Topic: Health Rankings
Interview of Gianfranco Pezzino, January 23, 2026
Interviewed by Robert St. Peter
This interview with Dr. Gianfranco Pezzino is the second in the Healthy Kansans series and sets the stage for understanding the concern that Kansas has slipped considerably in the nationwide rankings of health in the states over the last 30 years. His explanation of how the rankings work and why they are important is clear and understandable. Pezzino stated, "In the end, I became more and more convinced that the important thing was not the numbers. It was the communication that we could build around those numbers." His discussion of the social determinants of health Show Moreis important to understanding the rankings. He recalls a controversy covered by the local newspaper that quoted the county commissioner saying, "What does education have to do with health?" He used that as a opportunity to begin a community conversation about those linkages. As an epidemiologist, Dr. Pezzino has played many roles in health policy in Kansas - from the local health officer to state policy maker. He recounts the stresses of being the county health officer during COVID and comments that the "social contract has been broken." He comments that there is still value in providing accurate data as a public health person but now a lot of the authority has been moved from public health officers to local elected officials. That change has created a tension between individual rights and the social good. Show Less
Interview of Robert St.Peter, January 23, 2026
Interviewed by Jim McLean
This is the opening interview for the series, Healthy Kansans. Dr. Bob St. Peter will be interviewing all the rest of the participants in this series, so Jim McLean wanted to use this interview to establish his expertise. St. Peter was President and CEO of the Kansas Health Institute for 24 years, developing and expanding their services in Kansas. Prior to that he had extensive experience in Washington DC with health policy [see his biography]. For this series of interviews, St. Peter defines health in the broadest terms and points out why the health rankings Show Moreare valuable information for policy makers. The Kansas Health Foundation which created KHI really wanted the KHI to look at a broad set of issues that influenced how healthy we are as a city, as a county, as a state, and how education, housing and transportation influenced a person's health. St. Peter points out that health in Kansas isn't getting worse. People in Kansas are living longer, generally experiencing lower rates of cardiovascular disease, stroke, etc. So, it is not that our collective health is getting worse; it is that our relative standing compared to other states is getting worse. Other states are doing better and are faster than Kansas in improving the health outcomes for their citizens. Kansas should be working on this as well. Show Less
Interview of Maynard Oliverius, March 6, 2026
Interviewed by Robert St. Peter
Maynard Oliverius lays out in clear terms the policy choices the federal government made that shaped the health care system in the country today. Starting in 1946 with the Hill-Burton Act that paid for new hospital facilities, then the creation in 1965 of Medicare and Medicaid to ensure that seniors had a way to pay for health care and medical research, he tracks federal changes through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion. He also notes that Kansas was leading other states in health rankings in the early 1990's, but now has fallen significantly behind other states' efforts Show Moreto improve the health of their residents. Access to health care has become a major problem for many Kansans. The interview also touches on the growth of Stormont Vail under his leadership and how it is now a major medical center serving northeast Kansas and is a locally owned, locally operated nonprofit organization. Oliverius concludes by offering his opinion that ideally the country needs to move to a single payer system in order to provide access for all - he describes it as "medicare for all." He expressed concern about the current direction of health policy nationally. Show Less
Interview of Cynthia Hornberger, April 10, 2026
Interviewed by Robert St. Peter
Dr. Cynthia Hornberger is a nurse-leader in nursing education and health care. In this 2026 interview she explains how nursing education evolved at Washburn University and how the status and competency of nurses has grown in hospitals across the country. Hornberger sees advanced practice-trained nurses as critical components of the health care team and critical to delivering health care in rural settings. Today the demand for nurses often exceeds the supply. She traces the history of the development of nursing programs in Kansas to the Axtell Hospital, Axtell, Kansas and overall to Lillian Wald who in 1893 advised Show MoreDr. Samuel Crumbine, Kansas' most famous public health official. When asked why Kansas is slipping in health rankings compared to other states, she suggests Kansas lacks access to services to prevent, monitor and treat illnesses. Shortage of health care professionals is another cause. She notes there are political ramifications - politicians who do not prioritize the health and well-being of infants and children or people who are socioeconomically challenged. The discussion of how the role of nursing changed over time reflects changing attitudes about gender roles and nurses' desire for more training and a larger leadership role. Hornberger believes some things in health care eventually will be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), such as diagnostics. The interview ends with her summarizing of her 50 years in nursing and describing her passion for gardening.
Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview