What We've Accomplished

Abridged Accomplishments

KU HealthPartners was originally incorporated in 1994 as KU School of Nursing, Inc. In 1999, the name was changed to reflect the partnership with the School of Allied Health. Today, KU HealthPartners is a vibrant and growing clinical enterprise that functions as an integral part of the University of Kansas School of Nursing and the School of Allied Health.

KU HealthPartners gives the Greater Kansas City area the opportunity for direct access to professional advanced nursing and allied health services. In addition to basic primary care services, KU HealthPartners has a unique focus on health promotion and optimal human functioning which is holistically provided and client-centered. A strong commitment exists to provide evidence-based care and to measuring and promoting positive client outcomes.

To date, accomplishments include:

• Growth in direct care service contracts from 10 to 35.
• Growth in revenue from $55,358 to nearly $1 million in fiscal year 2002.
• Growth in infrastructure development, providing state-of-the-art provider profiling and credentialing, patient registration, and patient billing services.
• Growth in the number of managed care contracts that recognize advanced nursing and allied health practitioners as essential providers.
• Sustained contract renewals and retention for additional services.
• Named by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties as the 2002 "Practice of the Year."
• Funding and support by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Children's International, Wyandotte Health Foundation, the Kauffman Foundation, and other grant-awarding agencies.
• Comprehensive business planning in three areas of development: Direct Care Services, Consulting Services, and Educational and Organizational Development Services.
• Completion of two major health system consulting projects.
• Commitment to and the capacity to care for under- or non-insured and vulnerable populations.
• Achievement of the first nursing - allied health integrated faculty practice plan nationally.
• Numerous presentations and publications regarding KUHP.

KU School of Nursing receives national award for nurse practitioner program

6/6/2002

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The University of Kansas School of Nursing’s Master of Science in Nursing – Nurse Practitioner Track was recently presented with the Outstanding Faculty Practice Award by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) at the 2002 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minn.

The KU School of Nursing was selected for its work in developing KU HealthPartners, Inc., a faculty practice enterprise with a direct care service division, a consulting service division and an organizational and educational development division that provides services to the community and promotes faculty practice as part of their assignment.

“This is a wonderful honor for our School of Nursing, and I am very grateful for the support of University administration, especially Dean Miller, and the faculty who are engaged in practice,” stated Michael Bleich, RN, PhD, School of Nursing Associate Dean -- Clinical and Community Affairs. “These are expert clinicians who have adapted to and are willing to test new models for academic faculty practice. Although this award is directed at nursing faculty, part of the innovation recognized was our partnership with our Allied Health colleagues and was stated as such during the award presentation,” Bleich continued. He also serves as executive director and chief operating officer for KU HealthPartners.

“There is still much work to be done to fully develop the clinical practice model, gain recognition on provider panels and improve our capacity to measure a wide variety of outcomes from a multi-site, multi-disciplinary perspective. But, we’re poised to do that and this award recognizes those efforts as being on the right track,” Bleich said.

Monica Scheibmeir, RN, PhD, FNP, assistant professor, facilitated the nomination of KU HealthPartners for the award. “Dr. Bleich has provided strong leadership in the past three years so that KU HealthPartners was a strong contender for the award,” Scheibmeir said. “I am not aware of any other business entity associated with a school of nursing that provides all of the services to advanced practice nurses that KU HealthPartners does. In addition, KU HealthPartners is leading the way for integrating allied health services with APN services to clients in multiple clinical settings.”

For More Information Contact: Bridget Koan, bkoan@kumc.edu