Each spring, the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion honors an individual and a group for creating a more culturally diverse, competent and inclusive KU Medical Center community in alignment with its core value statement.

Colleen Loo-Gross, M.D., MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, was recently chosen as the individual winner for her work and involvement in expanding DEI efforts.

Following is what was shared from her nomination letter during the ceremony in April:

Dr. Loo-Gross is a member of the Vice Chancellor’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Cabinet and co-chairs the Wichita Community DEI Partnership, serves as a member of the Diversity & Inclusion planning committee and serves on the Wichita Collegiate School DEI Advisory Committee.  

In her nominations, Dr. Loo-Gross is recognized for her contribution to prenatal care to Spanish-speaking women without American citizenship or health insurance at HealthCore, a Wichita federally qualified health center. She developed a clinic for family medicine residents to see these patients with her and then be referred to the resident’s own ambulatory care clinical after 28 weeks gestation for third-trimester care and eventually delivery. This initiative has taken a great deal of persistence due to the bureaucracy of the FQHC and hospital systems.

Dr. Loo-Gross helped lead the Medical Society of Sedgwick County Black Physician Recruitment initiative, a mentoring program for residents who identify as Black/African American, and helped coordinate local screenings of the “Black Men in White Coats” documentary. Dr. Loo-Gross also developed an annual Global Health Workshop for health care professionals where she serves as a committee member and facilitator for the workshop.

She is the faculty advisor for a developing local Health Career Collaborative chapter that offers medical student mentorship to high school students from underrepresented backgrounds interested in health care careers. The chapter recently partnered with Wichita North High School, which has a high percentage of Hispanic and underserved students. She works to improve society’s acceptance of DEI, convincing others of the need for the improved understanding of the experiences, differences and cultures of others.

Dr. Loo-Gross received a plaque and a $1,000 monetary award.

The ceremony included a keynote address entitled, "Intersectionality, Ableism and Lived Experiences of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community," presented by Petra Horn Marsh, Ph.D., associate professor of the practice on the KU Edwards campus; Stacey Storme, M.Ed., program director and associate professor of the practice at KU Edwards; and Robert Cooper, executive director for the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.