June 04, 2010 01:25am EST 

The hospitals of Kansas founded the Kansas Hospital Association (KHA) in 1910 to improve hospital care through the exchange of knowledge and ideas. Since then, the KHA has developed into a voluntary, non-profit organization existing to provide leadership and services to their member hospitals and health systems. It continues to offer its membership the opportunity to share information, receive continuing education and develop approaches to legislative and regulatory reforms. Through advocacy, representation, and education, they have become the lead organization in a group a companies and affiliates that provide many services to the hospitals of Kansas. With a vision of an organization of hospitals working together to improve access, quality and the affordability of health care for all Kansans, becoming the voice and resource for community-based hospitals by advocating and serving member needs.
The KHA focuses most of its attention to help community hospitals accomplish their individual missions, usually to improve their services and remain as thriving organizations. This includes finance and reimbursement, community benefit, emergency preparedness, limited service facilities, and much more. They also focus their efforts on many recent and relevant issues such as tobacco laws, health reform, and the H1N1 flu virus. Much of the information regarding each of these issues can be found on their website in an easily navigated format, providing extensive education and information for those seeking information.
Advocacy, whether state or federal, legislative or regulatory, is at the heart of every service KHA provides for its members. For one, the KHA works with Kansas legislature to ensure that their member hospitals have the resources available to meet the health care needs of their communities. They also work with the US Congress on federal issues through their federal legislators, and work with the regulatory issues that Kansas hospitals often face with their efforts of providing safe and quality care for their patients. Doing so helps the KHA pursue their goal of affordable, quality, accessible health care for all Kansans.

Further information about the advocacy efforts of the KHA can be found on their website.