Maurice Watson

Big news from Bloomstock! We are VERY excited to announce that Maurice Watson will serve as Bloom’s honorary chairperson this year.

Maurice is chairman-elect of the Husch Blackwell law firm here in Kansas City and is dedicated to many different causes in our community, both personally and professionally.

In his work capacity, Maurice represents public school districts, private schools, education associations and children’s hospitals. He speaks across the country on the legal rights of students and school employees.

Outside of the office, he is, it would appear, tireless in his continued contributions to Kansas City. He has served on the Board of Trustees for The Barstow School, the Children’s Mercy Hospital Foundation, the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, the Kansas City Art Institute and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals. Maurice has also given his time as a member of the Board of Directors of Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City Ballet, and The Learning Exchange. He has worked with FOCUS, the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the Heart of America Community AIDS Partnership.

He currently serves on the Community Advisory Council of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, the beneficiary of the annual Bloom party. The purpose of Kansas City Free Health Clinic is to promote health and wellness by providing quality services, at no charge, to people without access to basic care.

The Bloomstock chairs, co-chairs and planning committee are humbled and honored to have Maurice Watson serve as our honorary chair this year. His commitment to Kansas Citians in need – whether in the education or health care realms – over the years is inspirational.

Please join us in welcoming and thanking Maurice for serving as Bloomstock’s honorary chairperson!

THANK YOU, KANSAS CITY!

Bloom 2011 committee members Kurt Knapstein, Bill Pile, Kate McKinney, Scott Kaiser, Ryan Holmes, Anya Holmes, Bill Hans, Kiran Ross, Jen Greenstreet, Amy Jo Wimmer, Stacey Lukas, Joe Bellinger

Thank you all for making Bloom Hits South Beach such an amazing party. Crazy fun as always!

The Bloom 2011 committee (that’s a good portion of the committee in the photo above) met last week to review the final numbers from this year’s event. And we are ecstatic that $210,000 was raised as a result of this single event!

A record-setting $133,000 was collected in sponsorships, $10,250 from patrons and $30,700 in ticket sales.

$18,073 was raised during the silent auction, $13,850 was collected during the fund-a-need auction during the party and $4,325 was donated by folks who couldn’t attend this year (we call them “darn” donations).

A very solid six-figures will be going to the Kansas City Free Health Clinic as a result of YOUR generosity – and we couldn’t be happier.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all sponsors, vendors and party-goers!

See you next year!

Joe Bellinger from the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and Kurt Knapstein, co-chair of this year’s Patron Party, took a few minutes last
Saturday to talk about the Clinic and Bloom on the NBC Action News morning show.

Take a look:

The numbers are in:

$128,000 in Sponsorships

$18,025 from Celebrities and Patrons

$31,635 from Ticket Sales

$25,725 in Auction Bids

$9,350 in Darn Donations

$21,000 from the First “Fund a Need” In-Party Call for Donations

ONE AMAZING PARTY!

Thank you to our committee members, our sponsors, our auction donors, our patrons, our partiers, our vendors and to Kansas City.

With your help, Bloom is Studio 54 raised a

record $234,000!

Tonight’s the big night – BLOOM is Studio 54!

The Tivol VIP Patron Party is set to begin at 6:30pm with the Full-On Party to follow at 8:00pm. We’ll be eating, drinking, dancing and god-knows-what-else! Quixotic and Kaivalya Hoops dancers. DJ sets by Bill Pile, RaviDrums and NOMATHMATICS. Breakdancers, roller derby girls, ballerinas. You probably haven’t even imagined the sensory impact this party will have!

Starlight is in the process of being transformed. See you there in a few hours!

We’ve been talking lots about BLOOM and the fun, folly and general glamour that goes along with it.  What can you do to help beyond April 9th’s event, you might ask?  What can you do to support The Kansas City Free Health Clinic even if you are unable to attend BLOOM is Studio 54??

The Clinic relies on its wonderful staff and volunteers to provide high quality, compassionate, accessible health care and services for all of KC!  Over 500 volunteers gave 40,000+ hours of service to the Clinic LAST YEAR alone!  There are lots of different volunteer opportunities, many which you may have never even considered.  Please take a minute to read through them and give thoughtful consideration as to where your time and talents could best be utilized…and go for it!  The staff, volunteers and most importantly– the patients and our community thank you!

There are three (3) types of Volunteer Applications from which to choose. Click here to visit the Clinic’s website where you can determine the appropriate application, download and submit.  The Clinic also hosts several Volunteer Orientations each year.  Call the Clinic’s Volunteer Coordinator at 816/777.2761, or email suzannel@kcfree.org.  THANK YOU!

Volunteer Positions:

Physician: Provides assessment, diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up decisions related to the health needs of patients.

Dentist: Provides assessment, diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up decisions related to the dental needs of patients.

Certified Nurse Practitioner: Provides assessment, diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up decisions related to the health needs of patients. The CNP must maintain a Collaborative Practice Agreement as per the Missouri Nurse Practice Act.

Psychiatrist/Psychologist/Therapist: Counsels Behavioral Health patients from diverse populations and with diverse modalities. Staff supports the volunteer’s therapy efforts with psychopharmacology, case and care management.

Certified Medical Interpreter: Interprets patients’ complaints for care providers and providers’ instructions for patients. Interprets clients’ voicemail messages for providers and returns phone calls as needed. Translates brochures and patient education materials.

Pharmacist: Provides consultation to providers, medication education, dispenses medication, and assists with maintaining medication room.

Registered Nurse, LPN, and EMT: Provides nursing care in compliance with the Missouri Nurse Practice Act including: initial assessment, patient education, dispensary, laboratory, and provider support. The Nurse also initiates physician referrals to other clinics for special procedures, draws and processes laboratory samples, prepares and cleans exam rooms, and stocks supplies as needed.

Medical/Patient Assistant: Takes patient to available exam room and assists patient in filling out Patient Registration and Medical History forms as needed. Obtains vital signs, weight, and chief complaint from the patient, assists provider as needed, assists in laboratory and dispensary as needed, and cleans exam room after patient use.

Medical Student: Provides assessment, diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up decisions related to the health needs of patients under the supervision of a licensed physician.

Dental Student: Provides assessment, diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up decisions related to the dental needs of patients under the supervision of a licensed dentist.

Pharmacy Student: Provides consultation to providers, medication education, dispenses medication, and assists with maintaining medication room under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist.

Front Office Volunteer: Greets patients, assists with completing appropriate paperwork, files, charts, monitors patient flow, and directs patients to appropriate clinic.

Special Events Volunteer: Participates in the planning, preparing for, and conducting of a special event. Some are involved in monthly meetings to plan and coordinate the entire event. Others work the day of the event in setting up, registration, serving, monitoring, and/or clean up.

Administrative Assistant Volunteer: Collates media packets, prepares mailings, performs data entry, researches information, and assists with maintaining records.

Counseling and Testing Volutneer (CATS): Counsels patients who request HIV testing, conducts testing, and counsels patients about results. Requires extensive training to perform this volunteer assignment.

Special Projects Volunteers: Volunteer groups are needed at times to provide special services such as, painting, cleaning, sorting, copying, preparing mass mailings, etc. Individual volunteers staff educational booths at health fairs.

If you’re here, reading this blog, you know about Bloom. And you probably know a little bit about the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, the beneficiary of Bloom. But did you know how much the Clinic relies on community support?

Fundraisers like Bloom and grants are a huge part of the Clinic’s viability – but so is the support of volunteers and corporate partners. HCA Midwest is the largest single sponsor of this year’s Bloom is Studio 54. And for that, the Bloom committee and the Clinic are so grateful.

But HCA Midwest’s commitment to the work of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic goes beyond this financial contribution. They also provide the Clinic with other resources such as people and equipment.

When the Clinic helped organize and run a free Care Clinic at Bartle Hall in December, 2,300 people showed up. HCA Midwest provided substantial personnel to make sure those patients could be treated.

On other occasions, it’s hardware instead of personnel. Sheri Wood, executive director of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, recounts, “We needed a microscope and the next thing I knew . . . they had three microscopes for us and one still needed a light bulb and they wouldn’t bring it to me until they found a light bulb for me rather than my finding it myself. They’ve been great.”

In these times of health care crisis, HCA Midwest walks the walk. So, a BIG thanks to HCA Midwest – not just for their contribution to Bloom is Studio 54 but for everything they do for the KC Free Health Clinic all year long.

The mission of the Kansas City Free Health Clinic is to provide high-quality health care at no cost to the uninsured people of Kansas City. And that demographic is, unfortunately, growing at a pace that is fast and furious.

Contrary to public perception, most of the Clinic’s patients are people with jobs and families. They may have part-time jobs (often multiple PT jobs) in which they are not eligible for health care benefits. They may have full-time jobs but cannot afford to pay the premiums to obtain health insurance. They may have coverage which leaves them or their family members woefully underinsured. They may be self-employed and cannot afford individual coverage or may have been denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

In any case, these Clinic patients are our friends, our neighbors, our co-works and our family members.

At the recent Bloom preview event, David Wiley, president of the Clinic’s Board of Directors, spoke briefly about these folks and their growing numbers.

And he was also privileged to introduce Clinic patient Suzette. Suzette spoke very eloquently about her inability to afford health insurance, despite working several jobs. And about the tremendous impact the Kansas City Free Health Clinic has had to her life.

Suzette, you are an amazing woman! Thank you so much for sharing your story with us:

Bloom is the biggest and best party of the year in Kansas City. Bloom is decadent and sensuous and outrageous. This much we know.

KC Free Health Clinic, Midtown - 3515 Broadway, KCMO

But it’s all to benefit something that is altogether different – the Kansas City Free Health Clinic is benevolent, understated and humble. And an absolute treasure to the Kansas City community. The work done at the Clinic is so crucial to survival for so many of our neighbors, especially is the current economic state, that the Bloom committee is working harder than ever to make this year’s benefit a huge success.

Each year, the Clinic treats almost 50,000 uninsured and underinsured patients and dispenses over 20,000 medications. Services include general medicine, testing and screening (TB, HIV, STD, pregnancy, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose), HIV treatment, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, dental treatment and support groups. Without the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, many of these patients would go untreated.

All of this is provided to these uninsured and underinsured patients at no cost. Which, of course, means that the money has to come from somewhere. That’s where we come in.

KC Free Health Clinic, Eastside - 5119 E. 24th St., KCMO

Your support through your attendance at Bloom is much appreciated. If you can’t attend Bloom this year or if you’d like to contribute more, direct giving, contributions through the United Way and corporate giving are always welcomed.

Volunteering at the Clinic is also a wonderful way to support this much needed institution – physicians, nurses, mental health practitioners, dentists and other volunteers with medical backgrounds are always needed as are volunteers of the more generic sort, those who can help in the office, at events or with projects.

So, mark your calendars for Bloom on Friday, April 9th – and think about other ways you can help the Kansas City Free Health Clinic throughout the year!

Hi there! And welcome to the official blog for Bloom!

Hopefully, you already know that Bloom is a fundraiser for the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. And that it’s just about the hottest, most over-the-top, best attended philanthropic function in the city each year.

Bloom is often described as sensory overload – the sights, the sounds, the tastes, the smells and even the textures are consistently breath-taking. This year, it will be even more overwhelming as Bloom becomes Studio 54®…

Mark your calendars for Friday, April 9, 2010 and be prepared for Starlight Theatre to be transformed into a modern day version of the ultimate nightclub.

As the Bloom planning committee works to create this amazing evening over the next few months, we’ll be keeping you up-to-date here on the official Bloom blog. So, come back often and get all the behind-the-scenes scoop – learn about Bloom and the Free Health Clinic, meet our committee members and volunteers, even find out what people are going to wear!

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