Smith County

Updated February 2013

Smith County is served by the Northwest office of KU Medical Center's Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) in Hays, which serves the state through student education initiatives, professional education for health care providers, health screenings, clinics and public presentations on health topics.

Enhancing Student Education

• 5 students from Smith County are currently studying at KU Medical Center.
• Smith County is part of the Northwest Medical Education Network with Michael Machen, MD, a resident of Quinter, serving as the Medical Education Director. The medical education director helps coordinate the School of Medicine's efforts to mentor, train and place physicians throughout Kansas.

Strengthening the Health Care Workforce

• 9 KU Medical Center graduates live and/or practice in Smith County.
• 2 Smith County physicians received funding through the Kansas Bridging Plan, a loan-forgiveness program offered since 1991 to primary care medical residents who agree to practice in rural Kansas.
• 2 shifts were covered by temporary physicians, which allowed Smith County physicians necessary time off in 2012. These coverages were made via KU Medical Center's Kansas Locum Tenens and Kansas Medical Resource programs.
• 36 health care professionals from Smith County participated in KU Medical Center continuing education courses and conferences in 2012.

Advancing Health Care Access

• 2 Smith County residents made visits to KU Medical Center health care providers in outreach clinics held outside of Kansas City in 2012.
• 138 Smith County residents saw KU Medical Center health care providers via telemedicine, an interactive video technology that connects providers and patients when distance separates the two, in 2012. These services are provided through the University of Kansas Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth.

Outreach Connections

• Smith Center, Family Physician Choose Rural Kansas - Rural Health Education and Services