Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

Here are today’s updates:

• “We Ask Because We Care” Launches Today
• Trauma Services: Promoting Firearm Safety
• Second Class of Emerging Leaders to Graduate

“We Ask Because We Care” Launches Today

Stormont Vail Health is proud to announce the start of a new initiative that will assist in better understanding and better addressing the needs of our community.

We are launching the “We Ask Because We Care” campaign to better understand our patients and their backgrounds.

Through this initiative, Stormont Vail patient services team members and health providers will ask patients questions about race and ethnic background. This information will provide a clearer understanding of our communities, which continuously grow larger and more diverse.

These insights will allow Stormont Vail to improve its interpreter services, support programs, care quality, regulatory compliance, and more. This information is confidential and protected.

We encourage all patients to answer these optional questions about their background during your next visit to a Stormont Vail Health location or update your information at your convenience on MyChart.

Trauma Services: Promoting Firearm Safety

Stormont Vail Health’s Trauma Services is a strong advocate for trauma prevention education and a major focus is on firearm safety and violence prevention. Through funding from the Stormont Vail Foundation, the Trauma prevention and education team is equipped with gun locks and educational materials to provide to the community.

During the month of June and throughout the year, the Trauma Services team shares this information at community and organization events. Upcoming events include:

• Friday, June 2, is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. Trauma Services will have a firearm safety/violence prevention booth set up from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Main Lobby of the Topeka hospital. This will increase awareness, provide education and provide gun locks to visitors and team members.
• Tuesday, June 13, Stormont Vail Grand Rounds will focus on “Violence Prevention and Firearm Safety: Our role as healthcare providers.” Anne Buckland, BSN, RN, CEN, Violence and Injury Prevention Coordinator, will present from noon to 1 p.m. in Centennial B in Pozez Education Center. Grand rounds are open to all healthcare providers and the community and is free of charge. Grand Rounds is offered in person or by Zoom webinar. More information is available at stormontvail.eeds.com
• Saturday, June 17, Nason Lui, M.D., FACS, will lead the monthly Walk with a Doc at Washburn University and will share information about firearm injury and violence. Free gun locks will be distributed.  The walk starts at 9 a.m. on the east side of Lee Arena on the Washburn campus.

In 2022, Topeka had 18 homicides and this year as of mid-May, the number of homicides is at 17, with 12 of those firearm fatalities. Topeka is also experiencing a rise in suicides, with access to a gun being a contributing factor. Stormont Vail Health and its Trauma Services team is working to educate and prevent violence in our community, which is going to take all of us working together.

If you would like more information about firearm safety or violence prevention, please contact Trauma Services at [email protected].

Second Class of Emerging Leaders to Graduate

Stormont Vail Health’s Inspire Academy, led by the Organizational Development department, will graduate their second group of Emerging Leaders on June 7. This round of the program was offered virtually, with the intent of engaging our outlying clinics and hospitals. The program was full, with 37 participants, and all are expected to graduate.

The vision of the Emerging Leaders Program is to assist and develop the next generation of potential leaders. This program is open to all team members, in any position throughout the health care system, who have no formal leadership experience.

In this six month immersive program, Emerging Leader participants learn foundational skills needed to effectively lead a team. Each participant is assigned a mentor and this partnership continues throughout the program. In addition, there is an expectation to complete three Work Based Learning projects.  At the end of the program, the Emerging Leader participants have developed an extensive portfolio of the work they accomplished while in the program. Successful completion of the program can be substituted for one year leadership experience when applying for leadership positions.

Graduation ceremonies will be at noon June 7 in Pozez Auditorium in Topeka, with a small reception to follow outside the auditorium.

We together,
Rob Kenagy, MD