N E W S F R O M T H E R E G I O N ’ S P R E M I E R A C A D E M I C M E D I C A L C E N T E R

ADVANCES MAY 18, 2017

Program Spotlight:Police Department

St. Francis Health will continue patient care, thanks to new venture

Healthcare in Topeka has a much brighter future, thanks to a new joint venture company involving The University of Kansas Health System.

The joint venture will pur-chase St. Francis Health, a 378-bed facility in Topeka that had been slated to close because of financial challenges.

Instead, our health system and Ardent Health Services, based in Nashville, announced on May 4 they will buy St. Francis from SCL Health in Colorado, allowing the Topeka hospital to remain open and continue serving the community.

The move also will preserve jobs for substantially all of St. Francis Health’s 1,600 employees, including employed physicians, and will provide the hospital with a $50 million

infusion of capital during the first year.

“We are grateful our proposal was seen as the most positive path forward for St. Francis,” said Bob Page, our health system’s president and CEO. “We are proud to tell the people of Topeka St. Francis Health’s doors will remain open.

“We understand the critical role hospitals like St. Francis Health play for patients,

physicians, employees and the communities they serve,” he added. “By marrying our re-sources as an academic medical center and Ardent’s operational expertise, we secure the long-term sustainability of St. Francis Health.”

Our health system and Ardent Health Services will share gover-nance with equal representation on the joint venture board of di-rectors, and will establish a local

board of trustees for the hospital. St. Francis Health will continue to be led by local management.

The University of Kansas Health System and Ardent Health Services will provide St. Francis Health with the clinical, financial and opera-tional resources needed to take patient care and quality to a new level, leaders say. Patients will have access to a health system that brings together nation-ally recognized physicians and healthcare leaders.

In addition, our health system has a successful record of work-ing with other healthcare institu-tions in a variety of partnership models, including Hays Medical Center and others.

Leaders from our health system and Ardent are working with SCL Health and St. Francis Health teams to complete the transaction, including finalizing agreements and obtaining regulatory approval.

Keeping healthcare vibrant in Topeka

By the Numbers: Radiation Therapy To suggest a By the Numbers, email Advances@kumc.edu.

St. Francis Health has served the Topeka community since 1909.

The University of Kansas Cancer Center provides radiation therapy at six locations in the metro, allowing patients to receive treat-ment close to home.

56,806Total cancer center radiation oncology treatments in fiscal year 2016

Top 5 cancer sites for radiation treatment*Treatments by location

Breast 14,883

*Does not include cancer center data from North Kansas City

Main campus 18,976

Overland Park

10,320

North 9,989

Lee’s Summit 8,967

South 3,856

North KC 4,698Respiratory system 7,884

Genitourinary 5,424

Head and neck 4,612

Brain/central nervous system 3,599

Events HEART WALK – The

University of Kansas Health

System again has formed a team

to participate in the American

Heart Association’s annual Heart

& Stroke Walk/5K, which is

Saturday, May 20, at the Power

& Light District. The team is open

to staff and the public. Email

Marketing’s Jaclyn Johnson (jjohnson50@kumc.edu) to join.

TWITTER CHAT ABOUT TOBACCO, HEALTHCARE – The University of Kansas Cancer

Center and Children’s Mercy

Hospital are co-hosting an online

discussion about changing

the way healthcare providers

treat tobacco dependence. The

Twitter chat (#NoTobaccoChat)

is 1-2 p.m. Wednesday, May 31.

Moderators will discuss the im-

portance of providing evidence-

based care to all tobacco users

by adopting an opt-out approach

to cessation care.

ACUPUNCTURE AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM – For cen-

turies, the Chinese have used

various traditions to improve

the immune system and deal

with disease. In this program,

take a look at historical and

modern clinical issues involv-

ing acupuncture, the immune

system and emotions. The class

is 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, June 5,

at Turning Point: The Center for

Hope and Healing in Leawood.

Call 913-574-0900 to register.

STROKE EDUCATION SERIES – The American Stroke

Foundation and The University

of Kansas Health System partner

to provide a monthly stroke

education speaker series as part

of the foundation’s Next Step

Program. The next free session,

“Diabetes and Stroke: What’s the

Connection?” is 11 a.m.-noon

Wednesday, June 7, at the

Sylvester Powell Community

Center, Room B, in Mission.

Register at 913-649-1776 or

online at americanstroke.org.

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

Medical care – backed by police safetyThe main campus of The

University of Kansas Health System and the University of Kansas Medical Center is like a city in itself, bustling with some 15,000 people, from physicians and staff to students and, of course, patients and families.

And like any city of this size and diversity, there’s a need for protection.

The medical center’s police department is no small-town agency. With 156 employees, it operates round-the-clock every day, responding to calls on the main campus and several other properties involving the health system and medical center.

The 41-year-old department in-cludes more than 100 uniformed personnel – 45 of them armed and commissioned officers, as well as 61 noncommissioned se-curity officers. They’re supported by staff in communications and other administrative roles.

The goal, said Police Chief Rick Johnson, not only is pre-venting crime but also making sure the community within and surrounding the region’s premier academic medical center feels secure.

“Our priorities are based on real threats,” he said, “but also are directed at reducing fear associated with perception of neighborhood crime and safety.”

It’s one reason he and his offi-cers are so visible on foot, bikes and cars. Their average response time to an emergency call on the main campus: 90 seconds.

Relationship-building is key. They wear body cameras and provide security training for the community. They also respond to calls for service – 24,633 last year – in which they assist motorists and escort people to their cars at night.

Such efforts are an important

factor in the crime rate on the main campus: It’s down, remark-ably, 17 percent compared with 15 years ago, despite the health system’s tremendous growth.

Five years ago, the depart-ment received the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, consid-ered the gold standard in public safety. Less than 1 percent of college and university police departments have achieved it.

Johnson notes the accredita-tion was voluntary. “We wanted to prove to ourselves and our community,” he said, “we are operating at the highest level of professional standards.”

EXPOSURE

On the way to caring for patientsCongratulations to the more than 700 students from the University of Kansas Schools of Health Professions, Medicine and Nursing who celebrated commencement ceremonies last week. On May 13, Medicine students Alex Balmaceda and Shelly Barker were awarded their MDs during a hooding ceremony at the Music Hall in Kansas City. The next day all the schools’ graduating students were honored during KU’s 145th Commencement in Lawrence.

Police officers (from left) include Corporal Veronica Thompson, who helped pediatric patients make cards; and Captain Donald Holland and Sergeant Michael OudeAlink.

New

s Brie

fsIn the NewsA recap of recent articles, TV segments and other media coverage of the region’s leading academic medical center

RURAL HOSPITALS STRIVE TO STAY ALIVE – Wichita Eagle, May 14. Sumner Regional Medical Center in Wellington, Kansas, like many community hospitals in Kansas and Missouri, is struggling to keep its doors open. Among the hospitals’ many financial challenges, people in small towns are older and sicker, and more likely to rely on Medicaid and Medicare, meaning less reimbursement for hospitals. “These things start to add up,” said Robert Moser, MD, executive director of the Kansas Heart and Stroke Collaborative, part of The University of Kansas Health System. “They all make it harder for rural hospitals.”

‘TREMENDOUS RELIEF’ IN TOPEKA – Topeka Capital-Journal, May 13. A columnist for the newspaper lauds an agreement in which a Topeka hospital, St. Francis Health, will continue under the direction of The University of Kansas Health System and Ardent Health Services. “I know that news was a tremendous relief to staff, patients and the community,” Morgan Chilson writes. (See story page 1.)

NASCAR DRIVER GIVES BACK – The Kansas City Star, May 12. Before last weekend’s Kansas Speedway races, driver Daniel Suarez and his No. 19 Stanley Toyota Camry team donated $25,000 to support the local Children’s Miracle Network efforts at The University of Kansas Health System and University of Kansas Medical Center. Suarez also visited children at the hospital. “When you get the opportunity to spend some time with them,” he said “you understand how fortunate we are and how important it is for us to give a little bit back.”

PREGNANCY AND BREAST CANCER – KSHB, May 12. Lauren Nye, MD, a medical oncologist at The University of Kansas Cancer Center, explains there is increasing awareness that a woman doesn’t necessarily have to terminate a pregnancy if she’s diagnosed with breast cancer. The segment profiles one of her patients who learned she had breast cancer 10 weeks into her pregnancy. Thanks to Nye’s care, the woman now is due to deliver her baby boy by late May.

Festive health fair Family Medicine’s Allen Greiner, MD, MPH, from the University of Kansas Medical Center, met with a participant at the 11th annual American Indian Health Research & Education Alliance Powwow May 5-6 at Johnson

County Community College. The event, cosponsored by the medical center’s Center for American Indian Community Health, features American Indian dancing and music, as well as a health fair and screening. The University of Kansas Cancer Center and Midwest Cancer Alliance also participated.

Nurses Week: classes, contests, paintingWith approximately 3,000 nurses, The University of Kansas

Health System knows how to do National Nurses Week right. RNs and LPNs from locations throughout the health sys-

tem participate in a range of activities during the week, which coincides with Florence Nightingale’s birthday on May 12.

One of the week’s highlights is the 5-Star Symposium, a daylong conference where staff hone their clinical skills in areas such as pain management, chemotherapy care and antibiotic therapy.

The week also celebrates some of the health system’s top nurses, as well as social workers and support staff, during an awards ceremony that honors recipients in 15 categories.

They cap off the week with a service event on Saturday. Nurses, along with families and friends, grab paint brushes and tool belts to help renovate houses for area homeowners in need – demonstrating once again that nurses not only save lives but are a cornerstone of the community.

School of Nursing is headed to SalinaIn an effort to attract and educate professional nurses in

rural parts of the state, the University of Kansas School of Nursing is partnering with Salina Regional Health Center to open a new campus location in Salina.

The campus will offer students a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, which accepts students who have already com-pleted the first two years of their undergraduate education at any regionally accredited college or university.

“There is great need in western Kansas for BSN-prepared nurses,” said Sally Maliski, PhD, RN, dean of the University of Kansas School of Nursing. “We are fortunate to be working with Salina Regional Health Center and the Salina community to deliver a curriculum that will help meet the healthcare needs of this area.”

Nursing shortages exist throughout Kansas, and immedi-ate job opportunities are available within the Salina region for nurses who already have earned their baccalaureate degrees.

The BSN curriculum program will be identical to the program in Kansas City and will be delivered via distance education from Kansas City and on-site faculty in Salina.

The new campus location will accept a class of 12 students next fall. Plans call for class sizes to expand to 18 students in 2019 and 24 students in 2020. By year five of the program, the campus will have reached its maximum capacity of 48 students.

One exercise during the health system’s annual 5-Star Symposium is an “escape room” contest, where Jade Ruf, RN (right), an Emergency Room nurse, and her colleagues honed their clinical skills.

Our People A FAMILY TREE OF MEDICINE –

When Michael Sullivan walked across the stage and collected his di-ploma from the University of Kansas School of Medicine last week, he became part of a family legacy of physicians spanning four generations and dating back nearly 100 years.

The Sullivan family tree of medicine began with Mike’s great grandfather, Henry Bradley Sullivan Sr., MD, who grew up in central Kansas and served in World War I. The family pa-triarch graduated from the School of Medicine in 1920 before becoming a family practice physician in Shawnee, where he practiced until the 1950s.

Next came Sullivan’s grandfather, Henry Bradley Sullivan Jr., MD, or “Papa,” who graduated in 1952 from the School of Medicine. A private in World War II, Papa took over his father’s family practice in Shawnee before retiring in 1996.

Sullivan’s father, Bradley Huse Sullivan, MD, earned his diploma from the School of Medicine in 1979.

He did his residency in obstetrics and gynecology and has practiced at several local hospitals his entire career.

“Ever since my parents knew at an early age that I wanted to be a doctor, they have done their best not to influence me one way or another,” said Sullivan, whose sister, Megan Sullivan, RN, is a KU School of Nursing graduate and now cares for patients at The University of Kansas Hospital.

“Looking back, I’m glad they did that because it allowed me to choose what I wanted to do with my life,” he added. “I knew if I wanted a different career path they would have supported me 100 percent.”

Sullivan starts a three-year residency in Internal Medicine this summer at The University of Kansas Health System, which should fit nicely with his career plans.

“Ideally, I will be at an academic center,” he said. “Several physicians have had a powerful impact on me, and I’d like to be able to do the same for future medical students and professionals.”

CARING FOR A PATIENT’S FUR-RY COMPANION – Congratulations to Tiffany Utz, RN, who has won The University of Kansas Health System’s latest DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

Utz, a member of Interventional Radiology at the Indian Creek Campus Hospital, was honored last month for her initiative to ease a patient’s worries – by taking care of the patient’s dog when the woman had to be hospitalized.

“Of course I’m a dog lover,” said Utz, who has been a nurse since 2004 and joined our health system nearly two years ago. “But it could have been a lizard or a cat. It was more about getting the patient what she needed.”

It happened a year ago. An IR patient at Indian Creek needed to go to the Emergency Department, but she resisted, fearing she would be hospitalized. She lived alone and did not have any family or friends in the area to care for her beloved dog, Ginger.

Utz gave the patient her personal cell phone number and took charge. She not only cared for the dog for several days, but bathed it, bought dog food and even purchased gro-cery items for the woman when she was discharged from the hospital.

“Doing this allowed the patient to focus on her own health and not have to worry about her dog,” wrote a colleague, Kristen Sudbeck, RN. “Tiffany truly went above and beyond her basic duty of being a nurse. She is a wonderful example of a selfless and compassionate nurse.”

ADVANCES

is a biweekly publication produced by:

The University of Kansas Health System Corporate Communications

5799 Broadmoor, Suite 700 Mission, KS 66202

Send story ideas to Advances@kumc.edu.

BOB PAGE, President and CEO The University of Kansas Health System

DOUG GIROD, MD, Executive Vice Chancellor University of Kansas Medical Center

KIRK BENSON, MD, President The University of Kansas Physicians

STAFF: Mike Glynn, Editor Kirk Buster, Graphic Designer

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Indian Creek staff last month honored Interventional Radiology’s Tiffany Utz, RN.

Sullivan