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
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