We are proud to recognize four hospitals for having celebrated 10 years of earning the High 5 for Mom & Baby recognition.
High 5 Program Coordinator Cara Gerhardt, BSN, RN, IBCLC, (pictured at left) recognized the 10-year anniversaries of these hospitals at the 2024 Kansas Breastfeeding Conference in October.
The High 5 for Mom & Baby program is a Health Fund initiative that connects hospitals and birthing centers to policies and practices that improve breastfeeding outcomes.
Breastfeeding makes a significant impact on the health of moms and babies, and hospitals and birthing centers play a crucial role in the initiation and successful continuation of breastfeeding after leaving their facility.
Completing the High 5 for Mom & Baby program requires an investment of time and resources by participating hospitals and birthing centers. It demonstrates their commitment to infant and maternal health by supporting breastfeeding success.
We are proud to recognize and honor these hospitals for making that commitment to the moms, babies and families in their communities.
Want to get more involved in your community? Learn more about FAN!
Healthy Congregations churches are invited to join a webinar from 12-1 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, to discuss the recently updated Faith-Based Animator Network, or FAN, special grant opportunity.
FAN is a paid learning opportunity offered by The Neighboring Movement. It’s for those who want to dive deep into neighboring and ABCD from a faith-based perspective.
Here, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders working to improve health. We bring you guests from our state, from our nation and from your backyard to tell their stories of how they broke new ground and changed the landscape of health care.
In episode nine, we interview Matt All.
Matt is the president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS), the state’s largest and only locally owned health insurance provider. As a mutually owned, not-for-profit health plan, BCBSKS serves nearly one million members with the state’s largest provider network.
In his role, he is working to make BCBSKS a vibrant, robust, progressive force for good in Kansas. He is committed to giving Kansans a better, more humane experience in the health care system, and to making high-quality care accessible and affordable in every Kansas community.
Some of Matt’s most significant accomplishments include the implementation and preparation of the Affordable Care Act. He also led the company’s Health Care Reform Guidance Team and represented the company on the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s Health Care Reform Implementation Task Force. Most recently, he led the company and its members through navigating the health care system during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this episode, Matt discusses a variety of challenges facing the current health system and how his team is working to address them.
“It just should not be the case in the United States of America, the richest country in the world, in 2024, that there are such deep inequities, especially when it comes to things like maternal health,” he said.
Matt also discussed artificial intelligence and its emerging role in health care. He said AI is a valuable tool but that he’s concerned about how quickly it’s evolving and wants to make sure it does more good than harm.
“It’s a wonderful invention, and it’s progressing incredibly rapidly,” he said. “But it needs to be used to help people live healthier lives, and so having a human in there making decisions with a good kind of ethical backbone I think is going to be important as we move forward.”
Other topics discussed include:
His journey from a small town in Kansas to Yale Law School to health care
The challenge of affordability in health care
How BCBSKS works to address the social determinants of health, including Pathways to a Healthy Kansas, a community grant initiative funded by BCBS
The goal to establish BCBSKS as a leader in behavioral health
Strengthening health care access in rural communities
Medicaid expansion
Telehealth
And much more! Listen now, and learn more about Matt’s efforts and how he is a pioneering 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!
Episode 9 features Matt All, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
Please see the Pioneers in Health page on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes.
Kansas mothers and babies will receive better access to maternal health care support, thanks to recent changes to the state’s Medicaid program.
Changes that will recognize and reimburse doulas, as well as better reimburse lactation consultants, will benefit Kansas families.
Medicaid coverage, reimbursement rates and recognition of providers all directly impact the availability and quality of health care Medicaid recipients can receive.
This is why the Health Fund advocates so strongly to: strengthen coverage, ensure reimbursement rates can sustain services, and expand care teams to include culturally competent providers.
We are encouraged by recent improvements to Kansas’ Medicaid program, known as KanCare, that will benefit our state’s mothers and babies.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment added doula services to KanCare’s coverage this summer. Now, doulas can provide crucial support during pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum under Medicaid, receiving reimbursement for up to $1,295 per delivery.
According to the National Institutes of Health, moms who use doulas are two times less likely to experience birth complications and four times less likely to give birth to an underweight baby.
The effort to add, recognize and reimburse doulas was led by Health Fund grantees Kansas Birth Justice Society and Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition. Beyond supporting these organizations and other partners, we advocated for this policy change because we believe it will improve maternal health outcomes in our state.
Doulas serve as advocates and educators for pregnant women and new mothers. They can help women experience a positive and safe birth, staying by their side during delivery and providing pain-relief measures like breathing techniques and laboring positions.
Doulas may also help new mothers begin breastfeeding and encourage bonding with the baby.
They also can maintain more frequent contact with patients than physicians often can. They can provide home visits and serve as a resource to answer questions about what’s normal and when it’s time to see a doctor. They can help bridge the gap between limited, overloaded physicians and their patients.
“Increasing KanCare’s coverage to include doulas is a huge win – especially for our state’s rural communities, who are increasingly losing obstetric-care services.”
— Health Fund
More than ever, we need innovative ways to provide maternal health care to these rural mothers, and we see doulas as a part of that solution. We look forward to seeing doulas continue to play a vital and growing role in the health of Kansas women and their babies.
We’re also celebrating KanCare’s decision in the last year to increase reimbursement rates and coverage options for lactation services. This was another huge win for Kansas mothers and their families.
The Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, with funding support from the Health Fund, worked with the Kansas Division of Health Care Finance to increase reimbursement rates for lactation consultation services from $10 to $40 per visit in late 2023. This move helps ensure moms can receive breastfeeding support when they need it. It also helps alleviate financial hardship to the hospitals and local health departments providing the service.
Lactation support has been shown to increase breastfeeding initiation and duration rates. Breastfeeding provides numerous health benefits to babies and their mothers, as well as facilitates emotional bonding between the two.
As part of this advocacy effort, a statewide workgroup was formed. They paid special focus to rural communities while discussing ways to increase access to lactation services across the state, including telehealth appointments for lactation consultations.
This is another win for Kansas families, making these important consultations even more accessible to mothers who are facing breastfeeding challenges.
For more than a decade, the Health Fund has been a steadfast advocate and financial supporter of breastfeeding initiatives. We are immensely proud to have supported these vital efforts, which promote the health and well-being of mothers and babies alike.
OTHER RECENT MEDICIAD ADVANCEMENTS:
In addition to these wins, we’re also celebrating other recent KanCare improvements we supported through both funding and advocacy:
Here, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders working to improve health. We bring you guests from our state, from our nation and from your backyard to tell their stories of how they broke new ground and changed the landscape of health care.
In episode eight, we interview Krista Postai and Jason Wesco, of the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHK/SEK) based in Pittsburg, Kansas. Krista serves as CEO, and Jason serves as President and Chief Strategy Officer.
These two innovative leaders have worked to improve the health of individuals and communities in southeast Kansas for more than 20 years. Their work has not only addressed primary, behavioral and oral health care, but it’s also addressed the social factors that make a greater impact on health than what happens in the doctor’s office.
In this episode, they discuss how they evolved from providing services out of a trailer to now serving more than 80,000 patients this year and employing more than 1,000 with multiple sites in multiple states.
During the last five years, they said much growth has been from preserving access to health care where other health systems have left rural communities.
“We believe rural communities matter, and that means you step up and do some hard things when you need to,” Jason said. “And we believe we can improve health in our part of the world.”
Developing residency programs for family medicine doctors, dentists and nurse practioners with the intention to cultivate a new generation of health care professionals dedicated to serving rural communities
Expanding services to meet specific needs, such as mammography
Creating a new, comprehensive hospice program, Mount Carmel Hospice, after a local hospice service closed
Developing an education center and the Inspire Health Foundation, which provides hands-on learning to K-12 students through camps and activities aimed at sparking an interest in a health care career
And so much more! Listen now, and learn more about how Krista and Jason are true pioneering leaders 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!
Episode 8 features Krista Postai & Jason Wesco, Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas
Please see the Pioneers in Health page on our website for more information on our podcast series and links to other episodes.
Robert serves as Senior Vice President and Institutional Consultant at Graystone Consulting in Wichita, Kansas. He also has served on the Health Fund’s Investment Committee.
We are excited to have them join the Board of Directors and look forward to them helping us further our mission of improving the health of all Kansans.
The Health Fund is thrilled to announce the promotions of three long-time team members and the addition of one new member.
We are grateful for the years of service and the talents these team members provide to our organization. Their contributions are invaluable.
We are excited about the growth within our team, and together, we look forward to continuing our mission of serving Kansas families and helping improve the health of all Kansans.
PROMOTIONS
Katie Schoenhoff was promoted to Vice President of Programs. Katie has worked here for nearly 11 years, and the title change reflects her role overseeing the foundation’s programming efforts.
Jeff Gamber was promoted to Director of Operations. Jeff has worked at the Health Fund for nearly 25 years and will see an expanded role in overseeing business, facility and technology operations in his new position.
Dashinika Poindexter was promoted to Congregational and Grants Management Officer. Dashinika, who just celebrated her five-year anniversary with us, will now oversee our Healthy Congregations efforts and play a greater role in providing technical assistance to grantees.
NEW HIRE
Nancy McCready joined the Health Fund this summer and will oversee our communications efforts. She brings a wealth of communications, marketing and journalism experience to the role. She began her career as a reporter for The Hutchinson News and later moved into communications and marketing roles. She has worked in a variety of different industries, including heath care technology, higher education and multi-family housing.
Here, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders working to improve health. We bring you guests from our state, from our nation and from your backyard to tell their stories of how they broke new ground and changed the landscape of health care.
In episode seven, we interview Brock Slabach, the Chief Operating Officer at the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). The NRHA is a national nonprofit that brings together thousands of members to provide leadership on rural health issues through advocacy, communications, education and research.
Brock grew up in rural Kansas and worked as a rural hospital administrator for more than 20 years before joining the NRHA. He is an expert on rural health, payment and delivery reform, and improving access to health care.
In this episode, he discusses the future of rural health care, including:
In 2023, the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund awarded 117 grants, convened 14 public meetings, conducted three training series and secured $4 million in federal grant money for Kansas.
And that’s not all.
We continued to work closely with our existing partners and forged new relationships, as well, that will help us advance our goal of improving the health of all Kansans.
In our 2023 Year in Review report, which we just released, you can learn in greater detail about these efforts as we kicked off the first year of our new strategic plan.
Partnered with the Kansas Hospital Association to transition two traditional hospitals that were at risk of closure into Rural Emergency Hospitals.
THRIVING CHILDREN
Worked with partners to improve early childhood policies and services. We also launched research on the child care assistance program and family economic security issues, including child care.
Served on the Early Childhood Transition Task force. Health Fund President David Jordan was nominated by Governor Kelly to serve on this important task force to help recommend how the state can improve its early childhood services.
Helped increase access to early childhood mental health services by funding Parent Child Interaction Therapy training in several areas across the state.
Partnered with breastfeeding coalitions and health leaders to make significant gains in helping mothers initiate and maintain breastfeeding. Our funding also helped form coalitions led by women of color to support their communities in breastfeeding; it also increased access to lactation support services by helping certify more than 50 consultants and counselors.
Helped address food insecurity in Salina by providing grant funding for a three-month Summer Food Service Program. Our funding helped to purchase necessary equipment, including shelving and freezers, and signage for an onsite grab-and-go distribution point.
Reignited the annual Healthy Congregations Retreat for the first time since the pandemic in 2020.
Our impact in 2023 was significant, and our efforts continue. We look forward to furthering our mission in 2024 to help create a healthier Kansas.
Here, we share inspiring stories of pioneering leaders working to improve health. We bring you guests from our state, from our nation and from your backyard to tell their stories of how they broke new ground and changed the landscape of health care.
Benjamin is nationally known for his work leading rural hospitals and developing innovative, mission-focused provider recruitment efforts. He understands the importance of engaging diverse, underserved populations and non-profit partners.
In this episode, he discusses how he’s helped hospitals design systems to improve health outcomes and serve diverse communities that were previously underserved.
He also discusses innovative ways they have improved recruitment and retention of physicians, as well as the importance of building relationships with those in your community.
