Kansas

Kansas, a 208 mile by 411 mile rectangle, is located in the heart of the nation. Kansas is named after the Kansas Native American tribe, which means "People of the South Wind." It is commonly referred to as Wheat State and Breadbasket of the Nation. Kansas covers 82,227 square miles, with a 2015 estimated population of 2,911,641 people – 943,913 living in rural Kansas (USDA-ERS). Topeka, the capital, is located in the north-eastern region of the state. The state’s largest cities are Wichita, Overland Park and Kansas City. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 86.7% of the state’s population is white, 6.3% is Black/African-American, 1.2% is American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.9% is Asian, and 11.6% is of Hispanic/Latino origin (U.S. Census, 2015).

Kansas Rural Healthcare Facilities

There are 127 community hospitals in Kansas (Kansas Hospital Association, 2012 Annual STAT Report). The state has 84 hospitals identified as Critical Access Hospitals (Flex Team, 12/2015). There are 167 Rural Health Clinics in Kansas (CMS, 2015), and 16 Federally Qualified Health Centers provide services at 47 sites in the state (NACHC, 2014).

Selected Social Determinants of Health for Rural Kansas

Most Kansans have some form of health insurance coverage, although 11% of its residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2014). According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per-capita income for Kansans in 2014 was $44,891, although rural per-capita income lagged at $40,488. The ERS reports, based on 2010-2014 ACS data, that the poverty rate in rural Kansas is 15.1%, compared with 13.1% in urban areas of the state. 12.7% of the rural population has not completed high school, while 8.7% of the urban population lacks a high school diploma according to 2010-2014 ACS data reported by ERS. The unemployment rate in rural Kansas is at 4.2%, and in urban Kansas it is at 4.2% (USDA-ERS, 2015).

Data Sources
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Rural Health Clinic List; Flex Monitoring Team: Critical Access Hospital List; Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts; Kansas Hospital Association; National Association of Community Health Centers: Key Health Center Data By State; The Kansas Department of Health and Environment: Office of Rural Health; U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts; USDA Economic Research Service: State Fact Sheets

Contacts

There are more organizations related to Kansas in the organizations section.