Thomas County

Last updated January 2012

Thomas 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

• 1 student from Thomas County is currently studying at KU Medical Center
• Thomas 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

• 16 KU Medical Center graduates live and/or practice in Thomas County
• 3 health care providers have been placed in Thomas 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.
• 8 Thomas 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 Thomas 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.
• 50 health care professionals from Thomas County participated in continuing education courses and conferences from July 2010 to June 2011.

Researching to Improve Health

• Hospitalization has been identified as a teachable moment in which patients may be more likely to quit smoking. Thomas County is one 27 counties in Kansas to participate in Kan Quit II, an innovative research intervention that provides smoking cessation counseling, treatment and case management services to evaluate the effectiveness of the smoking cessation services. The project is led by Edward Ellerbeck, MD, MPH, and is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health.
• Women in Thomas 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.
• 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

• 6 outreach clinic visits with Thomas County residents and KU Medical Center health care providers were made in 2011.
• 32 visits with Thomas 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.