Community Outreach and Services

The University of Kansas Health System is committed to making a difference not only in the lives of our patients, but also our community. We provide many vital services that others do not. And our employees wholeheartedly embrace a culture of giving that includes donating, volunteering and participating. These initiatives reinforce our ties to the Kansas City community and contribute to the health and success of our neighbors and neighborhoods.

Each year, the health system provides leadership and clinical, educational, monetary and volunteer support to many worthwhile organizations and community programs throughout the Kansas City area. These include health system-wide initiatives and grassroots efforts by departments and individual employees. Some of the programs include:

• American Heart Association Heart Walk®: Our staff helps raise money for the American Heart Association by participating in the annual Heart Walk. Team members recruit friends and family members to join them for the event.
• Race for the Cure: Each year, our employees participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which brings together breast cancer survivors, patients, families, employees and physicians.
• United Way: Our employees give generously to United Way through internal campaigns that raise money to help our neighbors in need.
• HERO: Through our Health System Employees Reaching Out initiative, staff participate in several programs during the year, from teaching youngsters about bicycle safety to scraping paint from elderly neighbors' homes during Christmas in October.
• The Stroke Walk: Each year, employees help raise awareness about stroke and celebrate stroke survivors through participation in the American Stroke Foundation's annual stroke walk. The day also includes music and vendors.

National organizations have recognized The University of Kansas Health System for improving patient outcomes and providing some of the safest, highest quality care in the country. These include the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Vizient.

Our advanced levels of care and patient services make us a leader in greater Kansas City and throughout the state of Kansas. Every year, patients are referred from hospitals in nearly all Kansas counties for our unique services not found elsewhere in the state. Some of our community services available in Kansas City include:

Gene and Barbara Burnett Burn Center

Ours is the only nationally verified burn center in the region accredited for both adult and pediatric burns by the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons. Here, our team of experts provides specialized care for complex burns and wounds.

Level I Trauma Center

As the only nationally verified Level I Trauma Center in greater Kansas City, and 1 of only 3 in Kansas, we provide a full spectrum of care for critically injured patients. Our interdisciplinary team of trauma surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, plastic surgeons, radiologists, nurses and respiratory therapists can be mobilized on a moment's notice. We also provide education, prevention and outreach programs.

Organ transplant program and Midwest Transplant Network (MTN) partner

The University of Kansas Health System's Center for Transplantation provides expert care for blood and marrow, heart, kidney/pancreas, liver and heart transplant patients. We partner with MTN, a nonprofit organization selected by the federal government to manage organ donations in Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri.

The health system's collaboration with MTN helps our physicians and care providers evaluate and manage potential organ donors. This allows us to find the best possible match for every patient.

Patient resource centers

Our resource centers offer patients, their families and community members with free information and support to help them take active roles in managing their health. Resource centers include:

• Brandmeyer Patient Resource Center (cancer care)
• White Heart Learning and Resource Center (heart care)
• George Varghese, MD, Spine Learning and Resource Center

Each patient resource center features DVDs, brochures and computers with internet access. They are staffed by full-time nurse coordinators who have in-depth experience and expertise.

The University of Kansas Health System Poison Control Center

The poison center has served Kansas for more than 25 years. Led by the state's only toxicologist, the poison center is staffed by pharmacists and nurses specifically trained to handle emergencies involving chemicals, drugs, bites, stings and environmental hazards. Help is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The poison center's medical director, managing director and education coordinator provide educational programs throughout the state. 

In 2017, the center handled more than 21,400 calls from the public, emergency rooms, EMS services and schools.

Turning Point

Turning Point: The Center for Hope and Healing provides emotional support to individuals and their families living with chronic illness. Through activities such as workshops, lectures and clinics, patients learn skills to help them cope with their condition.