Overview

HealthRise started as an idea. It started as an idea that if we were truly going to improve the health of our state, more people from around Kansas would need to understand the issues and care deeply about the goal of better health.

• It would take people from all walks of life.
• It would take people from every sector.
• It would take people from every region in Kansas. And, they must have a place to all come together.

Such a place was created at the inaugural HealthRise event.

Below are the high points of HealthRise 2024. You can view and download pictures from the evening and watch the finale video once again.

The Connections

For HealthRise 2024, more than 200 Kansans came together in Topeka.

There were business executives and nonprofit experts. There were educators and administrators. There were elected officials and those from government agencies. There were Republicans and Democrats. There were activists, advocates and bridgers.

Most importantly, there were individuals like you who care deeply about Kansans and their health.

It was a joy to see you deepen relationships or make new connections. When it comes to the space of improving communities and health, we know everyone works long hours and rarely has the opportunity to relax and have a good time. Hopefully, HealthRise provided you that opportunity.

It’s even possible someone you met that night can become an ally in your work. Maybe it’s a future partner, volunteer or board member. Maybe it’s just someone with whom you can exchange ideas or provide support. All of these connections are crucial to the movement of helping Kansans live healthier lives.

The Message

We shared a lot about rankings, specifically America’s Health Rankings, the annual report  ranking every state one to 50 in overall health. These rankings are derived from 53 individual submeasures.

While Kansas fares well in some submeasures, the bottom line is this: Out of 50 states, Kansas ranks 29^th in overall health. This represents a continual fall during the past 30 years, as Kansas was a Top 10 state in the early 1990s.

This is simply not good enough.

We started the evening highlighting some of our past initiatives before moving to present ones and ended the evening hearing a vision for the future.

• From the past, Aubrey Abbott Patterson of the Hutchinson Community Foundation spoke about the Giving Resources to Our World (GROW) community foundation initiative.
• From the present, Johnathan Sublet from SENT Topeka did a wonderful job sharing about the work of the Building Power and Equity Partnership (BPEP) to build stronger relationships with grassroots nonprofits.

But, there must be more initiatives. There must be more efforts.

And, there must be more movement up the rankings. That’s up to all of us.

The Challenge

C. Patrick Woods, chair of the Kansas Health Foundation Board of Directors, shared about the work KHF hopes to do in the future. We are committed to being part of the solution to the sliding health rankings for our state.

But, we can’t do it alone.

That was the heart of the message from KHF President and CEO Ed O’Malley. As he told those in attendance, “Too often, Kansas is average and damn proud of it.”

At the Kansas Health Foundation, average is no longer good enough. Because when we’re average statistically, it translates to actual Kansans, actual lives, negatively impacted by preventable health issues.

The time has come for change…and it will take all of us.

So, for all who made it to HealthRise 2024, we thank you for the work you’re currently doing and will be doing to move us in the right direction.

And, we challenge you. We challenge you to play your unique part to make Kansas a healthier state. We challenge you to take your small piece of art from Cole Newman’s painting and remember what it represents. You play a role in the drive to #1.

Please help us take Kansas to the healthiest state in the nation!