WSU General Dentistry Practice to launch student discount program

The College of Health Professions’ WSU General Dentistry has announced a new discount program for WSU students. The dental discount program for WSU students will be launched during the summer with information and a savings chart to be available on the website.

WSU General Dentistry offers a wide range of affordable dental services to the general public that includes dental hygiene and cleanings, preventive dentistry, periodontal surgery and dental implants.

Waite becomes department chair of medical laboratory sciences in College of Health Professions

The College of Health Professions (CHP) has announced Aisha Waite as the chair for the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences effective in May. Waite will supersede Dr. Voncella McCleary-Jones, associate dean of the CHP, who was serving as the interim chair.

Waite brings more than twenty-four years of experience in clinical laboratory sciences with her, including recent positions at the Kansas Medical Center and Kansas Heart Hospital. Waite is a proud Wichita State alumna and has been board certified as a medical laboratory scientist by the American Society for Clinical Pathology since 2001.

Waite joined the College of Health Professions in 2021 as an Assistant Professor and will continue her current teaching responsibilities in the areas of clinical immunohematology, transfusion medicine, immunology, clinical laboratory management and impact of disease on global events as well.

“We are very pleased Aisha has moved into this department chair role for medical laboratory sciences,” said Greg Hand, dean of the CHP. “Her extensive experience in the field aligns with her student-centered perspective that will be critical in continuing to build a nationally recognized program in such a critical discipline of health professions.”

College of Health Profession begins strategic planning process

The College of Health Professions (CHP) has begun developing its five-year strategic plan. The college has retained the facilitation services of The Clarion Group to assist the faculty and staff during the planning process.

At a CHP townhall meeting on March 3, Greg Hand, dean of CHP, described the anticipated plan to faculty, staff and students as “a living, breathing document that will be a major determinant of our activities and our resource allocation for the next several years.” The initial work group revised the college’s vision and mission statements.

A planning retreat then identified the college’s general challenge to “be recognized as a regional leader in innovative health professions education” and five priority areas that will be used to create measurable and achievable goals for the future. The planning process for the CHP is made more complex as it must include the challenges of moving from multiple academic, research and clinical sites to the new Wichita Biomedical Center in 2026.

A strategic planning website is being developed so that the process is accessible and transparent to interested CHP stakeholders.

UnitedHealthcare provides donation for development of health care analytics at WSU

Establishment of a health care data analytics center spearheaded through a partnership of the College of Health Professions and the National Institute for Research and Digital Transformation (NIRDT) took a major step forward with a $100,000 donation from UnitedHealthcare Community Plan for Kansas.

The Kansas Center for Advancement of Healthcare (KCAH) will be a collaborative center comprised of major universities, hospitals, and other clinical research, education and health care delivery organizations in Kansas. The mission of the KCAH is to provide a systematic and state-wide approach to health data management and analytics for research and innovation from patient treatment to population-level disease prevention.

“The development of the NIRDT provides the unique technical capacity in Kansas for a center like KCAH. It wouldn’t be viable financially or technically anywhere else,” said Greg Hand, dean of the College of Health Professions. “Creation of the KCAH aligns with the Kansas Board of Regents’ Building a Future 2021 priorities and Governor Kelly’s Kansas Competitiveness Project as outlined in the Kansas Framework for Growth 2021.”

The gift from UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas was made after the insurance giant’s leadership met in Wichita with leadership from the WSU’s College of Health Professions and the Division of Industry and Defense Programs.

“We at UnitedHealthcare value public private partnerships and would like to continue to assist in the development of statewide capabilities though projects like this,” said Kevin Sparks, chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Kansas.