Seward County

Last updated January 2012

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

• 6 students from Seward County are currently studying at KU Medical Center
• 1 health professions student received hands-on training in Seward County in 2011 through placement programs in rural and underserved communities, including SEARCH, Rural Preceptorship Program for KU medical students, and occupational therapy fieldwork.

Strengthening the Health Care Workforce

• 21 KU Medical Center graduates live and/or practice in Seward County
• 1 health care provider has been placed in Seward 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.
• 1 Seward County employer exhibited with 2011 Kansas Career Opportunities, which is designed to introduce medical students, residents and other professionals to rural communities seeking health care providers.
• 17 health care professionals from Seward County participated in continuing education courses and conferences from July 2010 to June 2011.

Researching to Improve Health

• The Kansas Community Cancer Health Disparities Network focuses on reducing cancer disparities in two distinct rural populations: American Indians in northeast Kansas and Latinos in southwest Kansas. The goal is to work with the communities to improve treatment and increase awareness about cancer prevention, screening and risk-reduction. Allen Greiner, MD, MPH, is primary investigator on the U54 grant.

• To increase breast cancer screening rates among Latinas and American Indian women in Seward County, community health volunteers are trained to guide community members through a culturally-tailored, computerized breast health program at community events. The computerized program identifies whether a person needs screened and builds personalized plans to ensure participants get screened. Kim Engelman, PhD, is primary investigator on the project, Engaging Diverse Underserved Communities to Bridge the Mammography Divide, which is part of the Kansas Community Cancer Health Disparities Network (U54 grant).

• 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

• 7 outreach clinic visits with Seward County residents and KU Medical Center providers occured in 2011.
• 38 visits with Seward 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.