Speakers dive into reasons rural Kansans are struggling to get access to health care

Keishera Lately, Topeka Capital-Journal
·2 min read
Participants for Wednesday's 2023 Bob and Elizabeth Dole Series on Leadership event at the Sunflower Foundation listen to the first of two panel discussions.
Participants for Wednesday's 2023 Bob and Elizabeth Dole Series on Leadership event at the Sunflower Foundation listen to the first of two panel discussions.

As part of the 2023 Bob and Elizabeth Dole Series on Leadership, the Bipartisan Policy Center and Sunflower Foundation hosted panel discussions Wednesday on the topic of exploring the future of rural health care in Kansas.

At the Powerhouse Conference Center, 5820 6th Ave., leaders from such health entities as Kansas Behavioral Health services, Nemaha Valley Community Hospital and more discussed issues critical to rural health care. Those included integrated care, workforce recruitment and hospital transformation.

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Two-part panel allows for discussions on health-related issues

Marilyn Serafini, far right, executive director of health program for the Bipartisan Policy Center, kicks off Wednesday's panel discussion on behavioral health integration in rural America at the Sunflower Foundation.
Marilyn Serafini, far right, executive director of health program for the Bipartisan Policy Center, kicks off Wednesday's panel discussion on behavioral health integration in rural America at the Sunflower Foundation.

Two panels — "Behavioral Health Integration in Rural America" and "Navigating a post COVID-19 World Within Rural Health Systems" — allowed for discussion of problems and ideas.

The first panel explored how local, state and federal approaches could be coordinated and better supported for a whole health model of care, including workforce, integration and data. The second panel dug into issues related to workforce recruitment and retention, existing payment models and the future opportunities of rural health systems.

Marilyn Serafini, Bipartisan Policy Center executive director of health programs, said the discussions allowed speakers to dig into related issues that are impacting the ability for rural Americans to have access to health care services.

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Brandon Skidmore, vice president of the Sunflower Foundation, said the forum was an opportunity for the Sunflower Foundation to speak about the values the foundation shares with the Bipartisan Policy Center.

"Integrated care is a space that both organizations care deeply about and have worked on for quite some time," Skidmore said. "That's really how we bring behavioral health into the primary care setting and augment the access that folks have to that care."

Sunflower Foundation was established in 2000 as a statewide health philanthropy with a mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of all Kansans. To learn more, visit the Sunflower Foundation website.

Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Future of rural health care in Kansas part of 2-panel discussion