Office of Gov.
TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced the members of her new Safer Classrooms Workgroup.
The Workgroup, composed of highly skilled health professionals from across Kansas, will highlight the urgency of protecting kids from COVID-19 and use the best available science and information to support state and local governments, school districts, and school boards to promote health and safety in our schools.
“The perspective of local health care providers will be invaluable in helping Kansans understand the challenges posed by the delta variant, and how to keep our kids safe as they return to school,” Governor Kelly said. “I want to thank all of our Safer Classrooms Workgroup members for dedicating their time, energy, and efforts to keep our kids healthy and in school.”
Dr. Jennifer Bacani McKenney, a practicing Family Physician and Wilson County health officer, and Dr. Stephanie Kuhlmann, Pediatric Hospitalist Division Director at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita and Pediatric Medical Director at Wesley Children’s Hospital, serve as the group’s co-chairs.
The full membership of the Safer Classrooms Workgroup is as follows:
- G.A. Buie, Executive Director, United School Administrators of Kansas
- Jennifer Bacani McKenney, MD, Health Officer, Wilson County
- Jen Brull, MD, Family Physician, Post Rock Family Medicine, Rooks County
- Lindsay Byrnes, MD, MPH, Medical Director, KUSM-Wichita, Wesley Children’s Hospital
- Kristie Clark, MD, Pediatrician, Rural Health Clinic
- Allen Greiner, MD, Family Physician, Wyandotte County Health
- Dena Hubbard, MD, Kansas American Academy of Pediatrics
- Rhonda Hutchinson, BSN, RN, President, Kansas School Nurse Organization
- Kimber Kasitz, BSN, RN, Director of Health, Homebound, and Section 504 Services, USD 259
- Stephanie Kuhlmann, DO, Pediatric Hospitalist Division Director and Pediatric Medical Director, KUSM-W, Wesley Children’s Hospital
- Vernon Mills, MD, Pediatrician, retired
- Kelli Netson, PhD, Neuropsychologist, KUSM-W Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Kevin Riemann, Executive Director, Kansas National Education Association
- Manuel Solano, MD, Physician and program director, Community Health Center of Wyandotte County
- Margaret Thompson, RN, ARNP, Nurse Anesthetist, Kansas Black Nurses Association
- Randy Watson, Ed.D, Commissioner, Kansas State Department of Education