Shawnee County

Last updated January 2012

Shawnee County is served by the East Office of KU Medical Center's Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) in Pittsburg, 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

• 112 students from Shawnee County are currently studying at KU Medical Center
• 25 health professions students received hands-on training in Shawnee County in 2011 through placement programs in rural and underserved communities, including SEARCH, Rural Preceptorship Program for KU medical students, and occupational therapy fieldwork.
• Shawnee County is part of the Eastern Medical Education Network with Robert Haskins, MD, a resident of Pittsburg, 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.
• The Community Health Project provides interprofessional, service-learning internships to enhance the educational experience of KU students in the health professions. The students are immersed in public health and social service settings in the Kansas City metropolitan area and across Kansas. The project is facilitated by Cheryl Gibson, PhD, Wendy Hildenbrand, MPH, OTR/L, FAOTA, and Stewart Babbott, MD, with financial support from the Kansas Health Foundation since 1992.

Strengthening the Health Care Workforce

• 676 KU Medical Center graduates live and/or practice in Shawnee County
• 2 Shawnee County employers 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.
• 535 health care professionals from Shawnee County participated in continuing education courses and conferences from July 2010 to June 2011.
• 67 professional education and administrative visits in Shawnee 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

• St. Francis Health Center in Topeka 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
• Stormont-Vail HealthCare in Topeka 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. Stormont-Vail HealthCare also provides access to cancer therapy clinical trials developed at the University of Kansas, many of which are opportunities available at fewer than 5 sites in the world.
• 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

• 99 visits with Shawnee 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.
• Stormont-Vail HealthCare and St. Francis Health Center, both of Topeka, are members 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.