Swope Health is Open for Tours

Kristina Duran, Pediatric Support Specialist, met with members of the Kansas City Plaza Rotary Club during a recent vocational visit to Swope Health.

On a recent afternoon, more than a dozen members of the Kansas City Plaza Rotary Club assembled in the lobby of Building A at Swope Health Services. From there, the Rotarians walked through the entire facility – from pediatrics to behavioral health, dental to optical, pharmacy to radiology and more.

Directed by Dan Barnett, Swope Health Communications Specialist, the tour covered the history of Swope Health and introduced the visitors to staff associates who described their department’s operations and answered questions. Each department was marked with a poster on an easel.

The entire tour, which included frequent stops for questions and answers, took about an hour.

“We’re always happy to show the community how we operate,” said Michelle Keller, vice president of community engagement, development and outreach. “We love giving people a better understanding of all the services we offer at Swope Health.”

Plaza Rotary Club Collects Donations

Tours like this one led by Michelle Keller, right, cover both floors of the Swope Health Central facility with stops at the clinics and departments with community service offerings.

The Plaza Rotary club is a service organization. Its members had collected small bottles of single-use toiletries like shampoos, soaps and deodorants and donated them to the Swope Health homeless program, for clients served by the Swope Health Mobile Medical Unit. The tour was a chance to learn more about Swope Health.

All the club members left with deeper appreciation of the array of services offered. “I had no idea,” said Richard Cane, a Rotarian who made his first visit to Swope Health and peppered the tour guides with questions.  Bob Merrigan, another member of the club, agreed. “I was very impressed with the entire outfit,” he said. “It’s obvious that this organization does good work for community.”

If you or your organization would like to tour Swope Health, please contact Dan Barnett at 816-599-5710 or dbarnett@swopehealth.org.

Ebony Peterson, Community Health Worker, from the WIC program at Swope Health, talks with visitors about the “wraparound services” offered to provide assistance for women with young children. The coordinators provide guidance to services offering food, housing, baby supplies, transportation and more.