The KAIH project is an initiative of the University of Louisville’s ���Ի���, based in the , along with .

“I have always had the intuitive sense that creative community art can make a difference, but this opportunity will provide not only a method for gauging our success, but the tools to make sure we are headed in the right direction,” Smith said.

Smith is an interdisciplinary artist and educator, and teaches 2D, 3D and digital art at universities in the region. He also is the artist behind Bike Sense Louisville, a public art project that is tracking volunteer cyclists around Louisville, sensing environmental data as they ride and interpreting it into sound on the Big Four Bridge.

A primary component of the KAIH residency is training on the Universal Community Planning Tool (UCPT) developed by the  in Maryland. UCPT uses open-source technology to equip communities with sustainable, culturally-responsive strategies. 

“We’re developing an entrepreneurial population health workforce who thinks differently about how to solve deeply entrenched challenges that require new approaches,” said Theo Edmonds, director of UofL’s Center for Creative Placehealing. “The KAIH residency brings together transdisciplinary teams of community members, researchers, practitioners and creatives, which is the foundation of our pioneering approach to cultural wellbeing.” 

 “Todd will work alongside community members and researchers to adapt the UCPT platform for Kentucky, and I’m looking forward to seeing how his expertise as an artist working with technology informs the process and supports more equitable data-driven decision making,” said Josh Miller, co-founder and CEO of IDEAS xLab. “This artist residency presents a chance to re-rame how we approach urban-rural collaboration in creating a more healthy, just and creative Kentucky.”  

The KAIH Residency is supported by funds from the ; a Community Collaborative Learning Fund award; ���Ի���a from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention through the Kentucky Cabinet for Health & Family Services. 

“Our academic programs are producing tomorrow’s leaders. Achieving CAHME accreditation is a testimony to the excellence of our MSHA curriculum and UofL’s commitment to excellent health management education,” said Beth A. Boehm, PhD, UofL executive vice president and Provost.

To earn CAHME accreditation, UofL SPHIS submitted a rigorous examination of the MSHA program purpose, curriculum, student experience and information about the success of its graduates, along with a CAHME site visit. The school will be required to submit periodic self-studies followed by review of an outside panel of experts in order for the MSHA to remain a CAHME-accredited program.

“As a research university, we seek ways to integrate innovative research within instructional programs. A strength of our MSHA program is the unique opportunity for students to engage in research through our NSF-funded , an industry/university cooperative research center,” said Craig Blakely, PhD, MPH, dean of the UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences.”

“Our proximity to local health care organizations gives our program an advantage in establishing relationships that benefit our faculty, staff, students and health delivery system partners. Health industry leaders have engaged with us to inform the competencies of our MSHA curriculum, adding distinction to our overall program,” said Christopher E. Johnson, PhD, chair, and CHOT site director.

The Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences designed the MSHA to deepen knowledge of environments, processes, structures and strategies in health care. Students learn about broad principles and key influences of leading health care organizations. They also examine evidence-based frameworks for strategic leadership and effective management of health care organizations. An analysis of policies that influence population and community health care management also is part of the 57-credit-hour program. The first cohort of UofL MSHA students, pictured above, graduated this month.

“Travel distance, along with often other serious health conditions, make it difficult for patients to get to a weekly appointment,” said Jodi Wojcik-Marshall, MSN, APRN, ANP-BC, manager of the UofL Hospital Department of Advanced Practice Nursing and nurse practitioner in the Burn Center. “We saw a need to reduce the high number of missed appointments by reducing access barriers.”

In response to the need, a telehealth burn wound care pilot initiative was developed in collaboration with J’Aime Jennings, PhD, assistant professor and co-director, at the .

Jennings led the effort to translate the outpatient burn center’s in-person standards and protocol into a telehealth format.

The program uses the technology for providers Wojcik-Marshall and Michelle Broers, PT, DPT, CWS, FACCWS, to have a dialogue with patients during telehealth visits. Each patient downloads the free BlueJeans app to their smartphone or device and uses a unique connection number to sign in for each appointment.

“We found both in the literature and in early observations of this pilot benefits not only for patients but also for home health providers and family members who help the patients with their treatment,” Jennings said.

Jennings and her team are in process of evaluating patient and provider satisfaction surveys. Next steps include determining adjustments to the program, and how the burn center may expand the initiative to benefit more patients.

UofL’s selection as a CHOT site includes a 3-year agreement of up to $500,000 per year in funding from the NSF and industry partners to support the implementation of evidence-based strategies within health care organizations.

UofL joins Florida Atlantic University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Penn State University, Texas A&M University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Nottingham and University of Washington as a CHOT site.

“UofL adds access to a new geographic region and relevant population segments, such as elderly and minority populations,” said Bita A. Kash, PhD, MBA, FACHE, director of CHOT, the eight-university consortium based at Texas A&M University. “The new UofL CHOT site also will strengthen the center in the following areas of capabilities: patient-centered health information technologies; transitions in health care; and population/value-based health care.” 

“CHOT members are working to solve health care challenges three to five years ahead of the rest of the industry – we are trying to project into the future the direction of health care. Interdisciplinary applied research will be the catalyst for solving problems and making changes,” said Christopher E. Johnson, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences, UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Johnson will serve as the UofL CHOT site director, along with J’Aime Jennings, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences. UofL co-principal investigators include Antonio Badia, PhD, associate professor of computer science and computer engineering; Anna Faul, PhD, professor of social work; and Brad Sutton, MD, MBA, associate professor of medicine.

UofL CHOT is working to secure local industry partners and organizations to join the center through a $50,000 yearly commitment for three years. Potential projects include interventions for those facing opioid addictions and the role of behavioral health in helping individuals secure employment; analyzing readmission in the long-term care population; using health information technology to improve access to services; and evaluating use of artificial intelligence as a diagnostic tool.

Nationally, the multi-site center is involved in 13 projects with 23 industry members from diverse settings such as health systems/providers, retail, technology companies, associations, government agencies and insurers.