Month: June 2016

KU Hospital announces $10 million fundraising match for new building

The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., today announced that it had raised the $10 million fundraising match for the $10 million gift from Annette Bloch in 2014.

The funds will go toward building the Cambridge North Tower being built at 39th and Cambridge Street.

The $10 million Bloch gift is for cancer services at the Cambridge North Tower. KU Hospital has raised funds since September 2014 and announced it met the $10 million challenge days ahead of the June 30 deadline.

“I knew the support for the hospital was so great it could meet this challenge,” Annette Bloch said. “My hope is this success will add to the momentum of raising even more money to support the project.”

“This project is vital to expanding access to cancer services in surgical oncology, as well cancer and other services in neurosciences and ear, nose and throat. Demand in these areas is growing at a rapid rate and the hospital needs the facilities and technology to meet the needs of these patients,” Bloch said.

Annette Bloch gave $20 million to the hospital in 2008 to expand cancer services. The main cancer care pavilion in Westwood, Kan., and the radiation oncology pavilion on the main campus in Kansas City, Kan., are both named for Richard and Annette Bloch.

She has also generously supported the Richard and Annette Bloch Heart Rhythm Center at the hospital.

She and her late husband, Richard, established the R. A. Bloch Cancer Foundation in 1980.

“A key way to honor Annette’s leadership is to meet our $100 million philanthropic goal for Cambridge North Tower. We are at nearly $43 million now. Meeting her challenge only motivates us to keep going to meet our goal,” said Bob Page, president and CEO of The University of Kansas Hospital.

The hospital has a goal of $100 million in philanthropy for the $350 million project announced in 2014 and expanded in 2015, now totaling 13 floors including a lower underground level and a mechanical penthouse.

The Cambridge North Patient Tower is under construction at 39th and Cambridge Street, just northeast of the existing hospital buildings. In addition to housing the fast growing specialties of surgical oncology, neurosciences and ear, nose and throat, the building will also include imaging, lab and a pharmacy. A 2,200-space parking garage is planned nearby.

The first section of the building will be finished in 2017, while the four floor expansion will be completed in 2018. Current plans call for only one of the four floors in the expansion to be readied as a patient unit in 2018, with the other three floors available for future growth.

– Information from KU Hospital

Opinion: A future free of hate

Another senseless tragedy occurred over the weekend, this time a mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., killing 49 people.

Our hearts go out to the victims and their families.

It’s not the first time that a mass shooting has happened in America, and we find it difficult to understand why our society continues to let it happen.

It is time for our national, state and local governments to look at ways to keep semi-automatic and automatic rifles out of the hands of civilians. There is no need for them in civilian life.

There is also a need for our leaders to promote an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for others. Since sometimes the people follow the top leadership, we especially would encourage the presidential candidates to pledge to show more respect for others.

We hope this generation can pass on to their children a future free of hate.

KCK selected for ‘What Works Cities’ initiative

Today, Mayor Mark Holland announced that Kansas City has been selected as 1 of 12 new cities to participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Work Cities initiative – one of the largest-ever philanthropic efforts to enhance the use of data and evidence in the public sector.

Launched in April 2015, the initiative is now providing support to 39 cities in 25 states and will work with up to 100 mid-sized cities on a rolling basis through 2018.

“I am very grateful to Bloomberg Philanthropies for giving KCK an opportunity to coordinate the redevelopment of our blighted urban neighborhoods, and, in the process, reduce our taxes by increasing the value of our properties,” said Mayor Mark Holland, in a news release. “What we need more than ever is data-driven, smart government, and this program will help us achieve that. I am especially grateful that Michael Bloomberg, who has been very fortunate in life, is choosing to leverage his vast wealth to help improve government’s capacity to create social change.”

Kansas City, Kan., is one of the newest cities to join a rapidly growing movement among cities whose leaders are making a public commitment to enhancing their cities’ use of data and evidence to improve services, inform local decision-making and engage residents. The cities of Baltimore, Md.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Cape Coral, Fla.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Greensboro, North Carolina; Gresham, Oregon; Naperville, Ill.; Providence, Rhode Island; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Topeka, Kan.; and Wichita, Kan., were also selected to join the initiative today.

What Works Cities collaborates with participating municipalities to review their current use of data and evidence, understand where they are utilizing best practices and identify areas for growth.

Kansas City, Kan., will work with the What Works Cities expert partners to expand the city’s use of data and evidence to achieve progress with tackling a challenging housing rehabilitation and renewal environment, a spokesman said.

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., is excited to work with What Works Cities to establish open data on housing issues that will help us work across the organization, with community stakeholders and residents to help move the needle in renewing our built environment, according to the spokesman. Additionally, the Unified Government will establish metrics to benchmark performance for everyone to monitor and analyze going forward, which is a priority for the organization as it works to improve the appearance, safety and health of Kansas City, Kan.

On open data: The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., will establish and improve open data practices in order to make the city’s data more accessible to the city managers and the public, according to the spokesman. They will engage residents by increasing transparency and accountability around housing and blight data. The goal is to make this data more consumable and readily available for residents and departmental stakeholders by developing the policies and processes to inventory, prioritize, release and maintain data publicly.

On performance management: The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., will develop a performance management framework focused on improving the Unified Government’s understanding of the housing issue, and improve the use of data and evidence in decision making to address the housing rehabilitation and demolition issue.

The consortium of leading organizations that has been assembled by Bloomberg Philanthropies to provide a program of expert support includes the Behavioral Insights Team, the Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, the Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School, Results for America and the Sunlight Foundation.

The new cities join the following cities as What Works cities: Anchorage, Alaska; Bellevue, Wash.; Boston, Mass.; Cambridge, Mass.; Charlotte, N.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Denton, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Independence, Mo.; Jackson, Miss.; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas, Nevada; Lexington, Ky.; Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Mesa, Ariz.; Milwaukee, Wis.; New Orleans, La.; Raleigh, N.C.; Saint Paul, Minn.; San Francisco, Calif.; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Tacoma, Wash.; Tulsa, Okla.; Victorville, Calif., and Waco, Texas.