News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: November 11, 2008
For more information, contact Virginia Elliott, Vice President for Programs, 620-662-8586

Health Fund president receives oral health achievement award

Hutchinson, KS—Kim Moore, president of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, received a surprise while attending the recent Oral Health Kansas annual conference in Overland Park. He received the first Lifetime Achievement Award ever presented by the organization.

The inscription on the plaque described Moore as "A True Dental Champion" and cited him "for believing and sharing your vision of what is possible."

Moore has headed the Hutchinson-based Health Fund since its inception in 1987. The grant maker has awarded more than $9 million for oral health-related programs in Kansas, and was instrumental in the creation of Oral Health Kansas.

A statewide coalition of over 200 members, Oral Health Kansas is dedicated to helping the state become a national leader in oral health education, prevention, and treatment. Its annual Excellence in Oral Health awards recognize community leaders, clinicians, and organizations making a positive impact in Kansas oral health. However, the coalition had never before bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award until honoring Moore this year.

Based in Hutchinson, the mission of the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund is “Healthy Kansans through cooperative and strategic philanthropy guided by Christian principles.”  Its funding comes from an endowment established in 1986 by the Kansas West Conference of the United Methodist Church from a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Wesley Hospital in Wichita.  Since the Health Fund’s founding, grants totaling nearly $50 million have supported hundreds of health-related projects in Kansas.

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