Saline County

Last updated January 2012

Saline County is served by the Northwest Office of KU Medical Center's Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) in Hays, which provides quality professional education for health care providers and serves the eastern part of the state through health screenings, presentations and clinics.

Enhancing Student Education

• 29 students from Saline County are currently studying at KU Medical Center
• 12 health professions students received hands-on training in Saline County in 2011 through placement programs in rural and underserved communities, including SEARCH, Rural Preceptorship Program for KU medical students, and occupational therapy fieldwork.
• Saline County is part of the Northcentral Medical Education Network with Scott Owings, MD, a resident of Salina, 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.
• In the fall of 2011, the University of Kansas School of Medicine opened a four-year medical campus to train eight medical students in Salina, Kan. The campus represents a new model for medical education that hopes to graduate well-trained physicians who want to return to practice in similar rural Kansas communities after residency. The Salina campus was featured on the front page of the New York Times on Saturday, July 22, 2011. Click here to read the article.

Strengthening the Health Care Workforce

• 218 KU Medical Center graduates live and/or practice in Saline County
• 6 health care providers have been placed in Saline County through the Kansas Recruitment & Retention Center, which provides placement assistance to rural health organizations and seeks to enhance the quality and quantity of health care professionals in rural Kansas since 2003.
• 14 Saline County physicians received funding through the Kansas Bridging Plan, a loan-forgiveness program offered to primary care residents who agree to practice in rural Kansas since 1991.
• 1 Saline County employer exhibited with 2011 Kansas Career Opportunities, which is designed to introduce medical students, residents and other health care professionals to rural communities seeking health care providers.
• 648 health care professionals from Saline County participated in continuing education courses and conferences from July 2010 to June 2011.
• 29 professional education and administrative visits in Saline County occurred in 2011 via telemedicine, an interactive video technology that connects providers and patients when distance separates the two, operated by the KU Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth.

Researching to Improve Health

• Women in Saline County are currently participating in Rural Women Connecting for Better Health, a weight-loss maintenance program for rural breast cancer survivors that focuses on tools for success, including a low-calorie diet, high levels of physical activity, accountability and group support. The study is led by Christie Befort, PhD.
• Salina Regional Medical Center offers clinical trials for patients with cancer in their local community through the support of the Midwest Cancer Alliance, a network of hospitals, physicians groups, and cancer support and patient advocacy organizations bringing cancer research, care, and professional support together to advance the quality and reach of cancer care, prevention, early detection, and survivorship in the Heartland
• Occupational therapists at KU Medical Center provide professional support and development for Kansas' Infant-Toddler Services. Working in every county, KUMC professionals evaluate effectiveness of early intervention services provided to families. Principal investigators Winnie Dunn, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, and Ellen Pope, Med, OTR, facilitate this ongoing project with the Kansas Department of Health & Environment.

Advancing Health Care Access

• 8 outreach clinic visits with KU Medical Center health care providers were made in Saline County in 2011.
• 106 visits with Saline County residents by KU Medical Center health care providers via telemedicine, an interactive video technology that connects providers and patients when distance separates the two, in 2011. To learn more about KU Medical Center's telemedicine services, click here.
• Salina Regional Medical Center is a member of the Midwest Cancer Alliance, a network of hospitals, physicians groups, and cancer support and patient advocacy organizations bringing cancer research, care, and professional support together to advance the quality and reach of cancer care, prevention, early detection, and survivorship in the Heartland.

Outreach Connections

• Salina, Emergency Preparedness Education - KUMC Area Health Education Center
• Salina, KU Medical School expansion in Salina, Wichita aims to reduce rural physician shortage
• Salina, Rural breast cancer survivors see benefits from participating in research