TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced that $900,000 in grants will support health care providers in their efforts to vaccinate Kansans across the state.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will provide the Kansas Association of Family Physicians and the Kansas Association of Pediatricians each with a three-year, $450,000 grant, totaling $900,000, for primary care providers in Kansas to hire staff members to support their ongoing efforts to onboard, administer, and advocate for vaccinations.
“With more than 60 percent of Kansans over the age of 18 having received at least one dose of the vaccine, our state is steadily making progress,” Governor Kelly said. “These grants are part of our state’s all-of-the-above approach to pursue every initiative and use every resource to get vaccines into arms, and protect our families, our economy, and our schools.”
The grants will allow primary care providers (PCPs) to hire dedicated staff who will serve as a liaison to the KDHE immunization team, specifically supporting providers in on-boarding, administering, and advocating for vaccinations. The liaison officer’s responsibilities will include:
- Reaching out to PCPs and host webinars to encourage them to get their patients vaccinated
- Increasing COVID-19 vaccine provider enrollment among PCPs and pediatricians
- Providing a “customer service” operation for PCPs facing problems to enroll as COVID-19 vaccine providers and order vaccines
- Facilitating access to traditional and digital communications capabilities which PCPs can leverage to effectively motivate their patients to get a vaccine
- Hosting regular webinars for enrolled PCPs and Pediatricians, where those providers can share best practices and request additional support
As part of the announcement, Governor Kelly today talked with health care stakeholders about the challenges they face in their efforts to vaccinate their communities, and how Kansas can be a better partner in those efforts.
“Our state’s primary care providers are critical to providing broad, ongoing access to vaccines, and play essential roles as trusted advisors to vaccine-hesitant communities,” Governor Kelly said. “I appreciate today’s participants for the meaningful discussion about how Kansas can support providers in their continued vaccination efforts.”