About Us

The Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) creates strategies and develops partnerships to improve health for all Kansans, by reducing health disparities and focusing on health equity. We envision a culture in which every Kansan can make healthy choices where they live, work and play. To learn more, we invite you to read on about our mission, vision, principles and people.

Our Mission

At the Kansas Health Foundation, all of our work centers on our mission: To improve the health of all Kansans. We envision a culture in which every Kansan can make healthy choices where they live, work and play.

The Kansas Health Foundation could never meet this mission without a broad network of effective partnerships across the state. We work closely with other health foundations, nonprofit groups, community foundations, state agencies, universities, hospitals, communities and advisory groups to develop programs and find answers to complex health issues. And we will continue to form and strengthen partnerships with more Kansas organizations and communities.

Thanks to the hard work of our grantees and the dedication of our Board of Directors and staff, much progress has already been made toward our mission of improving the health of our state. More challenges and hard work lie ahead, but we are committed to helping Kansans lead healthier lives for many generations to come.

Our History

The Kansas Health Foundation can trace its roots back to the 1985 sale of Wesley Medical Center.

At the time, Wesley was a nonprofit hospital associated with the United Methodist Church. Facing many changes in the health care industry, hospital and community leaders helped shape a vision: The hospital’s resources could be used to prevent disease instead of waiting to treat it once it occurs. This led to Wesley being sold to the for-profit Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).

The sale’s profits went to two organizations focused on improving health in the state: the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund and the Wesley Medical Endowment Foundation (now the Kansas Health Foundation).

With a $200 million endowment and a focus on improving the health of all Kansans, our Foundation set out to make a difference across the state.

Guiding Principles

Accountability
We will be good stewards of the resources in which we have been entrusted to address issues today, and to benefit generations to come. We are committed to the highest ethical standards in governance, administration and grantmaking.

Advocacy
We support and participate in activities that inform and advance effective health policy. We vow to lead by example and model the policies, practices and programs we support.

Collaboration
We realize we will be successful in meeting our mission when we listen to and build solid partnerships across sectors.

Community
We understand that communities are best positioned to identify and respond to their unique health needs and believe in building community capacity and resources to address those needs.

Compassion
We care about the health of all Kansans.

Diversity
We seek to maintain an environment and atmosphere of diversity and inclusion – in governance, staff and partners. We honor the diverse needs, strengths, voices and backgrounds of all individuals in our state.

Strategic
We believe in taking a proactive approach to grantmaking and that promoting systemic change through population-based approaches is the most effective strategy for improving health.

Transparency
We pledge to be open and honest. We will highlight our successes, failures and lessons learned.

Connect With Us

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