Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

Here are today’s updates:

• What We Know
• National Minority Health Month: Awareness and Action
• Stormont Vail Signs Letter of Intent
• Amy Kincade to Present at National Summit
• Special “Recognition” Shirts Available in Gift Shop
• Stormont Vail Sponsoring NAMI Walk
• Current Status at Stormont Vail Health

What We Know

• Local COVID-19 projections show uncertainty in the coming weeks. Most models predict no significant change for COVID-19 inpatient census, but the certainty is reduced and a few models show a significant increase. Our area has seen a steady rise in COVID-19 test positivity which in the past has led to an increase to admissions.
• The northeast portion of the United States continues to experience high transmission rates.  This has been partially attributed to new subvariants of Omicron BA.2 and its cousin. 2.12.1 now makes up approximately 85.5% of cases for our region according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data (up from 73.3% combined last week).

National Minority Health Month: Awareness and Action

Awareness about health disparities and illnesses that affect racial and ethnic minorities became even more apparent when COVID-19 disproportionately impacted those populations. With April being National Minority Health Month, it’s important to continue to discuss and work toward addressing access and inequities.

Health disparities in minority and ethnic groups can be found in other conditions – from cancer to heart disease – and are not biological or genetic, but from systemic racism and social injustices that exist, according to Dr. Chyke Doubeni, Mayo Clinic’s Director of the Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research.

Stormont Vail Health is dedicated to better serving the health of our region and has developed several initiatives to identify and address disparities:

• Documenting information about social determinants of health from patients to learn if they have food insecurity, transportation issues, adequate housing or other social situations that may affect their quality of life or health. Social workers or care managers can refer patients to community resources for assistance with those needs.
• Development of the enhanced primary care program to support patients with illnesses, primarily COVID-19 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in an outpatient setting.
• Creation of a Community Committee to advise the organization’s Board of Directors on health and social issues important to minority populations, and the community as a whole, and to make recommendations on addressing them.
• Development of a robust method of identifying and tracking patient-identified ethnicities through the electronic medical record to assist in addressing health needs and access for care.

The Stormont Vail organization is participating, leading and uplifting awareness and our commitment to reducing health disparities and improving the health of our community’s racial and ethnic minorities. Individually and as a team we can be impactful in our region and it starts through awareness.

Stormont Vail Signs Letter of Intent

Stormont Vail Health has agreed through a Letter of Intent to negotiate a contract with the Geary County Commission and the Geary Community Hospital and its Board of Trustees that could result in Stormont Vail providing hospital and clinic services in Junction City and Geary County. Stormont Vail Health submitted a non-binding Letter of Intent Friday that was approved by the Geary Community Hospital Board of Trustees and the Geary County Commission Monday.

Amy Kincade to Present at National Summit

Amy Kincade, Vice President of Clinical Integration, will be part of a panel presenting at the Blue Cross Blue Shield National Summit on May 2 in Orlando, Fla. Amy will join representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and United Way of Greater Topeka in a session called, “The Role of Community-Healthcare Partnerships in Meeting Social Needs.” Manik Bhat with Healthify/WellSky will facilitate the panel. The support of Amy and Stormont Vail have been integral to the building and launch of the Kansas Community Network. The presentation will discuss how to implement strategies that build accountable social care networks through the use of innovative technology.

Special “Recognition” Shirts Available in Gift Shop

The Stormont Vail Gift Shop has special “recognition” shirts available for pre-order. These shirts can be worn on Fridays during specific months.

• “Boosted” shirts, available for pre-order, will start shipping soon. Like the “Boosted” shirt, the original “Vaccinated” shirts may be worn on Fridays in May and June.
• “Be Kind to Your Mind” T-shirts recognizing Mental Health Awareness Month in May will be available soon and may be worn on Fridays in May.

The Gift Shop is run by the Stormont Vail Auxiliary, with proceeds from sales used to benefit our team members through scholarships, continuing education grants, special department requests and much more!

Stormont Vail Sponsoring NAMI Walk

Stormont Vail Health is sponsoring the NAMI Walks Your Way-Kansas on May 21 at West Ridge Mall, 1801 S.W. Wanamaker.  Registration is 8:30 a.m. and the walk is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The Stormont Vail team is “We Together: Heal Minds” and Heather McGann, Behavioral Health Services, is captain. To join or support the team go to the NAMI Walks website.

Current Status at Stormont Vail Health

• 4 inpatients are COVID-19 positive.
• 75% of recent COVID-19 admissions are unvaccinated or had last dose/booster more than 6 months ago.
• COVID-19 inpatient discharges (previous week): 12. Deaths: 2.
• 1 COVID-19 positive patient in the outpatient Enhanced Primary Care program.
• 5.7% of people tested for COVID-19 at Stormont Vail facilities the past seven days were positive. (Up from 4% last week and steadily rising since beginning of the month.)
• 5 team members and 2 providers on contact leave for COVID-19.
• 102,934 vaccinations (included boosters) administered.
• To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment:
  • Use online scheduling assistant at stormontvail.org/covid19/vaccine
  • Call (785) 270-4786.

We together,

Dr. Kenagy