Laura Gaffney, MD, Helps Patients with Special Needs Thrive

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Sunflower Health Network Board Meeting - Jan. 9

The Sunflower Health Network is a not-for-profit organization that consists of 26 counties located primarily in North Central and North West Kansas. Sunflower Health Network's (SHN) specific purpose is to improve the population's health status. The 26 member hospitals, in conjunction with their medical staff, have developed a network that fosters cooperation and coordination. The priority has been to enhance the integration of health-related services among the SHN member communities.

Quality Corner Call - Jan. 10

Quality Corner Calls are offered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Healthworks and focus on quality improvement activities consistent with the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program.

KHA Board Meeting - Jan. 22

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KHA's Advocacy Day - Jan. 23

Advocacy is at the heart of every service KHA provides for our members. Whether we are educating, advocating or relationship-building, we look for ways to assist policymakers at the federal, state and local levels in understanding the implications of the policies being discussed.

KHSC Board Meeting - Jan. 28

KHSC is a wholly owned subsidiary of KHA. Therefore, a secondary objective of KHSC is to support KHA in meeting its mission of serving hospitals. Its mission is to provide enhanced value to KHA members by evaluating and endorsing selected vendors of services needed by the KHA membership. KHSC will be a valuable resource to Kansas healthcare facilities and the Kansas Hospital Association as they serve their constituents.

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Laura Gaffney, MD, Helps Patients with Special Needs Thrive

Laura Gaffney (July 19, 2024) – The Kansas Hospital Association's Heart of Health Care Worker Award highlights hospital employees who have made a significant contribution to the betterment of their hospital. This week, KHA honors Laura Gaffney, MD, AdventHealth Shawnee Mission, for her service and contributions to health care.

AdventHealth Shawnee Mission has an amazing advocate within its ranks. Laura Gaffney, MD, is a role model and embodies a "can-do" attitude. Dr. Gaffney is the founder and medical director of the Special Pediatric to Adult Need Program, a primary care program for adults with special needs, including Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and genetic disorders.

Dr. Gaffney has focused much of her practice on adults with special needs since 1996. The SPAN Program is Kansas City's only primary care program that provides comprehensive, patient-focused care for adults with a chronic condition that persists from childhood to adulthood; it's also one of only a handful of programs in the nation whose scope includes care for all enduring health disorders and that also provides care for family members of these special patients, creating a true medical home for the family.

Dr. Gaffney is exceptionally gifted at viewing complex situations from various perspectives and is a lifelong learner of new possibilities and innovations. The SPAN Program gives these special patients a consistent, reliable medical home. In the past five years, the SPAN Program has served more than 3,000 patients with special needs. Dr. Gaffney is known for her ability to help these patients, and their families, feel comfortable in a medical setting, an added challenge for people with sensory sensitivities and developmental disabilities.

Outside of the clinic, Dr. Gaffney is an active advocate in her field, working closely with the statewide Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities and the B.E. Smith Family Center, which includes the Britain Development Center that provides preschool and therapy services to children with physical and developmental disabilities.

Dr. Gaffney, and other Heart of Health Care Worker Award nominees, will be recognized during the KHA Awards Luncheon at the 2024 KHA Annual Convention on Sept. 5, 2024, at Sheraton Overland Park/Overland Park Convention Center, Overland Park.
--Shelby Stacy

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