Author: Jamie Stoskopf

Congratulations to Dr. Gregory Hand, dean of the College of Health Professions, and Dr. Voncella McCleary-Jones, associate dean of the College of Health Professions, for receiving Wichita Business Journal’s 2024 Healthcare Hero Awards. The awards were presented during a banquet on April 2 at the Wichita Marriott.

Health Care Heroes recognizes outstanding healthcare professionals for their contributions to improving health care in Wichita and the surrounding area.

The College of Health Professions (CHP) has three patient-serving clinics that are open to the public. All clinics are accepting new patients and provide high-quality, affordable health care to the community.

• The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic provides speech-language and hearing services to people across the lifespan. The clinic faculty specialize in speaking, hearing, swallowing and spoken and written language impairments. The clinic offers a wide variety of audiology services, including hearing aid fitting and hearing aid repair of all makes and models.
• The Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation Dental Hygiene Clinic offers a wide range of low-cost preventative, therapeutic and educational dental hygiene services.
• WSU’s General Dentistry’s services include cleanings, fillings, teeth whitening and dental implants. The dental clinic provides services in periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery and prosthodontics. The WSU General Dentistry Practice offers a discount for dental care to WSU students and their spouses and children.

The College of Health Professions (CHP) has three patient-serving clinics that are open to the public. All clinics are accepting new patients and provide high-quality, affordable health care to the community.  

• The Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic provides speech-language and hearing services to people across the lifespan. Clinic faculty specialize in speaking, hearing, swallowing and spoken and written language impairments. The clinic offers a wide variety of audiology services, including hearing aid fitting and battery replacement for all makes and models.
• The Delta Dental of Kansas Foundation Dental Hygiene Clinic offers a wide range of low-cost preventative, therapeutic and educational dental hygiene services.
• WSU’s General Dentistry’s services include cleanings, fillings, teeth whitening and dental implants. The dental clinic provides services in periodontics, endodontics, oral surgery and prosthodontics. The WSU General Dentistry Practice offers a discount for dental care to WSU students and their spouses and children.

Are you interested in a career in nursing? Wichita State’s School of Nursing will host an information session at 10 a.m. Friday, March 8 in 110 Ahlberg Hall.

The session will discuss program options, admission requirements and will allow time for participants to ask the nursing faculty questions.

Sarah DiGregorio, author of “Taking Care: The Story of Nursing and Its Power to Change Our World” will speak at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29 in 200 Ahlberg Hall. There will be a meet and greet with DiGregorio from 6 to 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. 

DiGregorio is a journalist and critically acclaimed author who has written on health care and other topics for the New York Times, Washington Post and more. She has been a keynote speaker for national audiences, such as the American Nurses Association, National Association for Neonatal Nurses and many others.  

Health professions students can join the College of Health Professions’s (CHP) ScholarshipUniverse Open Lab from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12 in 100A Ahlberg Hall. This is a great opportunity to work on your fall 2024/spring 2025 applications. The lab is come-and-go, and the scholarship coordinator will be on-hand to answer questions.

A new partnership between Heartspring and the College of Health Professions will bring faculty and students on-site at Heartspring’s Pediatric Clinic to provide physical therapy and audiology services to the local community.

Heartspring provides interdisciplinary therapies that help children with neurodevelopmental differences realize their full potential in communication, social interactions, mobility and daily living.

Health professions students can join the College of Health Professions’s Scholarship Universe Open Labs to work on your fall 2024/spring 2025 applications. Labs are come-and-go, and the scholarship coordinator will be on-hand to answer questions.

Open labs will be held on the following dates and times in 100A Ahlberg Hall:

• 9-10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19
• 11 a.m.-noon Monday, Jan. 22
• noon-1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23

Renovations are under way in Wichita State’s Department of Physical Therapy space at WSU Old Town to expand the space in anticipation of significant growth in the program. Wichita State’s Department of Physical Therapy will increase the number of students in each class from 40 to 60 students and expand the number of faculty, administrative support team members and graduate teaching assistants. The first expanded class will begin June 2024.

Expanding the physical therapy program at WSU is a significant step toward meeting the growing demand for skilled physical therapists and improving health care in the region. Physical therapists are integral members of health care teams and provide highly specialized services, and they are playing increasingly vital roles in emergency departments, at times serving as primary health care providers, particularly in rural areas. WSU’s physical therapy program holds the highest first-time pass rate for the National Physical Therapy Examination in the region.

Dr. Susan Parsons, a former faculty member in the School of Nursing, passed away Dec. 6. She served at Wichita State for 15 years, starting in 2008. Susan contributed significantly during her 15-year tenure, teaching medical-surgical and complex care courses from the inception of the Accelerated BSN program. She also supervised nursing students in practicum settings at Wesley and Ascension Via Christi.   

Susan was also passionate about community service, volunteering her time and expertise at events such as the annual Point-in-Time Homeless event and at La Familia Senior and Community Center. 

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16 at Andover United Methodist Church. A memorial has been established with the Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside.