Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1195263
WICHITA APPROVES $35.5 MILLION IN INCENTIVES FOR NEW MED SCHOOL The Wichita City Council approved a multipart public financing package worth about $35.5 million in incentives to subsidize a new osteopathic medical school, according to The Wichita Eagle. The subsidies are part of a larger $90 million development plan for four buildings in down - town Wichita being developed by pharmacist-turned-developer Sudha Tokala. In addition to the medical school, the development includes student housing, a dining hall, boutique hotel and culinary school. The financing package includes industrial revenue bond financing and creation of a special tax district. The proposed Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has applied for accreditation from the accreditation arm of the American Osteopathic Association, is expected to enroll its first cohort class in August 2022, according to its Founding Dean and Chief Academic Officer Robert Hasty, DO. GOVERNOR KELLY ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT TO THE KANSAS BOARD OF HEALING ARTS Governor Laura Kelly appointed Molly Black, MD, of Shawnee, to the Kansas Board of Healing Arts. The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts serves to regulate 11 healthcare professions and ensure that these healthcare professionals meet and maintain certain qualifications to protect the public from incompetent practice, unprofessional conduct and other proscribed behavior by individuals who have been credentialed to practice in Kansas. "Dr. Black has a decade of experience under her belt, and she recognizes the significance of the board's mission," Gov. Kelly says. "I'm certain that she will work diligently to protect the safety of all Kansans and make sure they are in good hands." Dr. Black has over 10 years of experience practicing medicine. She is currently the Orthopedic Trauma Director at the Overland Park Medical Center. Dr. Black previously prac - ticed orthopedic trauma and anterior hip arthroplasty at the Midwest Orthopedic Center. She has served as an Assistant Professor of orthopedic trauma at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Black graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2001. She completed the Duke University Trauma Fellowship in 2007. There are a total of 15 members on the board, all appointed by the Governor. The board is composed of five medical doctors with a degree from an accredited school who have actively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Kansas for at least six consecutive years immediately preceding their appointment: three osteopathic doctors, three chiropractic doc - tors, one podiatric doctor and three members of the general public. ABAY NEUROSCIENCE CENTER'S WELCOMES ASHLEY BARKS, MD Abay Neuroscience Center has added a new physician, bringing the number of neurosurgeons serving patients to seven. Ashley Barks, MD, a board-eligible neurosurgeon, launched her clinical practice at the Abay Neuroscience Center in August. Raised in California, she obtained her medical degree from Albany Medical College in Albany, New York, and served her residency at the University of Illinois Health and Sciences System in Chicago. She has family in Missouri, a convenient drive from Wichita, so when the opportunity presented itself to practice in Kansas, she pursued it. "When working with patients, I find that education is vital," Dr. Barks says. "My goal is to always explore conservative methods before considering surgery, but when a patient truly understands all their options, we can come to a decision together. And my hope is to get them back to their best life as quickly as possible." Dr. Barks specializes in degenerative, traumatic and minimally invasive spine surgery, and neuro-oncology. She performs surgery at Kansas Spine & Specialty Hospital, Ascension Via Christi Hospital St. Francis and Wesley Medical Center. n Continued from page 11