Turner House Children's Clinic News

Clinic News

On February 1st, at 8 pm CST on KCUR (89.3 FM Kansas City) there will be a rebroadcast of a very nice feature from the Turner House Children's Clinic 20th anniversary celebration.  The segment feautring Frank Vaughters, MD, will be shortly after the hour.  Follow the link below to listen online.

Listen Online

 

Thank you to all who joined us and supported us in celebrating 20 years of service to the community, and those who have made providing health care to thousands of uninusred and underserved children possible.  Many came out and to show support of the clinic's celebratory anniversary, as well as to recognize Frank Vaughters, MD.

To view news coverage of the event click the links below: 

KMBC Channel 9 News 

KCTV Channel 5 News

NBC Action News, KSHB-TV

KCUR 89.3 FM

Kansas City Kansan Newspaper

The Kansas City Nursing News

 

About Frank Vaughters’ Involvement with the Turner House Children’s Clinic (THCC)
(conveyed by Pediatric Cardiologist, Antoni “Toni” Deihl, Turner House historian and recently retired longtime member of the Board of Directors)
 
 
When Frank Vaughters lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he served as a Pediatrician for the Child and Youth Project (CandY), a federally funded program to provide child healthcare services to low income and uninsured families. Frank relocated to Kansas City in 1979. Federal funding for CandY, dried up, and Frank found no similar program addressing the same needs in Kansas City. In light of these findings, Frank sought out the most impoverished census tract in Kansas City, Kansas, which he found to be in the area of 3rd and Stewart in Wyandotte County. 
 
Frank traversed that neighborhood, knocking door-to-door, and inquiring of residents about their children’s healthcare needs, and about what services were provided there. This took him to the door of The Turner House Community Center. The Turner House building was owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, who used it for social service referrals, and a safe place --with a playground and basketball court-- where the neighborhood’s children could go to after school. 
 
The Turner House had a couple of underutilized rooms that Frank set out to obtain use of, to create a pediatric healthcare service clinic. He went on to spend countless hours contacting and recruiting pediatricians and other physicians, nurses, as well as other organizations and volunteers to donate time, services, goods, and money, which became the foundation of what is now The Turner House Children’s Clinic. 
 
Beth Seberger with Episcopal Social Services (ESS) supported the effort with administrative and other back-line support, along with Rosemary Stewart as Treasurer and Receptionist, and Lisa Hayen (later Vaughters) Welker as the Nursing Director. They were soon joined by physician Toni Diehl, and before long, others followed. At that time, all were volunteers. With Turner House being open two (sometimes three) days a week, the medical volunteers provided care for over 450 patients during that first year,
 
Frank served as the Volunteer Medical Director for THCC from 1989 to 1995, and then as Co-Director from 1995 to 2002. Throughout that tenure, Frank volunteered his time and medical talents to help children least one day a week. As he became increasingly focused in launching his Haiti initiative, PPFAE in Cite Soleil, his time at the clinic was less frequent, but his help continued.
 
In 1993, Turner House expanded its facilities and began operating five days a week. In 2001, the clinic relocated to its current site at the Bethany Medical Plaza, 21 North 12th Street, in Kansas City, Kansas. At this time THCC employs three part-time providers (pediatricians and a nurse practitioner), who are supported by more than 30 volunteer physicians. 
Like a healthy child, THCC continues to grow. It served 3,268 children in 6,859 patient visits in 2008, and expanded to 4,012 patients in 9,637 visits in 2009. In 1988 the number was “0” patients; in 1989, more than 450 patient visits occurred; and now, 20 years later—2009—more than 4,000 patients are served in nearly 10,000 patient visits because of The Turner House. The positive impact on children THCC has served to date is immeasurable. And possibilities are endless. It all started with Frank Vaughters knocking on doors to see how he might help.
 
For more information on volunteering at Turner House Chidlren's Clinic, or to make a donation, please click here.
 


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Fall 2009 Newsletter
Fall 2008 Newsletter 
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