Community Spotlight
Selected from recent grant recipients, this section features three noteworthy community organizations.
Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center
Hilda Fuentes, CEO
Everyone, regardless of their circumstances, deserves to have a patient-centered medical home, a place where they can be treated with compassion and respect. Sam Rodgers Health Center offers this to its patients, many who live in poverty and do not have health insurance. In 2005, when Hilda Fuentes arrived at Sam Rodgers, the health center’s future was uncertain. The facility was in disrepair and services were inadequate. Against overwhelming odds, Hilda and her team rolled up their sleeves and got to work. They built a business plan, found emergency funding and took measures to improve the quality and scope of services. Now, six years later, this safety-net clinic sees 18,500 patients per year. Construction of a new downtown clinic is in progress; it will add capacity to care for an additional 7,500 patients each year.
The University of Kansas Cancer Center and Midwest Cancer Alliance
Roy Jensen, MD, Director and CEO
The University of Kansas Cancer Center is applying for National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation. With NCI designation, patients in the Kansas City area will have access to world-class cancer care, close to home. Five-year survival rates are 25% higher among patients who are treated at NCI-designated facilities due to the expanded capacity for discovery and delivery of new therapies. With increased research funding under NCI-designation, the University of Kansas Cancer Center can move breakthrough ideas forward. It is anticipated that NCI designation could bring 9,000 new jobs to the region and a projected $1.3 billion in additional economic activity. This will be possible through continuing the strong alliances and affiliations with research and health organizations, including the Stowers Institute, Kansas Bioscience Authority and the Midwest Cancer Alliance. These partners are critical to collaborating on research and reaching the most patients.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Julián Zugazagoitia, Director and CEO
The Kansas City region is engaged in discovery. People and institutions are exploring new approaches in scientific research, in education, in architecture and in the arts. Kansas City is fertile ground for growing stronger and more meaningful connections to art, in all of its forms. Since its founding, the Nelson-Atkins’ leadership has worked to ensure the highest standards of excellence are upheld. Among the Museum’s highlights are the Kansas City Sculpture Park and the photographic collection that is considered to be the most important in the country. The Nelson-Atkins is guided by a philosophy that one doesn’t need to be trained in art history to know excellence. Art is for everyone.