Children coming to the Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County have already experienced trauma. Sending them elsewhere for services risks only compounding the trauma and complicating the care needed by the victims of child abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.

Although KU Wichita Pediatrics has long worked with the center, it only recently was able to fill a missing piece for an organization built upon collaboration: On-site medical care by forensic nurse Tina Peck, APRN, who’s specially trained to work with abuse victims.

“It’s huge in that we don’t want clients to have to make additional or unnecessary trips,” says Diana Schunn, the center’s executive director who during many years as a forensic nurse helped develop the profession and programs in the state. 

As a committed Jayhawk and a financial advisor, Jill Docking recently made outright and planned gifts to KU School of Medicine-Wichita to help support its Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship. This particular cause is important to her as adolescent mental health problems have reached a crisis level.

“About a dozen psychiatrists now serve Wichita and western Kansas — about one-fourth the number needed,” she said. “If psychiatry fellows are schooled here, they are likely to stay here.”

Thanks to a new partnership between the student-led KU Community Health Alliance-Wichita and the local International Rescue Committee, refugees who are coming to Wichita in unprecedented numbers can get some important information on healthy living and health care access. That information, according to the U.S. government, can contribute to their successful resettlement.

Friday, Dec. 1, is World AIDS Day, a day to remember and honor those who have died from AIDS-related illness. We have a dedicated team working to end the HIV epidemic. Donna Sweet, M.D., and her care team in the KU Wichita Internal Medicine Midtown Clinic specialize in providing HIV care to more than 1,300 patients in Wichita and throughout Kansas. They offer free, confidential testing.

Garold Minns, M.D., dean of KU School of Medicine-Wichita, and Brian Pate, M.D., chair of our Department of Pediatrics, recently accepted a 2023 Corporate Citizenship Award on behalf of the medical school. KU School of Medicine-Wichita was named the 2023 Outstanding Corporation during a special luncheon with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Wichita Chapter, celebrating National Philanthropy Day. 

The event spotlighted the many community partnerships and ways KU School of Medicine-Wichita gives back to the community and state, from the student-run JayDoc Community Clinic serving those in need, to the new child psychiatry fellowship as well as a partnership with Exploration Place for the Health Inside Out exhibit.   

“We look at the medical needs of our state and want to be an engine that drives and improves health care,” Dr. Pate told the Wichita Business Journal.

Staff from the School-Based Health Clinic in Haysville, including Elizabeth Lewis, M.D., clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at KU School of Medicine-Wichita; Krista Weaver, APRN; Angela Windham; and Linda Long, recently presented during the 35th annual conference for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. They got positive feedback from the audience, including requests to tour the clinic in person.

"It was a great representation of our partnership with KU and all the great things we have happening in USD 261," said Long, the clinic coordinator.

School-Based Health Clinics are a partnership between KU School of Medicine-Wichita, the Medical Practice Association and area school districts, bringing an innovative approach to integrating health care and promoting health equity. The clinics bring care to where students are, reducing absenteeism and parents' drive time to address anything from sports injuries and physicals to immediate care and screenings.

Have you seen the new issue of Embark magazine? Discover how KU School of Medicine-Wichita is meeting the mental health needs of Kansans. As you flip through the pages, you'll see why "A Healthy Kansas Starts Here."

Congratulations to Melissa Hague, M.D., on being elected as the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists District VII treasurer. District VII includes Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee, as well as Mexico. She recently assumed the office at the ACOG Annual District Meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Resident physicians in the General Psychiatry Residency Program at KU School of Medicine-Wichita recently toured HumanKind Ministries in Wichita and helped the organization prepare for the season. HumanKind provides shelter, affordable housing, basic needs and more to those experiencing housing insecurities or poverty in Sedgwick County. It operates an emergency winter shelter and an extended stay shelter, serving approximately 1,400 individuals and families each year.

Laci Hadorn, M.D., third-year resident, helps put together a bed frame.

Psychiatry residents and faculty members volunteered at HumanKind Ministries with family.

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

See how KU School of Medicine-Wichita is making headlines across the state and beyond.

Visit jobs.kumc.edu to view current job openings for all KUMC campuses.

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