Wichita State Poised For Massive Growth

[WstateU]

I keep forgetting to pull up the video on my phone. I'll do that sometime later this morning.

You're basically watching a zoom meeting (nothing professional), but there is a lot of meat and potatoes (vision) in the presentation.

[SubGod22]

I'm sure some of this has been touched on previously, but I'm late to the party.

I really like this vision. Opening up more green space along with adding some more buildings, both academic and partnership.

The potential for a dedicated indoor track facility would be really nice.

The additional space being added onto The Chuck for what I gather is another gym as she mentioned being able to have all teams practicing at the same time as being an option.

Connecting the new campus to the old is something that had actually been on my mind. It's almost like there are two different campuses side by side and this should help merge them together.

The 17th street work is exciting. I'm pretty sure we've talked about being able to turn 17th into our version of Mass Street or Aggieville. Not sure it goes quite that far, but it would turn 17th into something that has more life. Being able to line the street with restaurants and bars would go a long way to making campus even more exciting and would just offer a different feel than the Braeburn Square development.

Four new parking garages would go a long way in keeping/adding parking options and potentially freeing up some land for more building or green development.

Hopefully fundraising goes well as there are some really exciting opportunities to be had for athletics, academics, and commerce.

[ShockBand]

I'm pretty sure we've talked about being able to turn 17th into our version of Mass Street or Aggieville.

Kirbyville? Or would it be Kirbysville?

[SubGod22]

WSU - Wichita State partners with Heartspring to provide physical therapy and audiology services to the community

A new partnership between Heartspring and Wichita State University’s College of Health Professions will bring faculty and students on-site at Heartspring’s Pediatric Clinic to provide physical therapy and audiology services to the local community.

Heartspring provides interdisciplinary therapies that help children with neurodevelopmental differences realize their full potential in communication, social interactions, mobility and daily living.

“The partnership between Heartspring and the College of Health Professions has become a focal point for our faculty who focus on pediatrics and particularly children with neurodevelopmental challenges,” said Dr. Gregory Hand, dean of the WSU College of Health Professions. “The special population of children at Heartspring not only provides a unique experience for our faculty and students, but it also is an opportunity to positively impact the lives of the Heartspring students and their families. We look forward to a continued and growing partnership.”

Wichita State Physical Therapy student Clara Jackson says her experience at Heartspring has been unique because she has been able to treat a child with autism and find inventive ways to do pediatric physical therapy.

“I really appreciate that they thought about any possible thing that could be used for therapy and made it available for the providers and students…,” said Jackson. “Heartspring has made it possible for me to get hands-on experience and learn on-the-fly thinking to work toward the child's goal of playing community soccer.”

“We continue to see a growing need for assessing children's neurodevelopmental skills and providing individualized therapies,” said Dan Soliday, president and CEO of Heartspring. “This partnership expands Heartspring’s ability to meet the region’s increasing demand for our specialty health care services, while developing the future workforce.”

Services at Heartspring

Heartspring offers an engaging, therapeutic environment where children gain confidence to learn and build functional skills. From a wheelchair-accessible treehouse and therapy playground to a fully-equipped physical therapy gym and audiology suites, children and families have access to the latest evidence-based resources and care.

Heartspring’s audiology services include free newborn hearing screenings, pure-tone testing, tympanometry, hearing aid evaluations, assistive listening devices, swim/noise plugs and auditory processing testing. WSU faculty will supervise students as they learn to perform evaluations and provide these therapies.

Physical therapists at Heartspring, including WSU faculty and students, provide treatments that improve independence and functional mobility, allowing children to explore their environment more effectively. Areas of focus include strength, range of motion, endurance, balance, coordination, motor control, functional mobility, posture and safety.

“At Heartspring we coordinate multiple therapies to create one cohesive experience for our families with varying needs,” said Kara Gibson, Heartspring’s clinical director for outpatient services. “We’re pleased to enhance our physical therapy and audiology services with ongoing student learning as part of our broader offering that includes occupational therapy, speech, language and feeding therapy, mental and behavioral health and applied behavior analysis (ABA).”

Children do not need a specific diagnosis to attend Heartspring, but a physician’s referral is typically required for insurance coverage. Heartspring accepts most major commercial insurance, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna and United Healthcare, as well as Tricare and Medicaid. Financial assistance options are also available. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 316-634-8701.

More information on Heartspring’s services can be found at heartspring.org/outpatient. More about Wichita State University’s College of Health Professions can be found at wichita.edu/CHP.

[SubGod22]

WSU - WSU's Kansas APEX Accelerator surpasses $1 billion in government contract awards

The Kansas APEX Accelerator, based at Wichita State University, has reached a significant milestone in its decade-long history of empowering businesses: the attainment of more than $1 billion in government contract awards for its clients.

With a total dollar amount of contract awards reaching $1,084,113,363, the accelerator has solidified its position as a driving force behind economic growth and innovation in Kansas. Since its inception, the Kansas APEX Accelerator (formerly Kansas PTAC) has aided 4,620 businesses, guiding them through the intricacies of government contracting and facilitating access to funding opportunities.

Boasting an average return on investment of $210 for every dollar invested in the program, the Kansas APEX Accelerator and its cohorts across the nation, recently drew the attention of the U.S. Congress, which has elevated the program’s responsible administrator.

The programs now report to the Department of Defense’s Office of Small Business Programs. This move underscores the program’s significance in advancing the goals of government contracting and fostering innovation within the small business community.

The DoD is actively collaborating with the accelerator to further enhance its performance and expand its reach. In the past 10 years, more than 10,000 individuals have attended Kansas APEX Accelerator training conferences, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in the competitive government contracting landscape.

JTM Enterprises, a Wichita-based commercial cleaning business, worked with the APEX Accelerator to become a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

“The Kansas APEX Accelerator team has been stellar,” said Johnny Wallace, owner of JTM Enterprises. “They put my company in a better swim lane. We rely on the APEX Accelerator team for past pricing and helping with information that will allow us to forecast for the future. They have been, and will continue to be, a great asset.”

Reflecting on the program’s success, Terri Bennett, director of the Kansas APEX Accelerator, attributes its achievement to the dedication and expertise of her team.

"Our team’s unwavering commitment to our clients’ success has been the cornerstone of our achievements," she said. "Their tireless efforts and strategic guidance have enabled businesses across Kansas to secure vital government contracts, driving economic growth and prosperity in our state."

Looking ahead, the Kansas APEX Accelerator remains committed to addressing the evolving needs and challenges faced by its clients, including cybersecurity issues and regulatory compliance. By providing comprehensive support and guidance, the accelerator aims to empower businesses to successfully navigate the complexities of government contracting.

[ShockBand]

This PDF has some more detailed renderings than I've seen before regarding the conversion of Cessna Stadium into a track/soccer facility.

https://www.kshsaa.org/public/track/pdf/wsucessna.pdf

[WstateU]

This PDF has some more detailed renderings than I've seen before regarding the conversion of Cessna Stadium into a track/soccer facility.

https://www.kshsaa.org/public/track/pdf/wsucessna.pdf

[Kung Wu]

This PDF has some more detailed renderings than I've seen before regarding the conversion of Cessna Stadium into a track/soccer facility.

https://www.kshsaa.org/public/track/pdf/wsucessna.pdf

If you are sitting on the front row and have binoculars, you'll be able to see the soccer players.

[ShockTalk]

If you are sitting on the front row and have binoculars, you'll be able to see the soccer players.

Is it much different than when we had football? Don't recall that being too bad.

[ShockBand]

Is it much different than when we had football? Don't recall that being too bad.

It might be a bit farther with 9 track lanes and the runouts outside that for jumping events. But it wasn't like we were close back in the football days.

[Veritas]

It might be a bit farther with 9 track lanes and the runouts outside that for jumping events. But it wasn't like we were close back in the football days.

That shows an incredibly tiny scoreboard on the south side
hopefully the new track/soccer stadium will have a nice size state of the art scoreboard.

[Kung Wu]

Is it much different than when we had football? Don't recall that being too bad.

Well ... we don't have football anymore for a reason.

[Kung Wu]

It might be a bit farther with 9 track lanes and the runouts outside that for jumping events. But it wasn't like we were close back in the football days.

Yeah its gonna be quite a bit worse. But I just hate soccer fields inside of tracks in general. There are no baller seats. It's just one big compromised experience no matter how much moolah you put down.

[Shockm]

Yeah its gonna be quite a bit worse. But I just hate soccer fields inside of tracks in general. There are no baller seats. It's just one big compromised experience no matter how much moolah you put down.

There will be a couple a thousand other Soccer fans who will be there with you that they “hate soccer fields inside of tracks”. However, I’ve got to say that I thought that while sitting in the bottom 15 rows to watch a football game was a good venue. Soccer fans will just have to deal with it.

[SubGod22]

Nobody likes football or soccer stadiums with a track, but you do what you have to do.

Maybe if our future soccer team kicks major ass they'll get a dedicated stadium built for them to use.