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WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 8 • 2014
OUR HEALTH GOALS
How are we doing?
The Douglas County Community Health Plan was introduced last year, outlining five areas the community could improve upon over the next five years. So what progress did the community make toward those goals in 2013?
Physical activity “Our biggest success in 2013 for physical activity was a substantial amount of work to make the community more walkable and bikeable through infrastructure,” said Chris Tilden, community health director for the LawrenceDouglas County Health Department. The Sunflower Foundation awarded four grants to entities in Douglas County last year (two in Eudora, one each in Baldwin City and Lawrence) for trail development. A countywide bike plan was also developed in 2013 and could be finalized early this year.
Healthy foods “I think probably the most significant development was the first-ever creation of nutrition standards for food and beverage offerings by Lawrence Parks and Recreation,” Tilden said. In 2013, Parks and Recreation integrated nutrition standards into the contracts for its food and beverages in vending machines and concessions at its facilities. This stemmed from a grant that LiveWell Lawrence received from the Kansas Health Foundation to promote healthy eating options in Lawrence, which led to the collaboration with Parks and Recreation.
Mental health The community took steps toward integrating mental health and primary care in 2013. In March, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and Heartland Community Health Center received a grant to continue a partnership that had a behavioral health consultant from Bert Nash providing services at Heartland. Last year, a psychiatric nurse from Bert Nash started working at Heartland, one of whose primary care providers spent time at the mental health center. Tilden said as many as 70 percent of diagnoses in primary care settings stem from psychological rather than physical issues. Public health officials hope the partnership can streamline care and reduce any stigma medical patients might have with going to a mental health center.
Access to health services One way to broaden access to health services, local public health officials say, is to improve preventive and primary care services in the community. In 2013, two local primary care practices — Health Care Access and Internal Medicine Group, both of Lawrence — were designated as patient-centered medical homes, which goes to clinics that meet certain standards of centralizing and following up on patient care. “The patient-centered medical home model looks at how do you use teams of health care providers to ensure continuity of health care services and get patients involved in coordinating their own care,” Tilden said.
Poverty/Jobs The Lawrence school district announced plans in 2013 to build a college and career center, which will be funded in part by the $92.5 million bond issue voters approved last April. The center is to be located near 31st and Haskell, next to the site of an adult job training center proposed by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. Both centers could be open by next year. “Economic well-being and education are great predictors of — By Giles Bruce health care status,” Tilden added.
KANSAS UNIVERSITY
Medical school chooses new dean By Ben Unglesbee bunglesbee@ljworld.com
Kansas University has named a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic as the new executive dean of the KU School of Medicine, the university announced Tuesday. KU picked Robert Simari to replace Barbara Atkinson, who retired from the dean position in the summer 2012. Douglas Girod, KU Simari Medical Center executive vice chancellor, has been serving as interim dean. Simari said his first major task as dean will be getting an insider’s view of the medical school, which has campuses in Kansas City, Wichita and Please see DEAN, page 2A
Commission OKs lower pay raise By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
A pay raise for the Lawrence City Commission won’t be as big as once proposed, and none of the current commissioners will receive a raise unless they are re-elected. Commissioners at their Tuesday evening CITY meeting unanimously COMMISSION agreed to back away from a proposal of three weeks ago that would have more than doubled the annual salaries of city commissioners. Instead, commissioners agreed to Please see SALARIES, page 2A
Professor: Social media policy could affect KU accreditation By Ben Unglesbee bunglesbee@ljworld.com
A critical accreditation review of Kansas University next year could be jeopardized by the social media policy recently passed by the Kansas Board of Regents, said a professor involved in the process. Susan Twombly, a KU professor of higher edu-
cation and chairwoman of the department of educational leadership and policy studies, said accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission “seems to be at risk with the policy.” Twombly became familiar with the issue from her work as chair of the self-study steering committee that is currently reviewing KU’s upcom-
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requires that the university be “committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning,” as stated in an HLC accreditation guide. Another component requires the university to establish and follow “fair and ethical policies for its governing board, administration, faculty and staff.” It’s possible, Twom-
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ing reaccreditation with the Higher Learning Commission set Twombly for February 2015. Her concerns largely center on one of the criteria for accreditation through the HLC, which
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bly said, that the Regents social media policy — which gives university heads the power to fire employees for social media posts deemed improper — could be seen as a violation of these criteria by the peer reviewers who will assess the university next year. “I am deeply concerned about this,” she said. The HLC, a regional
commission of the North Central Association, is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an independent accrediting organization to help ensure educational and institutional quality among colleges and universities. Accreditation can be critical to receiving federal student Please see POLICY, page 2A
Mom grateful for grant A single, working mom can keep her children in day care while she works and attends an education program. Page 3A
Vol.156/No.8 30 pages