Tag Archives: Partner Hospitals

School of Medicine announces changes in Saint Luke’s Hospital, graduate medical education leadership

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Dr. Gregory Howell

The UMKC School of Medicine has announced upcoming changes in the school’s associate dean for Saint Luke’s Hospital programs and in the school’s graduate medical education leadership.

Diana Dark, M.D., a 1980 graduate of the School of Medicine and long-time associate dean for Saint Luke’s Hospital programs, will retire from her role this summer. In turn, Gregory Howell, M.D., who currently serves as associate dean of graduate medical education, will assume the associate dean’s role at Saint Luke’s Hospital beginning June 1.

Howell, a Kansas City native, graduated from the School of Medicine in 2000 and completed his pulmonary and critical care fellowships at UMKC. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases and critical care medicine. He also holds a master’s in public health from the University of Kansas. An associate professor of internal medicine, he previously served as program director for the critical care fellowship.

“It has been an honor to serve the graduate medical education community at the School of Medicine for the last three years and I look forward to working with the leadership at Saint Luke’s in the coming years.” Howell said.

Dr. Diana Dark

Dark has cared for patients as a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Saint Luke’s Health System for 29 years. She has served as the associate dean for Saint Luke’s programs for 18 years and the last two years has also served the associate dean for the learning environment at the School of Medicine.

After graduating from the SOM, Dark did her internship, residency and fellowship at the University of Kansas Hospital. She remained on faculty at the University of Kansas for seven years before being recruited to Saint Luke’s Hospital as associate program director for the Internal Medicine residency program, a position she held for 10 years. She established the UMKC Critical Care fellowship and served as program director for seven years.

School of Medicine dean Mary Anne Jackson congratulated Dark on her upcoming retirement and thanked her for her extensive service to the med school.

“I have truly enjoyed working with Dr. Dark as she has advocated for our students, residents, fellows and faculty,” Jackson said. “I am grateful for her leadership and the strong collaborative spirit as she has promoted a strong relationship between the School of Medicine and Saint Luke’s Hospital.”

Jani Johnson, CEO of Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City echoed Jackson’s sentiments.

“Dr. Dark’s leadership has been tremendous throughout her years of service to Saint Luke’s and UMKC,” she said. “We are grateful for her many contributions and we wish her a joyful retirement. We are also thrilled to congratulate Dr. Howell, who we know will bring passion and enthusiasm to this role, and whose expertise will be of great value to our students and staff alike.”

Dark said that while she will miss the interaction with her friends and coworkers, she is looking forward to experiencing the next chapter of her life and her leisure time.

“I cannot imagine anyone having a more rewarding career than I have had,” Dark said. “It has truly been a privilege to help educate so many medical students, residents, and fellows, those who will be taking care of all of us. I have been honored to work alongside and partner with incredibly strong leadership at both Saint Luke’s Hospital and the UMKC School of Medicine.”

SOM faculty, Children’s Mercy hospital spotlighted in TV documentary

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School of Medicine faculty and partner hospital Children’s Mercy Kansas City return to the spotlight on Jan. 27 and Jan. 30 for Season 3 of Inside Pediatrics.

The Emmy Award-winning documentary looks at world-class pediatric health care through the stories of patients and their families from the Kansas City area and beyond, and the professionals who take care of them. Actor Paul Rudd, a Kansas City area native, is narrator for the series that will air at 6 p.m. on Jan. 27 and at 7 p.m. on Jan. 30 on KMBC Channel 9.

These episodes feature brave families who have allowed cameras to follow them and capture their heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking moments.

View the Season 3 trailer at https://www.facebook.com/InsidePediatrics/videos/1844276945698313.

All of the episodes and additional bonus video are available on the web site at www.InsidePediatrics.com. Viewers can also visit www.facebook.com/InsidePediatrics for information and to share their thoughts and support.

Kansas City’s leading health-care institutions team up to create UMKC Health Sciences District

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UMKC’s health sciences community and surrounding hospitals are part of a newly created UMKC Health Sciences District announced Friday, May 19.

With a collaboration unlike any other in the nation, many of Kansas City’s leading health-care institutions announced today that they have agreed to align more closely to form the UMKC Health Sciences District. The newly created district combines the unique expertise and services of 10 partners to spur research and community outreach in service of the Kansas City region and beyond.

The UMKC Health Sciences District includes:

The UMKC Health Sciences District is unlike any other in the nation. It is one of 18 areas in the country that have public schools of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and nursing in one location along with a children’s hospital and an adult, acute-care hospital. But by including a health department, the medical examiner and a mental health center that bring together agencies of the city, county and state, the UMKC Health Sciences District is one of a kind.

Drawing on these institutions’ efforts, the UMKC Health Sciences District has the potential to enhance collaboration on research and grant requests; combine efforts on community outreach; improve faculty recruitment; coordinate area parking, safety and transportation; and create shared opportunities in health and wellness for more than 16,000 health professionals, faculty members and students.

“We have all worked together already for a long time, and worked very well together, but today we are opening a new chapter,” said UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton. “Today, we will sign an agreement designed to stimulate economic growth and job creation, attract new talent to Kansas City, create shared opportunities in health and wellness, and improve opportunities for recruiting and neighborhood outreach.”

“Better functioning health-care teams provide better patient care. Interprofessional education means educating future physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other health-care professionals to work effectively as members of those teams so that patients get the best and safest care possible,” said Steven L. Kanter, M.D., Dean of the UMKC School of Medicine. Kanter will serve as the first executive director of a newly-formed Health Sciences District Board.

“The UMKC Health Sciences District is the perfect environment for students, scientists and health-care professionals to work and learn together as they deliver top-quality, personalized health care,” Kanter said.

“This District is a collaboration among dedicated organizations determined to improve the health and wellness of people in Kansas City—and across the United States,” said Charlie Shields, President and Chief Executive Officer of Truman Medical Centers and University Health. “We believe that as the UMKC Health Sciences District, we will be able to stimulate collaboration in research, advance interprofessional education and foster communication. Those are the steps necessary to developing the kind of innovations that will shape the health care of the future.”

“Children’s Mercy is proud to be a part of this one-of-a-kind District, celebrating the collective spirit of innovation, research and discovery that drives our collaborative quest for answers, new treatments and cures,” said Randall L. O’Donnell, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Mercy. “And while today’s announcement focuses on the organizations within the boundaries of this District, the resulting impact of our work together will benefit every corner of our city and touch families throughout the region and the nation.”

The UMKC Health Sciences District will be governed by a board composed of approximately 20 members, including two from each institution. The board will also appoint a chair for a two-year period beginning July 1, 2018. The chair will rotate among the following participants in the following order: UMKC, TMC and CMH. The first chair, who will serve a two-year term, will be the UMKC Chancellor. The executive director of the District will serve a three-year term.

The District is about two miles in circumference and will be bound on the north by 20th Street; south by 25th Street; west by Oak Street; and east by U.S. 71 South.

Purple Unit settles into new home at Saint Luke’s

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School of Medicine Dean Steven Kanter, M.D., and Saint Luke’s Hospital CEO Jani Johnson shared in the ribbon-cutting for the new medical education unit and Purple Unit docent offices at Saint Luke’s Hospital with Diana Dark, M.D., (far left) associate dean for medical education and director of medical education at Saint Luke’s, and Julie Quirin, (far right) senior vice president of hospital operations.

Students on the Purple docent unit at Saint Luke’s Hospital have a new place to call home.

School of Medicine Dean Steven Kanter, M.D., and Saint Luke’s Hospital CEO Jani Johnson, RN, MSN, shared the honor of the official ribbon cutting on Monday, Sept. 12, on the hospital’s renovated fifth-floor medical education department, the new location of the Eleanor N. and Mary N. Little Purple Docent Unit. The Littles are sisters who, through their estate, made a charitable gift to the Saint Luke’s Foundation in support of medical education and patient care at Saint Luke’s.

In his remarks, Kanter said the docent program is a living symbol of the close relationship between Saint Luke’s Hospital and the School of Medicine.

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Purple Unit docents with Dean Kanter are Doug Cochran, M.D., Jamie Lawless, M.D, Richard Lustig, D.O., and Slawomir Walewicz, M.D.

“This wonderful new unit, the Eleanor N. and Mary N. Little Purple Docent Unit, which is the home for purple docent teams, is clear testimony to what a wonderful partnership we have had,” he said.

The fifth floor of the hospital also houses the administrative offices for the medical education department, a health sciences library and house staff quarters for residents.

Docent offices for the Purple Unit were previously located in the hospital’s Medical Plaza building. Doug Cochran, M.D., docent for the Purple 2 team, said that moving the education offices to one site has been a convenience for students and docents.

“We have several options for conference rooms, immediate access to the library, unlimited access to the electronic resources in the library and multiple places for students to gather in small groups,” Cochran said.

This past spring, the School of Medicine added a fourth docent team to the Purple Unit. With the renovations at the hospital complete, two students now share each of the 24 offices in the new docent unit. The area also has a multifunctional media center that allows students to access patient lists, obtain evidence for rounds, and scan and send documents from the unit.

“The best and most valued asset for me, and for the students, is a private space where I can close the door and have some time for focused study,” Cochran said. “The new unit is well-designed, well-resourced, and extremely functional in our first DoRo experience.”

Kanter said the docent system is key to making the medical education program at the School of Medicine function properly, and that it is critical for docent teams to have the right space in which to work and learn.

“I want to extend my thanks to the Saint Luke’s Health System, to Saint Luke’s Hospital, the Saint Luke’s Foundation, and, of course, to all of you who have so generously supported Saint Luke’s and the School of Medicine in our shared mission of educating the next generation of physicians,” Kanter said.

Reality television star speaks at Children’s Mercy

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School of Medicine Dean Steven Kanter, M.D., (second from right), and Okunola Oluola, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics (third from right), joined Children’s Mercy staff members in welcoming physician and reality TV star Jennifer Arnold, M.D., to Kansas City.

Pardon the students, residents and faculty if there were a few double takes recently as they strode through the halls of Children’s Mercy Kansas City, a UMKC School of Medicine affiliate hospital. After all, it’s not every day that a highly recognizable television personality gives a Grand Rounds lecture. Even at one of the country’s top children’s hospitals.

Then, again, Jennifer Arnold, M.D., is not just one of the stars of the television series, The Little Couple, on the TLC TV network. She’s also a neonatologist and medical director of the pediatric simulation center for the largest neonatal intensive care unit in the United States. And belying her 3-foot, 2-inch physical stature, Arnold delivered a big message in conjunction with National Disability Month.

A motivational speaker in addition to her roles at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Arnold encouraged her audience to think big in order to make a difference, achieve their goals, to improve health care, and ultimately, for the sake of their patients.

Arnold’s own life has been a lesson in perseverance. Born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, a rare genetic disorder that causes skeletal anomalies and short stature, Arnold has undergone more than 30 surgeries just to stand, walk and breathe more easily.

When questioned about her ability to succeed as a physician, she disproved the naysayers by earning a medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and completing residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

UMKC School of Medicine Dean Steven Kanter, M.D., came to know Arnold and saw her in action as a pediatric resident while he was vice dean at the Pittsburgh medical school. When he learned she was coming to Children’s Mercy, Kanter reached out to offer her a special welcome.

“Dr. Arnold is a great motivator, giving a voice to those who face obstacles, physically and professionally,” Kanter said.

After overcoming much adversity in her life, Arnold would face one more major obstacle. Arnold is also a cancer survivor.

“What a great opportunity for our students, residents, faculty and staff at Children’s Mercy to hear her story of perseverance,” Kanter said. “I have enjoyed watching her remarkable grace and intelligence permeate every aspect of her life as she transformed from a pediatric resident to a respected pediatrician and well-known TV personality, and I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for her and her family.”