WICHITA, KS, December 15, 2011 – The Kansas Academy of Family Physicians (KAFP), the largest medical specialty society in the state of Kansas, is pleased to announce that Leslea Roach, of Wichita, has been hired as the Kansas Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Initiative Coordinator.

“We are delighted to welcome Leslea as the Coordinator for this important initiative,” said Carolyn Gaughan, KAFP Executive Director. “Leslea’s business, finance and interpersonal skills coupled with her experience in building positive relationships will be an asset in reaching all audiences about the PCMH including physicians, patients, and communities. She brings an understanding of the importance of health care in our community, and we are confident of her capability to help physicians, their teams, and their communities achieve best practices results.”

The PCMH is a health care delivery model focusing on the relationship between a patient and their personal physician. The physician leads a health care delivery team dedicated to providing comprehensive and continuous care. The model is designed for patients to receive the right care at the right time, lowering their health care costs and improving their overall health across the health care system.

“The PCMH Initiative is a good fit with Leslea. She is motivated and challenged to do the work ahead of her with the innate ability to think outside of the box. We feel confident that the Kansas PCMH Initiative can serve as a best practice example for high quality, affordable health care across the United States,” said KAFP President Deborah S. Clements, MD, FAAFP.

The Kansas PCMH Initiative is made possible by grants from the Kansas Health Foundation, Sunflower Foundation, and United Methodist Health Ministry Fund awarded over a three year period from January 2011 – December of 2013.

The funding is intended to enable the initiative to provide continuing medical education to health providers about the PCMH, to educate various groups among the public about the PCMH, and to establish and run a Pilot Project in which eight Kansas primary care practices will transform into a PCMH. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas provides some additional grant support for the Pilot Project. The eight practices in the Pilot are physician-led practices who have committed to the transformation process in a 24-month period that started July 1, 2011 and will go through June 30, 2013. It is hoped their examples will serve as a focal point for future health care transformation in the state of Kansas.

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About Leslea Roach
Prior to joining KAFP, Leslea was recently with Episcopal Social Services (ESS) as the director of their Representative Payee Program. She oversaw the daily work of 35 associates who managed the finances of 325 accounts for clients receiving government benefits who were deemed to be incapable of effectively managing their funds. This totaled over a quarter million dollars monthly. Prior to her work at ESS she was the Volunteer Coordinator at Starkey, Inc., which helps people with intellectual disabilities. Leslea has a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Wichita State University in Business Administration and Management.

About the KAFP
The Kansas Academy of Family Physicians is the largest medical specialty society in the state, with a total of 1,570 members. The mission of the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians is to promote access to, and excellence in, health care for all Kansans through education and advocacy for family physicians and their patients. The KAFP is affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians, the national association for family physicians.

For more information about the KAFP visit the KAFP Web site at www.kafponline.org.