Welcome to News in Brief
Welcome to the April issue of News in Brief. This newsletter is published bi-monthly to feature what is happening in Rural Health Education and Services at the KU Medical Center. For more information contact Lorene Valentine at lvalenti@kumc.edu.
Kansas Recruitment Center Makes Placements
The Kansas Recruitment Center (KRC) is pleased to announce two new placements for rural Kansas!
Christy Winter, PA, will join the staff at Harper District Hospital #5, Harper, Kan. Christy has been practicing in southwest Kansas for nearly three years and is excited to be in Harper with her family. She is a graduate of the Wichita State University Physicians Assistant program and is originally from south central Kansas.
Diane Wrenn, nurse practitioner, was placed with the Flint Hills Community Health Center, Emporia, Kan. Diane is originally from Kansas and attended Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kan., and has family in Emporia area. She has been practicing in Wyoming for quite some time and she is excited to be back in the state and closer to family. She began her position in Emporia on Feb. 25, 2008.
To date, KRC has assisted in placing 50 health care providers in rural communities across the state. For more information about KRC, contact Lauren Lambert, llambert2@kumc.edu.
Welcome Back Andee Ellis
Andee Ellis, Assistant Director, Rural Health Education and Services, returned to the office from maternity leave on April 8 to resume her lead role with the Kansas Locum Tenens (KLT) and Kansas Medical Resource (KMR) programs. Both KLT and KMR were established to provide temporary coverage for rural physicians’ medical practice, so the rural physicians may have time-off for personal or professional reasons. For more information regarding KLT or KMR contact Andee Ellis at aellis2@kumc.edu.
New Service, Background Checks
Background Check Advantage is a new service offered by the Kansas Recruitment Center. Background checks are incredibly important when recruiting a new physician. For this reason KRC has established a service that will do a thorough check including the following: Social Security Trace and Validation, Academic Verifications, ECFMG Certification Verification, Training Licensure Verifications, DEA Registration Query, OiG Medicare-Medicaid Current Sanction Query, Board Certification Verification, and Fraud and Abuse Control Information System (FACIS) Query. For more information on this service contact Laurie Scott at lscott4@kumc.edu.
Dr. Lohman Speaks to Medical Students about Life as a Rural Physician
Rural Health Education and Services will host a luncheon and presentation entitled, “Life as a Rural Doctor in Kansas” by Rebecca Lohman, MD, Iola, Kan., on Wednesday, April 23 at Rieke Auditorium in Kansas City. Dr. Lohman completed her Family Medicine residency at KU Medical Center in Kansas City and currently practices in Iola, Kan. Medical students and faculty are invited to attend the presentation, as Lohman will speak about her experience working and living in Iola, Kan. For more information contact Andrea Ellis at aellis2@kumc.edu.
Issues in Medicine Dinner
Rural Health Education and Services hosted dinner for KUSM-W third-year medical students attending the monthly Issues in Medicine seminar. Medical students were invited to eat pizza after the seminar and were given the opportunity to learn more about the services provided through RHES. For more information, please contact Joyce Tibbals at jtibbals@kumc.edu.
Save-the-Date for Kansas Career Opportunities
The Kansas Career Opportunities event will be held at the KU School of Medicine - Wichita on Oct. 30, 2008, and KU Medical Center in Kansas City on Nov. 6, 2008. Both career fairs are an excellent opportunity for organizations to meet physician residents, medical students and allied health professionals who are seeking employment opportunities.
More information will be available soon on the Rural Health website http://ruralhealth.kumc.edu or email Susan Belden at sbelden@kumc.edu
KAHCC Spring Conference
Rural Health staff members, Amanda Gardner and Marena Frazier, attended the Kansas Association of Health Care Communicators (KAHCC) Spring Conference on April 9-10, 2008 in Winfield, Kan. The conference gave health care communicators a chance to network and learn from seasoned communication professionals.
Rural Health Visit to the Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency Program
Rural Health staff members visited the Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency Program, Salina, Kan., on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. This informal gathering was a great opportunity for residents, faculty and staff to learn more about Rural Health programs.
Spring Conferences and Career Fairs
On March 12-14 in Denver, Co. Rural Health staff exhibited at the American Academy of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) conference. Representing both the KRC and 3RNet, Rural Health staff had the opportunity to visit with physicians from across the country about working in rural America.
Rural Health Education and Services staff exhibited at the Newman Career Fair, Wichita, Kan., on March 27, 2008. RHES staff visited with numerous allied health and pre-medicine students interested in rural health. For more information, please contact Lauren Lambert, llambert2@kumc.edu.
Rural Health staff member, Lauren Lambert, exhibited at the Kansas Physical Therapy Association’s (KPTA) spring conference on April 4-5, 2008 in Wichita, Kan. The conference gave RHES an opportunity to visit in-person with Kansas physical therapists and share information about RHES programs.
The Kansas Medical Group Management Association (KMGMA) spring conference was held in Wichita, Kan., on April 9-11, 2007. Rural Health Education and Services (RHES) staff exhibited at the event. RHES visited with several current clients, and also spoke with potential clients interested in utilizing KRC services.
On April 11, Rural Health exhibited at the Family Medicine Spring Symposium held at the Wichita Airport Hilton in Wichita, Kan.
