Wichita County

Last updated January 2012

Wichita 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

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

• 4 KU Medical Center graduates live and/or practice in Wichita County
• 20 health care professionals from Wichita County participated in continuing education courses and conferences from July 2010 to June 2011.

Researching to Improve Health

• 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

• 1 outreach clinic visits with KU Medical Center health care providers were made in Wichita County in 2011.