Access to behavioral health is a top concern for all Kansans. We all benefit when behavioral health services are better integrated into our health care system. For more than 30 years, Kansas has ensured that each county received safety net mental health services provided by a community mental health center. Community mental health centers have …
News
Learn more about things happening at the Health Fund, and in our areas of focus
Four Kansas community mental health centers awarded transformative grant funding
Mental Health First Aid training opportunities
Mental Health First Aid training is a proven and effective resource that teaches lay people how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders in their community. We are excited to offer online training sessions at no cost to interested Kansans. Many sessions have filled quickly, demonstrating a large …
Telehealth in Kansas: Provider and Patient Experience During COVID-19 Cross-Study Report
The results of four phases of telehealth research during the COVID-19 pandemic are clear. Patients, providers, and administrators expressed that telehealth increased access to care and saw benefits beyond expanding access during the pandemic. The United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and REACH Healthcare Foundation commissioned research on telehealth in Kansas to understand its use by …
Consumer Focus Groups Find Kansans Want Telehealth to Stay
New consumer focus group research with Kansas patients demonstrates that telehealth has increased access to care, has room for improvement, and that patients want telehealth to be a permanent option. This research reinforces results from a 2021 consumer poll of Kansas voters—participants had positive experiences with telehealth, found it to be an important option, and …
Diversifying the teacher workforce will benefit Kansas students
This commentary originally ran in the Kansas Reflector on August 30, 2022. About the authors: Dr. Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka USD 501, and Dr. Shannon Portillo, associate dean and professor at the University of Kansas, served as co-chairs of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice; David Jordan, president and CEO of the …
Black women breastfeed
This guest blog post was authored by Joyea Marshall-Crowley, CBS, Wichita Black Breastfeeding Coalition. In the Wichita area, we have heard from Black and brown mothers that they are not even being asked about breastfeeding as an initial feeding choice, and that their healthcare providers assume they are formula-feeding their babies. This makes it difficult …
How WIC supports breastfeeding
This guest blog post was authored by Heather Peterson RDN, LD, CLC, Reno County WIC Coordinator. Every day, I look forward to going to work in WIC: we truly are the Happy, Healthy Baby People! WIC is a supplemental food program that serves pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children to age 5. Nearly half …
Musings on the importance of breastfeeding and a review of current recommendations
This guest blog post was authored by Sonder Crane, MD, IBCLC, Pediatrician, Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinator-Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “I think it’s time for mommy milk!” said my 5-year-old to my 2-year-old as their 1-month-old baby brother began to fuss. “Mommy milk” has always been the term for breast milk in our …
The state of breastfeeding in Kansas
This guest blog post was authored by Brenda Bandy, IBCLC, and Jennie Toland, BSN, RN, CLC, Co-Executive Directors of the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition. “[…] exclusive breastfeeding goes a long way toward canceling out the health difference between being born into poverty and being born into affluence…It is almost as if breastfeeding takes the infant out …
Disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline will reduce disparities for Kansans
This commentary originally ran in the Kansas Reflector on August 4, 2022. About the authors: Dr. Tiffany Anderson, superintendent of Topeka USD 501, and Dr. Shannon Portillo, associate dean and professor at the University of Kansas, served as co-chairs of the Governor’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice; David Jordan, president and CEO of the …