In this episode, we hear from Krista Postai and Jason Wesco with Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) - two very innovative health leaders who have worked to improve the health of individuals and communities in southeast Kansas over the last two-plus decades and have done amazing work not only in primary, behavioral, and oral health care but also in addressing the social factors that have far greater impact on health than what happens in the doctor’s office.

CEO Krista Postai has worked in health care for nearly 45 years, graduating with a journalism degree but soon engaging her passion for improving health. Krista started with a role at the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians in Kansas City then returned to her home community of Pittsburg, where she worked at the local hospital for 23 years before starting CHC/SEK – originally as a hospital department then becoming a Federally-Qualified Health Center to build sustainability. Krista has led CHC/SEK for 21 years through challenges and rapid growth, always with a consistent focus on providing high-quality care that is people-focused and mission-driven.

Jason Wesco, originally from a small town in Indiana, moved to Kansas in the late 90s with a Master’s degree in American Studies but also with a passion to be actively involved in improving the health of communities. In 2003 he got his start in health care serving as director of the Douglas County Dental Clinic, a Medicaid and uninsured clinic in Lawrence, before working for our state Primary Care Association - where he met Krista, who convinced him to move to southeast Kansas and join the CHC/SEK staff in 2006 as COO. Jason now serves as President and Chief Strategy Officer and has likewise played a large role in CHC/SEK’s growth and success.

Brock Slabach is the COO of the National Rural Health Association and is an expert on rural health, health system delivery and payment reform, and improving access to health care.

Prior to joining NRHA in 2008, Brock served as a rural hospital administrator for more than 21 years and has served on the NRHA board and the regional policy board of the American Hospital Association.

Brock specializes in rural health system development that encompasses population health and the varied payment programs moving rural providers into value-based purchasing models. Slabach is a member of the National Quality Forum’s Measures Application Partnership (MAP) Hospital and Rural Health Workgroup and serves on the board of the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC).

Brock is also the 2015 recipient of the National Rural Health Resource Center’s Calico Quality Leadership Award, and received the American Society of Healthcare Pharmacists (ASHP) Board of Directors’ Award of Honor for 2018.

Benjamin Anderson is the President and CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, where he is responsible for the management, direction, and coordination of all operations and related activities in pursuit of organizational goals and objectives.

During the four years prior to joining HRHS, Benjamin served as Vice President for Rural Health and Hospitals at the Colorado Hospital Association, where he provided leadership and direction in the development and execution of the Association’s rural strategies, advocated on behalf of rural hospitals and health systems and developed strategic partnerships with organizations that affected the health of rural Coloradans.

Before his move to Colorado, Benjamin served as CEO of Kearny County Hospital, a comprehensive rural health care delivery complex in Lakin, Kan. that serves patients of 30 nationalities within a 180-mile radius. During his six and a half years there, he led the organization through a period of rapid growth, expanding access to coordinated primary care and specialty services.

Anderson is a recognized leader in transforming rural health care through a mission-driven approach to recruiting physicians to underserved areas, tying together domestic and international service. His work has been recognized on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, and in POLITICO and Sports Illustrated. Anderson was named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s Rising Star list of health care leaders under 40 and one of Modern Healthcare’s 2014 Up and Comers.

Benjamin has earned a reputation as an innovative rural hospital CEO for his work in improving hospital care, implementing highly effective provider recruitment efforts, and building recognition of the importance of partnering with community organizations to improve health.