Reach Out and Read’s AI/AN Initiative

Reach Out and Read
Image: reachoutandread.org

The chief of staff to the chancellor and associate vice chancellor of human resources at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Missouri, Kathy Walter-Mack builds upon a long history of senior-level administrative experience and considerable legal training. Kathy Walter-Mack also has a history of community service that includes volunteer work with the children’s educational nonprofit Reach Out and Read.

One of Reach Out and Read’s special, targeted programs is the American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Initiative. As a minority group, young people of American Indian and Alaska Native decent have the lowest test scores, high school graduation rates, and college matriculation rates in the United States. The AI/AN Initiative attempts to address these issues by providing Reach Out and Read services to Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities and other US medical clinics that serve native populations.

Reach Out and Read established the AI/AN Initiative in 2007 in partnership with the IHS and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Initiative currently provides children’s books to medical providers at approximately 5,000 program sites nationwide. Medical providers at these sites distribute more than 120,000 books to children and their families on an annual basis.

Kansas City Hospice’s Supportive or Palliative Care Program

Kansas City Hospice Palliative Care
Image: kchospice.org

As the principal staff person to a five campus community college system, Kathy Walter-Mack attends to various functions in support of the chancellor’s objectives for the schools. Outside of her professional work, Kathy Walter-Mack pursues community work which has included such activities as volunteering to support Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care (KHPC).

KHPC, a nonprofit, was founded in 1980 as the result of a meeting among hospital administrators and several physicians regarding Kansas City’s need for enhanced end-of-life-care. Today, KHPC serves Kansas City’s 10 counties with an award-winning staff and over 400 dedicated volunteers.

One of KHPC’s programs is Supportive or Palliative Care. Individuals who are being treated for serious illnesses may require extra support at home. Studies have revealed that palliative care or supportive care at home can help patients avoid visits to the emergency room and lessen time in the hospital.

Depending on the type of situation, palliative home care services range from one consultation to ongoing, regular visits. The services include making patients more comfortable through some of the following means: assistance with pain control, tiredness, shortness of breath and other symptoms; development of strategies for coping with uncertainty through a 24/7 questions and concerns lifeline; dedication to keeping patient independence through in-home services; and education of family members to help them understand how best to care for a patient.

KHPC also provides help in dealing with anxiety and fear through spiritual and emotional support to patients and family members. The service may also include handling the details of a patient’s case by coordinating care with the patient’s doctor and arranging for such needs as medical equipment.

In accordance with the program, an assigned registered nurse will coordinate the needed care. The majority of private insurance plans, Medicaid, and Medicare pay for palliative care.