By SALINA POST
Karen Weis is returning to her roots.
The University of Kansas Medical Center announced this afternoon that Weis has been named the Christine A. Hartley Rural Health Nursing Endowed Professor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing-Salina. She also will be the director of research at the newly created Kansas Center for Rural Health.
Weis was raised on a farm and ranch just outside Salina, KU Medical Center noted in a news release. Weis' family still farms in the area.
“The stars have truly aligned to bring me back to my hometown in Kansas,” Weis said. “It is a joy to work with the KU Medical Center team. I am excited to be home again and help build and sustain accessible, quality health care for all Kansans.”
At the KU School of Nursing-Salina, Weis will "work with groups and individuals in Salina and the surrounding communities to establish rural health-focused research and evidence-based practices. She also will mentor and support students in rural-focused research," KU Medical Center noted.
Last week, KU Medical Center announced the establishment of the Kansas Center for Rural Health. The center is being housed on the Salina campus of the KU schools of medicine and nursing. For that part of her job, Weis will "oversee the center’s research efforts in order to address health disparities in rural parts of the state," according to KU Medical Center.
“We are so pleased to welcome Dr. Karen Weis to our faculty. Nursing research is novel in this area, especially with a nurse researcher of Dr. Weis’ caliber,” said Lisa Larson, dean of the University of Kansas School of Nursing-Salina. “She will no doubt be an invaluable resource and mentor to our students, while also contributing to our goal of innovatively addressing the challenges of enhancing rural health care.”
Prior to coming to the dual position in Salina, Weis spent six years as a professor and the Brigadier General Lillian Dunlap Endowed Chair in Nursing Research at Incarnate Word University. Prior to that, she was a decorated 29-year veteran of the United States Air Force Nurse Corps, where she held multiple clinical and leadership positions in maternal-child/high-risk obstetrical nursing, KU Medical Center noted. Her primary research interest is in maternal perinatal mental health and its effect on maternal and fetal/infant health.