Author: Nancy McCready

New webinar: Learn about Kansas’ child care subsidy system

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.

Podcast episode 38: Mark Fleury

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.

“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

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


Listen now

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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.  

Advent series: Helping the hungry

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

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

Lectionary scripture and worship liturgy:

Podcast episode 37: Jodi Schmidt

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.

“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

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


Listen now

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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.  

Health foundations join forces to donate to Kansas foodbanks

Health philanthropies join forces to support local, state food efforts

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/

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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

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.

“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

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


Listen now

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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.  

Podcast episode 35: Ryan Lester

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 35, we interview Ryan Lester, MPH, who serves as Vice President, Education, Health of the Public and Science at the American Academy of Family Physicians. He previously served as a leadership coach, adjunct professor, and bureau chief of health promotion at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He shares how he was passionate about the environment and began his career in environmental health. That later led to a career path in public health.

“I’ve always had kind of a draw to making the world a better place,” he said. “Anything that I’ve done in life has felt like it had to be mission driven.”

After graduating with a degree in environmental studies, he accepted a position with the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment. There, he worked as an environmental health specialist, where he did food inspections, swimming pool inspections, on-site wastewater and more.

“It wasn’t that I sought out public health. I really kind of fell into public health and then fell in love with the mission,” Ryan said.

He discusses the role of public health departments and how they serve as the nucleus of a community. In Kansas, they provide a wide range of services to keep communities healthy. Their services vary between departments, but their services include everything from disaster preparedness to animal control to inspections to make sure your food and water is safe to administering vaccines to even housing municipal code enforcement and much more.

There’s a lot of unseen work in public health departments, he said, providing services that keep people safe and healthy.

He discusses vaccines and emphasized the rigorous scientific research and processes required before they can ever be used.

He said policies that restrict access to vaccines have a broader impact.

He also discusses:

  • The role of health departments in keeping people healthy
  • The importance of leadership and listening in public health roles
  • His transition from environmental health into public health working for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), including working there during the COVID-19 pandemic and silver linings that arose
  • Public health programs at KDHE
  • Public health funding
  • Community health workers and the value they provide
  • The importance of keeping science at the center of public health intervention decisions
  • The use of artificial intelligence in health care

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


Listen now

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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.  

Health Fund to serve on statewide alliance to help rural hospitals and providers

HUTCHINSON, KS — The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or HR1, instituted significant funding and coverage cuts to Medicaid, which will further threaten the viability of rural hospitals.

Governor Kelly recently announced an alliance of organizations to help navigate how to best support Kansas rural health care and how to allocate funds from the new Rural Health Transformation Fund.

Health Fund President and CEO David Jordan will serve on the Kansas Rural Health Innovation Alliance (KRHIA) as a representative of Kansas Grantmakers in Health.

“The Kansas Rural Health Innovation Alliance will play an instrumental role in ensuring that Kansas communities receive the maximum support and funding for their rural hospitals and health care facilities that stand to lose so much from federal funding cuts,” Governor Kelly said. “The organizations selected for the alliance have demonstrated an understanding of the challenges rural communities face in accessing health care, and a commitment to solving those challenges. I look forward to working with them as we navigate this important process.”  

KRHIA will work with Kansas’ RHTP application development team as it advances through the application process and distribution of RHTP funding. The RHTP application must be submitted by Nov. 5 and then the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will announce the funding awards by Dec. 31. 

KRHIA appointees include: 

KRHIA members will provide feedback on Kansas’ application and help develop key elements of the RHTP plan that will support the continued delivery of rural healthcare in Kansas.  

The goal for Kansas’ application is to support our rural health systems, communities, and patients in a holistic manner by improving access and outcomes through workforce development, education, systems change, and technology.  

To learn more about the Rural Health Transformation Program, please click here. To read the full news release from Governor Kelly’s office, click here.

Podcast episode 34: John McDonough

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 34, we interview John McDonough, professor of public health practice at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He served as a legislator for the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1985 to 1997.

He discusses how the skills he learned being a community organizer helped him win his first race for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, in which he ran against an incumbent of 30 years.

“I looked at the challenge of running as an organizing challenge — a community organizing, a labor organizing, a political organizing — and so the challenge was to figure out how many votes I needed and then to build an organization that could deliver that number of votes,” John said.

“Accidentally, I got appointed to the Joint Committee on Healthcare in the legislature and fell head over heels in love with health policy — state, local and national,” John said.

He went on to serve in leadership positions for various health committees and played a role in helping shape significant health policy for the state, including reinventing its Medicaid program, which put the state on the pathway to what ultimately became universal coverage law in 2006.

He shares lessons he learned during his time as a legislator, as well as how his career took him in a variety of roles that continued to impact health policy.

When asked what gives him hope today, he said he is always hopeful — even during challenging times for health policy like today. He discussed the years that each party has dominated the U.S. House, Senate and presidency.

“There are waves, and there are ups and downs,” he said. “And one of the things that I noticed is that whatever period you’re in, whether things are going really well or things are going really poorly, you get this feeling — this sense like, ‘Oh my God, this is going to go on forever. It’s never going to end.’ And you’re always wrong. It’s always going to turn around, and so this, too, where we are right now, shall pass, and there will be important opportunities that emerge from it.”

He also discusses:

  • Creating the model for what nationally became the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program
  • Efforts to achieve near-universal health coverage in Massachusetts
  • Working with Sen. Edward Kennedy to essentially use Massachusetts’ landmark health care reform legislation as the foundation for the Affordable Care Act
  • Important aspects of the Affordable Care Act, including the Health Insurance Marketplace
  • How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or HR1, will negatively impact state Medicaid programs and how voting to expand Medicaid in Kansas would help offset some of those funding losses; Kansas is one of only 10 states that has not expanded its Medicaid program as part of the ACA
  • Waste, fraud and abuse
  • Private equity and monopolization and how that can impact rural hospitals

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


Listen now

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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.  

Podcast episode 33: Eva Marie Stahl

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 33, we interview Eva Stahl, vice president of public policy and program management at Undue Medical Debt. Undue Medical Debt is a nonprofit organization that buys large portfolios of medical debt from hospitals and other organizations to eliminate debt for people who’ve been unable to pay their medical bills.

Eva shared her journey of how she landed working in health policy. She said she grew up in the Midwest with a mother who was a teacher and father who was a scientist, both of whom were heavily committed to giving back and actively involved in their community.

“You carry those experiences with you, and I really wanted to dedicate my life to service in some way,” she said.

When she was in her mid 20s, she traveled to Africa for a year with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a famous author and leader.

“It was really life changing,” she said. “To be in communities that really were struggling with access to basic health care needs really impacted me and influenced me and led me to pursue both a public policy degree and then later a PhD in health policy.”

She shared about her early career working in health policy in Massachusetts and how she found her way to Undue Medical Debt.

At Undue, they work to eliminate medical debt for people while also focusing on how they can impact the issue at a systems level.

“It’s not just abolishing medical debt for individuals and communities, but also thinking about what are the policies upstream that can help mitigate those harms,” she said.

She also discusses:

  • Her journey to working at Undue Medical Debt
  • The background and mission of Undue Medical Debt
  • How medical debt impacts people in a variety of ways and how sharing their stories can make a difference
  • The importance of health care advocacy and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
  • How recent cuts to Medicaid and the ACA Marketplace from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or HR1, will impact families and create increased medical debt
  • The struggles families face with insurance and the high cost of health care
  • The Rural Health Transformation Fund
  • What gives her hope

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


Listen now

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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.  

© United Methodist Health Ministry Fund