Benefiting the Communities We Serve

As part of an academic health system serving the people of Kansas, the region and beyond, The University of Kansas Health System will enhance the health and wellness of the communities we serve. This is our mission.

We are committed to providing the highest quality care to all Kansans – not only in Kansas City, but across the state and region. It's our responsibility to extend the reach of academic medicine to more Kansans so patients can stay closer to home and receive the most advanced care possible.

We've been working to fulfill this mission since 1998, when The University of Kansas Hospital began as an independent authority.

When people get their healthcare close to home, they can focus on healing rather than the many stresses of travel. That's why we support keeping care close to home.

We do this by supporting the continued operation of hospitals and clinics and by expanding into communities across Kansas:

• Main Campus in Kansas City, Kansas
• Great Bend Campus, including Great Bend Family Medicine and St. Rose Medical Pavilion, in Great Bend
• Olathe Campus in Olathe, Kansas
• Indian Creek Campus in Overland Park
• Paola Campus in Paola, Kansas
• St. Francis Campus in Topeka

We also keep care close to home by using technology and communication to bring advanced healthcare services into communities across the state. Examples include:

Investing in technology

Through technology, we can expand our services to patients while they remain in their communities. For example, people in western Kansas with complex neurological disorders like ALS participate in telemedicine appointments with neuroscience specialists in Kansas City. These specialists work with a local care team to assess each patient's condition and provide ongoing care.

Providing expert physicians to more communities

Our physicians, many of whom specialize in treating complex illnesses, travel to communities throughout Kansas to provide care that would otherwise not be available. For example, our kidney transplant physicians based in Kansas City conduct clinics in Wichita for those who are waiting for organ transplantation and those who need follow-up care after transplant.

Supporting our future care providers

We are dedicated to training our future healthcare professionals and leaders. As part of this mission, we sponsor nursing and allied health training programs in areas such as pharmacy and radiology. Our involvement provides real-world experience that is intended to prepare students from diverse backgrounds for their chosen medical careers.

Additionally, through a partnership with the Olathe School District, the Bridging Education and Medicine (BEAM) program has provided hundreds of students with access to mentors, shadowing opportunities and hands-on learning.

Our physicians and other clinicians collaborate with care providers across Kansas through this network of more than 50 hospitals, plus additional clinics and EMS teams, in 56 Kansas counties. Together, collaborative members work to improve the health of people living in rural and urban communities, using evidence-based models of care to improve outcomes and decrease costs. Care areas include heart attack, stroke, heart failure and sepsis.

Partnering in joint ventures

Our health system partnered with Ardent Health Services to ensure continued healthcare services for the Topeka area. Together, we purchased St. Francis Health, which otherwise would have closed, to form The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus. This joint venture also preserved hundreds of jobs at the hospital.

Acquiring facilities when it makes sense for the communities

In today's healthcare environment, smaller communities can find it difficult to sustain their local hospitals. By joining The University of Kansas Health System, hospitals within these communities ensure access to better healthcare close to home. They also preserve a key driver of the economy in their community.

Our nonprofit hospitals in Olathe and Paola report regularly on the programs and activities that promote health, healing and wellness to directly address community needs. This includes benefits for persons living in poverty including charity care, unpaid costs of public programs such as Medicaid, and community health improvement services. It also encompasses programs that improve community health, education, subsidized health services, financial and material donations and other similar activities. Recent Community Benefit Reports for health system organizations and locations in the southwest region of Kansas City are linked below.

• 2022 Olathe Health Community Benefit Report
• 2022 Olathe Hospital (previously Olathe Medical Center) Community Benefit Report
• 2022 Paola Hospital (previously Miami County Medical Center) Community Benefit Report
• 2022 Olathe Health Physicians Community Benefit Reporting
• 2021 Community Benefit Report
• 2020 Community Benefit Report
• 2019 Community Benefit Report
• 2018 Community Benefit Report
• 2017 Community Benefit Report
• 2016 Community Benefit Report
• 2015 Community Benefit Report
• 2014 Community Benefit Report
• 2013 Community Benefit Report
• 2012 Community Benefit Report