We're excited to share a special message from our director—full of insights and updates, and inspiration.

I hope that all of you are enjoying the start of Summer! The Kansas Center of Rural Health has been busily working on growing our activity in our primary avenues of education and research this Spring. While a number of programs are in development, there are two developments I want to highlight. First, I want to bring your attention to our new speaker series set to debut this Fall.  

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Alexandra Corns, MLS(ASCP)CM, is a former medical laboratory professional and a 2025 MD candidate at The University of Kansas School of Medicine. Her medical training has occurred throughout Kansas, including in some of the most rural communities in the state, inspiring an interest in rural provision of care and rural trauma response. Following graduation, she will begin a military emergency medicine residency.

The study we are spotlighting resulted in two papers by Alexandra Corns, Letycia Nuñez-Argote, and Robert Moser. 

Read full spotlight >>

We know survivorship care takes time, staff, and support. That’s why KanSurvive 2.0 partners with rural practices to provide funding, scribe help, and practical solutions—without adding to your patient load.

KanSurvive 2.0 is an NIH-funded study focused on enhancing cancer survivorship care in rural primary care settings. Participating practices will receive:

Interested in participating or learning more?
Contact Catie Knight at cknight2@kumc.edu or visit www.kansurvive.com

Are you a rural Kansas clinician interested in improving your skin cancer detection skills? Join the Rural Dermoscopy Project, a partnership between KPPEPR and KU Medical Center, and gain hands-on training in melanoma diagnosis and dermoscopy. All participants who successfully complete the project will receive a DermLite DL200 HR pocket dermatoscope.

Enroll and complete online coursework by June 30, 2025

Click HERE to access the enrollment form.

Questions? Contact Ellie Brent at ebrent@kumc.edu.

Access to quality healthcare in rural Kansas often comes down to one thing: bringing care where it’s needed most. As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Salina Family Healthcare Center, is proud to meet this challenge head-on with Healthcare on Wheels, a mobile medical unit delivering nurse-led, innovative care directly to patients throughout Saline County.

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Frontiers Renewal Application - Clinical & Translational Science Research

Frontiers Clinical & Translational Science Institute is seeking Letters of Intent (LOIs) for innovative clinical research projects to be included in the Element E: CTS Research Program for its UM1 renewal application. Projects should address significant challenges in clinical and translational science and utilize a newly formed Practice-Based Research Network.

Click HERE for more information.

Advancing Nursing Education Workforce (ANEW) Grow and Stay grant enables hands-on clinical and team training for resuscitation skills in Lyons, Kansas.

Click HERE for more information.

Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems (MCHHS) is redefining rural healthcare with the introduction of the advanced da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgical System - bringing the latest in surgical capabilities closer to home.

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The Pioneer Health Network, Inc. (PHN), a not-for-profit cooperative of 22 member hospitals in western Kansas, has engaged with Kansas Clinical Improvement Collaborative, LLC (KCIC) to receive maternal health planning and training support for 15 of its member hospitals through a Memorandum of Understanding.

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The U-CHaMP Program recruits students from underserved and rural areas to explore health profession programs, gain awareness of health disparities, and receive tailored peer-to-peer mentoring and clinical shadowing opportunities. Participants can qualify for a scholarship of up to $10,000 per academic year for educational expenses in a program within KU School of Health Professions (SHP). The program also provides hands-on clinical training, inspiring students to pursue careers in underserved and rural areas that lack adequate health care providers.

Read full article >>

Kansas Age-Friendly Nursing Workforce Forum
June 9, 2025, 10 A.M. - 2 P.M.
Washburn Tech Conference Center - West Campus | Topeka, KS 66604

Register for event >>

Join nursing educators and long-term care leaders to explore integrating age-friendly education into clinical practice—strengthening the pipeline of nurses prepared to care for older adults in long-term care settings.

Health Science Skills Workshop
Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 10 A.M. - 3 P.M. CST
KUMC - Salina Campus | Salina, KS 67401

Teachers! Join us to engage in hands-on learning, learn about resources available to you, and network with others with like passions! Limited to 50 attendees! Free to attend thanks to all our generous sponsors!

For more information contact Tina Goosz at tgoosz@kumc.edu.

WEBINAR: Access to Maternity Care in Kansas
Thursday, June 12, 2025, 11 A.M. - 12 P.M.
Zoom

The growing maternal-care desert in Kansas is causing more women in the state to drive long distances for care, with 59% not having any local access to inpatient maternity services.

The KU School of Nursing recently released a report detailing the availability of maternity care across Kansas. The report, “Access to Maternity Care in Kansas,” was produced in collaboration with the Kansas Center for Rural Health with funding from the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund.

Click to HERE register

Clinical Teaching Institute and Kansas Nurse Educator Conference
Wednesday, July 16 - Thursday, July 17
Newman University  |  Wichita, KS 

Click to HERE register

Kansas Career Opportunities Career Fairs

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Kansas Career Opportunities (KCO) career fairs! These events connect Kansas rural and urban underserved health care employers with medical and health care students from a wide range of programs, as well as resident physicians. Attendees will be eager to explore your current and future job openings and learn more about your community.

Exhibitor registration opens June 1.

KCO-Wichita: Thursday, October 2, 4-7 P.M.
KCO-Kansas City: Wednesday, November 5, 5:30 - 7:30 P.M.
KCO-Salina: Date to be announced

Click HERE for details and registration.

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

“Access to Maternity Care in Kansas” – Karen L. Weis, PhD, RNC-OB, FAAN; Alex Alsup, MS, University of Kansas School of Nursing in partnership with the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, May 2025. Read full article >>

“Access to Orthopaedic Care in Rural America” – Lisa Ronback, MD, FAAOS, FRCSC; Tamara Huff, M.D., MBA; Mark Reis, MD; Kim Templeton, M.D., FAAOS, FAOA, AAOS Now, January 29, 2025. Read full article >>

“A Family-Based Behavioral Group Obesity Randomized Control Feasibility Trial Across a Clinical Trials Network: A Focus on Contact Hours” – Ann M. Davis, PhD; Paul Darden, MD; Brittany Lancaster, PhD; Di Chang, MPH; Christopher C. Cushing, PhD; David M. Janicke, PhD; Crystal S. Lim, PhD; Megan Olalde, RD; Sarah Bullard, RD; Russell McCulloh, MD, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Volume 50, Issue 3, March 2025, Pages 280–288. Read full article >>

“Validation of Remote Anthropometric Measurements in a Rural Randomized Pediatric Clinical Trial in Primary Care Settings” – E. Zhang, PhD; Ann M. Davis, PhD; Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez, PhD, RDN; Brittany Lancaster, PhD; Monica Serrano-Gonzalez, MD; Di Chang, MPH; Jeannette Lee, PhD; Jin-Shei Lai, PhD; Lee Pyles, MD; Timothy VanWagoner, PhD; Paul Darden, MD, Scientific Reports, Volume 14, Article 411, January 3, 2024. Read full article >>

“Barriers to Participation in a Telemedicine-Based, Family-Based Behavioral Group Treatment Program for Pediatric Obesity: Qualitative Findings from Rural Caregivers” – Galen Hoft, PhD; Bethany Forseth, PhD; Anna Trofimoff, PhD; Maheen Bangash, MD; Ann M. Davis, PhD, Children’s Health Care, Volume 53, Issue 1, Pages 60–75, 2024. Read full article >>

“Effectiveness of a Paediatric Weight Management Intervention for Rural Youth (iAmHealthy): Primary Outcomes of a Cluster Randomised Control Trial” – Ann M. Davis, PhD; Brittany Lancaster, PhD; Kandace Fleming, PhD; Rebecca Swinburne Romine, PhD; Bethany Forseth, PhD; Eve-Lynn Nelson, PhD; Meredith Dreyer Gillette, PhD; Myles S. Faith, PhD; Debra K. Sullivan, PhD, RD; Kelley Pettee Gabriel, PhD; Kelsey Dean, PhD; Megan Olalde, RD, Pediatric Obesity, Volume 19, Issue 3, March 2024. Read full article  >>

“Rationale and Design of Integrating a Parents First Obesity Intervention with a Pediatric Weight Management Intervention for Rural Families – Evaluating the Ripple Effect” – Ann M. Davis, PhD; Christie A. Befort, PhD; Brittany D. Lancaster, PhD; Chris Tuck, MS; Barbara J. Polivka, PhD; Jordan A. Carlson, PhD; Kandace Fleming, PhD; Rebecca Swinburne Romine, PhD; Kelsey Dean, PhD; Megan Murray, MS, Contemporary Clinical Trials, Volume 128, 2023, Article 107140. Read full article >>

“The Case for Rural America” – J. Tom Mueller, Rural Studies Series, October 2025. More information >>

“Graduate Medical Education in Family Medicine: From Basic Processes to True Innovation” – Rick Kellerman, MD; Gretchen Irwin, MD, MBA, Springer Nature, 2025. More information >>

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