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Finney County

Updated January 2013

Finney County is served by the Southwest office of KU Medical Center's Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) in Garden City, 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

  • 16 students from Finney County are currently studying at KU Medical Center.
  • 4 health professions students received hands-on training in Finney County in 2012 through placement programs in rural and underserved communities, including Rural Preceptorship Program for KU medical students and fieldwork experiences for other professions.
  • Finney County is part of the Southwest Medical Education Network with Randall Fahrenholtz, MD, a resident of Tribune, 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

  • 51 KU Medical Center graduates live and/or practice in Finney County.
  • 1 health care provider has been placed in Finney County since 2003 through the Kansas Recruitment and 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.
  • 5 Finney 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.
  • 5 shifts were covered by temporary physicians, which allowed Finney County physicians necessary time off in 2012. These coverages were made via KU Medical Center's Kansas Locum Tenens and Kansas Medical Resource programs.
  • 1 Finney County health care employer exhibited with 2012 Kansas Career Opportunities, which is designed to introduce medical students, residents and other health care professionals to rural communities looking to hire.
  • 237 health care professionals from Finney County participated in KU Medical Center continuing education courses and conferences in 2012.
  • 206 professional education and administrative visits in Finney County occurred in 2012 via telemedicine, an interactive video technology that connects providers and patients when distance separates the two. The technology is operated by the University of Kansas Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth.

Researching to Improve Health

  • Hospitalization has been identified as a teachable moment in which patients may be more likely to quit smoking. St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City is one of 35 Kansas hospitals participating in Kan Quit II, a study that provides smoking cessation counseling, treatment and case management services to inpatients. The study then evaluates 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.

Advancing Health Care Access

  • 171 Finney County residents made visits to KU Medical Center health care providers in outreach clinics held outside of Kansas City in 2012
  • 472 Kansans received free medical attention and education in 2012 through preventive screenings and events hosted in Finney County with support from KU Medical Center.
  • St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City 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.

Serving Communities

  • Latina women in southwest Kansas train with KU Medical Center faculty and staff to become Promotoras, or community health workers. Promotoras encourage cancer prevention and healthy lifestyles among their families, friends and neighbors. In 2012, 15 Finney County women participated in cancer 101 training.

Outreach Connections

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For more information, contact outreach@kumc.edu

     Last modified: Jan 31, 2013