Hayhow elected chair of KU Academic Medical Center advisory board

KANSAS CITY, KANSAS — Joyce Hayhow, of Leawood, is the new chair of the Advancement Board, an 85-member advisory group of business and community leaders that represents the objectives of the University of Kansas Medical Center, The University of Kansas Hospital and the University of Kansas Physicians.

The board, which was formed in 2005, works to develop community support for the academic medical center and to bolster philanthropy efforts for education, research and patient care.

Hayhow follows Mary Birch, who completed a two-year term as chair.

Hayhow retired in 2015 after 27 years with the Kansas City Business Journal, serving as publisher the last 23 years. She continues to work with the Business Journal's parent company, American City Business Journals, on special projects. 

“The Advancement Board continues to enthusiastically promote its strategic mission: developing support for the KU Academic Medical Center and improving health and well-being through education, research and health care delivery,” Hayhow said. “The opportunity to be advocates for our health care professionals and researchers is a honor. The KU Academic Medical Center not only provides outstanding patient care but is an economic force in our community.”

Other Advancement Board officers elected at the meeting:

• Secretary: Steve Roling, former president and CEO of the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City
• Board Development Committee chair: Steve Sestak, CEO, MarketSphere Consulting
• Community Affairs Committee chair: Betty Crooker, community volunteer
• Government Affairs Committee chair: Jermee Jones, commercial relationship manager, INTRUST Bank
• Marketing Committee chair: Janie Gaunce, president and CEO, Grapevine Designs

The Advancement Board embraces the academic medical center’s quest to become a nationally recognized leader in neuroscience discovery, education and care, along with continued support for The University of Kansas Cancer Center’s mission to become a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center.

The Advancement Board is also supporting two construction projects: The University of Kansas Hospital’s construction of the Cambridge North Tower and the Health Education Building at KU Medical Center.

Cambridge North will add 92 patient-care beds at the hospital in 2017 and at least an additional 32 by 2018. Fundraising for the expansion is ongoing, with a matching challenge in place for all gifts through June. The Health Education Building will serve as the primary teaching facility for the KU schools of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions and will include a simulation center and state-of-the-art learning space to support new models of teaching. Construction is expected to last through June 2017, and fundraising is ongoing.

The board also supports all the research and clinical initiatives of the area’s premier academic medical center. It serves to organize the advocacy for the benefits of academic medicine among many fronts.