelligence
  • What gives him hope

And much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Dr. Scurlock is an innovative leader in health care.

Listen now

Listen below or on any of your favorite podcast services. Like and subscribe to stay up-to-date with each new episode!

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