As the new Director of the Kansas Center for Rural Health, I am happy to introduce our new quarterly newsletter series. This newsletter series will serve as the primary means of communicating the center’s ongoing activities, programs, and initiatives throughout the year. In this first newsletter, we are happy to provide you with information on our Rural Health Council Committees, funding opportunities for rural research, upcoming events aligned with the center, and a little more about myself and my background. 

You will also find a research spotlight on the forthcoming Access to Maternal Care in Kansas Report. This report, forthcoming in March and led by Dr. Karen Weis, provides timely and invaluable data on our ongoing challenges with access to maternal care across the rural reaches of our state. We intend to spotlight an ongoing rural research project or program in each of these newsletters. If you have a project, paper, or program you would like to see us spotlight, please reach out! 

The Kansas Center for Rural Health continues to pursue its mission focused on identifying and reducing rural health disparities and improving the rural healthcare workforce and care delivery across the state of Kansas. As we continue to develop programs in our two primary avenues of education and research, you will find information on these growing programs both in these newsletters and on our website—which we are actively updating and where we have begun adding new resources for both public audiences and KUMC. If you have never engaged with the center, or have not engaged with us recently, I encourage you to reach out and consider joining one of our committees, detailed later in the newsletter. By participating in these committees, you can help organize efforts to advance rural health in Kansas, while also expanding your network of collaborators and partners. 

As a center, we are here to serve as a partner in reducing health disparities and improving rural health, healthcare access, and the healthcare workforce across the state. We are actively looking for partners in these efforts and I welcome engagement from all organizations, faculty, or agencies aligned in this effort. Please reach out if you would like to connect, I am always happy to hop on a call or grab a coffee.  

There are a number of new initiatives in the works, so stay tuned and watch this space! 

Sincerely, 

Tom Mueller, PhD

Director of the Kansas Center for Rural Health 

Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health 

Members of the KU Medical Center community can collaborate alongside colleagues dedicated to advancing rural health. Members of the Rural Health Council Committees meet to share, promote, collaborate and network across KU Medical Center, advancing the mission of the Center for Rural Health. For more information contact KCRH@kumc.edu or visit the KCRH website.

Researcher: Karen Weis, PhD, RNC-OB, FAAN, Professor, Christine A. Hartley Rural Health Nursing Professorship, Interim Dean of School of Nursing Salina 

What is the purpose of the report? 

The purpose of the Access to Maternal Care in Kansas report is to provide information on the critical resources necessary for ensuring positive outcomes for mothers and babies. To do this we mapped the resources necessary for providing maternal healthcare and the access by ZIP code for the state of Kansas, thus providing information for informed decisions and identifying gaps requiring targeted intervention.  

What are the key findings from the report? 

One of the most intriguing findings was that the highest number of births by population density for reproductive age women are occurring in the western counties with the greatest distance to maternity care. In fact, the median birthrate in urban counties is 61, and rural counties have a significantly higher median birthrate of 67. We found that 59% of Kansas counties do not have inpatient maternity care services, 13% of ZIP codes were farther than 30 miles, and 46% were farther than 15 miles to the nearest facility.  Read full article >>

The Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging (INRPHA) is inviting proposals on rural health and aging trends and disparities. Awards are for a total cost of $35,000 and the deadline is May 1st, 2025. Click the link to learn more!

Learn more about the INRPHA Opportunity >>

Tuesdays, March 4 - April 11, 2025 - Noon CST

*No Class March 18

This series addresses barriers to pulmonary rehab for Kansans with long COVID and chronic respiratory diseases, offering strategies to improve access and reduce health disparities. Register for this event >> 

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 - Noon CST

Cancer Screening and Prevention in Action, a webinar series hosted by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Cancer Partnership, and Masonic Cancer Alliance, is a five-part series featuring a cancer topic, insights on the latest screening criteria, and how to improve screening rates in your community. Geared to healthcare professionals, the topic for the fourth session is colorectal cancer. Continuing Education credits will be available for those participating in the live session. Register for this event >>

Monday, March 24, 2025 - Noon CST

Hybrid via Zoom or in-person location:  SON G013

Join us as we hear from selected women in leadership at KU Medical Center who will provide insights regarding careers at an academic medical center and lessons learned on the path to leadership. Register for this event >>

March 26 - 27, 2025

Kansas State University

919 Mid Campus Dr N, Manhattan, KS 66506

HOSA-Future Health Professionals is an international student organization endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education that aims to promote career opportunities in the healthcare industry and enhance the delivery of quality healthcare to all people.  For more information contact Tina Goosz at tgoosz@kumc.edu.

Friday, April 4, 2024, 8 A.M. - 4 P.M. CST

Sheraton Overland Park Hotel Convention Center

6100 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS

Join us for a weekend of collaboration, learning & networking at one location.

Attend the MCA Annual Meeting on Friday, April 4 and stay for the KUMC Multidisciplinary Oncology Review on Saturday, April 5. Both meetings will be held at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel.  Questions – contact Lety (913) 945-6686

Register today to reserve your seat & receive meeting updates >>

Friday, April 17—18, 2025, 8 A.M. - 4 P.M. CST

Ad Astra room, 5th floor, Health Education Building 

University of Kansas Medical Center Campus, Kansas City, KS

IDAD is a premier regional event for biostatistics and data science researchers. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Lu Wang, Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect and explore the latest in statistical research! Register for this event >>

Thursday, May 1, 2025

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Teacher Externship Day at KU Med Center is a free, one-day event held 3-4 times a year for Kansas health science teachers. It offers hands-on experiences with KU Medical Center and KU Health System programs, including lab visits, admissions meetings, and facility tours.  For more information contact Tina Goosz at tgoosz@kumc.edu.

June 6-7, 2025 - 8:00 A.M. - 1:30 P. M. CST

The Oread Lawrence, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

1200 Oread Avenue Lawrence, KS 66044

The Rural Oncology Conference 2025 is a unique event bringing together healthcare professionals, researchers, advocates, and policymakers to address the unique challenges and opportunities in rural cancer care.

Register for this event >>

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, 8:30 A.M. - 4 P.M. CT

Women in Health Care: The Next Generation is a free, 3-day program for 14-16 high school junior and senior girls across Kansas. Hosted by KU Med AHEC, it connects students with health care professionals, faculty, and peers to inspire future leaders in medicine.  For more information contact Tina Goosz at tgoosz@kumc.edu.

"Exploring Access to Critical Health Services for Older Adults in Rural America from 1990 to 2020" – Elizabeth A. Bambury, BS; Alexis A. Merdjanoff, PhD; Joshua T. Fergen, PhD; J. Tom Mueller, PhD, Journal of Rural Health, February 28, 2025. Read full article >>

"Blood Banking Services in Critical Access Hospitals in Kansas: A Laboratory Perspective" – Letycia Nuñez-Argote, PhD; Alexandra Corns, BS; Robert Moser, MD, American Journal of Clinical Pathology, December 20, 2024. Read full article >>

"Novel Solutions for a Complex Problem: How Do We Build Stronger Orthopaedic Care in Rural Areas" – Lisa Ronback, MD, FAAOS, FRCSC; James Barber, MD, FAAOS, AAOS Now, January 29, 2025. Read full article >>

"The State of Musculoskeletal Health in Rural America" – Kim Templeton, MD, FAAOS, FAOA, AAOS Now, January 29, 2025. Read full article >>

"Building the Pipeline: Where Will the Next Generation of Rural Orthopaedic Surgeons Come From?" – Kim Templeton, MD, FAAOS, FAOA, AAOS Now, January 29, 2025. Read full article >>

"Nursing Practice Considerations for Medicare’s Reimbursement Model of Rural Emergency Hospitals" – Karen L. Weis, PhD, RNC-OB, FAAN; Deena Woodall, PhD, RN; Teale Ryan, PhD, MS, RN; Lisa Larson, PhD, RN, Journal of Nursing Regulation, January 2025. Read full article >>

Robert P. Moser, M.D., professor of population health, has transitioned from his role as executive director of the Kansas Center for Rural Health to serve as full-time medical director of The University of Kansas Health System’s Care Collaborative. The Care Collaborative is a patient safety organization comprised of a network of healthcare providers and teams using evidence-based models to optimize care and improve health outcomes throughout the state of Kansas.

Dr. Moser has been involved with the Care Collaborative since 2014 and has served as medical director since 2019. He will remain active in the Kansas Center for Rural Health and the Rural Health Council that supports the mission of the center following the transition. Dr. Moser was instrumental in leading the formation of the Kansas Center for Rural Health, which launched in 2022 to foster and sustain improvements necessary to address health outcome disparities across rural Kansas. The center provides infrastructure to support collaborations among researchers and educators from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions and rural health stakeholders across the state. His wealth of knowledge and experience in primary care, health care delivery systems and public health, and his continued engagement in advocacy across the state was instrumental in establishing the center.   We wish you the best.

The Kansas Center for Rural Health is proud to welcome J. Tom Mueller, Ph.D., as its Director and Assistant Professor of Population Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center. A rural sociologist and demographer, Dr. Mueller’s research explores the geography of well-being and the environment in rural America, with a focus on: 

  - Health and well-being in rural communities 

  - Environmental injustice and environmental health 

  - The measurement and tracking of poverty across geographic spaces 

His work has been featured in leading academic journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Rural Health, Nature Water, Nature Communications, Demography, and Rural Sociology. He actively secures research funding and is currently engaged in projects supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, among others. 

Dr. Mueller's upcoming book, The Case for Rural America, is set to be released by University of North Carolina Press in Fall 2025. 

A Kansas native, Dr. Mueller grew up in Merriam, KS, before earning degrees from the University of Montana and Penn State University, where he completed his Ph.D. in Rural Sociology and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment. Before joining KU Medical Center in 2023, he held faculty positions at Utah State University and the University of Oklahoma. 

We are excited to have Dr. Mueller leading the charge in advancing rural health research and advocacy in Kansas and beyond! 

Stay connected with us! Visit the KCRH website for the latest updates, resources, and upcoming events. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for daily insights, stories, and conversations that matter. Let’s keep the momentum going—join the community and stay in the loop!   

The Kansas Center for Rural Health aims to identify and reduce rural health disparities and improve the rural healthcare workforce and care delivery through research, education and service.