KUMC Rural Medicine Interest Group

03/18/2026

RMIG March meeting!
Thankyou to our guest speakers Dr. Davis and Dr. Mueller!

Dr. Ann Davis who spoke to us about Sunflower Pediatrics and their rural outreach and clinical research programs across many states!

Dr. Tom Mueller spoke about the Kansas Center for Rural Health! He highlighted their outreach efforts to support and educate all levels of medical professionals about the need for dedicated providers in rural medicine!

Here is the recording of our meeting for anyone to watch who was unable to join us!

https://kumc.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=e2362e88-612f-4737-85ac-b411014b9c48nb f o

01/09/2026

12/18/2024

🌾 Tackling the Rural Maternal Care Crisis 🌟

Dr. Karen Weis, Associate Director of Research at the Kansas Center for Rural Health, is leading innovative efforts to address gaps in maternity care across Kansas through a transformative HRSA grant.

The project focuses on training local sonographers, emergency OB training for staff, creating nurse navigator roles, and developing protocols for maternal transports and blood sharing. Working with the Sunflower Moms network, the initiative spans three rural hospitals to improve care access and outcomes.

Challenges like staffing shortages, inadequate reimbursement models, and rural recruitment remain—but with collaboration and innovation, Dr. Weis and her collaborators are determined to make a lasting impact. 💪❤️

KU Medical Center professor Karen Weis is researching maternal healthcare in rural Kansas with a grant from the Health and Resources Service Administration.

11/21/2024

Happy National Rural Health Day!

Happy National Rural Health day from NRHA! Thank you for all you do to improve the health and well-being of rural communities today and every day.

08/02/2022

Join us virtually Thursday at noon as our newest M2 students discuss their Summer Training Opportunity in Rural Medicine! We are excited to hear their stories! Link below! See you all very soon, and congratulations to a new year of medical education!

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06/04/2022

That’s a wrap! We finished off the KAFP meeting earlier this afternoon with a training session, latex to Laryngoscopy, where our members learn valuable clinical techniques which they will be able to practice more on their site! We look forward to hearing more about their experiences over the next month. We appreciate all your support, and we think our sponsors and members for your continued interest in promoting rural medicine. Stay tuned over the next two months as we bring more insight into our experiences in rural practice.

06/03/2022

Day one recap! Many good conversations about rural health, family practice, and professionalism were had! Our three campus presidents were present, as well as a valued member and sponsor of our group, Dr. Jennifer Bacani McKenney! We are very grateful for the support and guidance of her and other KAFP members as we work to promote interest in rural health. Tomorrow promises more discussion and training as RMIG members prepare for their 4 to 6 week STORM experiences. Great work everyone!

01/31/2022

Last week at our lunch meeting, we were thrilled to meet with Dr. Michael Kennedy who shared his experience with rural and international medicine. Thank you Dr. Kennedy!

11/30/2021

Yesterday at our monthly lunch meeting, we learned more about rural training options for our 3rd and 4th year medical students and residents with the Southeast Kansas Rural Tract Program and the new family medicine residency program in Pittsburgh.

Special thanks to Dr. Michael Kennedy and Dr. Bethany Enoch their time and commitment to rural medicine!

PERC: Dr. Bethany Enoch & Dr. Michael Kennedy