(Aug. 25, 2023) – The Kansas Hospital Association's Distinguished Health Care Advocate Award honors those individuals, organizations or groups who provide an exemplary contribution to the health and well-being of the people of Kansas through their leadership in public, political or policy areas. This award provides members of KHA the opportunity to recognize those who work on our behalf from outside our ranks. At any level of the public spectrum, these award recipients are unique, and their outstanding commitment to the health of Kansas is extraordinary, including this year's honoree Ed Klumpp, legislative law enforcement liaison.
Ed is the legislative liaison for three Kansas law enforcement associations: The Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, the Kansas Sheriffs Association and the Kansas Peace Officers Association. For 35 years, Ed served in Kansas law enforcement, of which 22 years was at the line level and 13 years in administration, the last five years as chief of police at the Topeka Police Department. He is a graduate of the 182nd session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy. Ed has served on various committees and task forces including the Criminal Code Recodification Commission, Gang Free Kansas, the Driving under the Influence Commission, the Kansas Human Trafficking Advisory Board, the Juvenile Justice Workgroup, and various mental health and substance abuse workgroups.
For the past decade, Ed has worked tirelessly alongside the health care industry to improve policies to protect frontline health care workers. He has spent countless hours educating law enforcement, lawmakers and the public about the need to increase the penalties for assault and battery of health care workers. Ed joined KHA members in April of this year to participate in a media roundtable on protections for health care workers. He shares the law enforcement perspective of seeing the repercussions of acts of violence against hospital workers and how it impacts all frontline workers – law enforcement and health care alike. He emphasizes the consequences of this unnecessary violence to the community.
Ed and the law enforcement community have continued to partner with Kansas hospitals to ensure they remain a place where Kansans can safely seek the care they need. He not only explains how hospitals can partner with law enforcement but also how hospitals can work with judges to ensure crimes occurring within hospital settings are addressed and taken seriously. He understands the need for Kansans to have a robust health care system and partners to advocate with his own membership, and with Kansas state and local lawmakers, about the ways in which we can work together to ensure health care access now and in the future.
This year, Ed testified in both the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of additional protections for Kansas health care workers. He advocated, alongside our members, for the 2023 passage of Senate Bill 174, which increases the criminal penalties of assault and battery of a health care worker. His testimony and efforts were a key component in the adoption of this legislation.
On behalf of the KHA membership, I would like to congratulate Ed Klumpp as the 2023 KHA Distinguished Health Care Advocate! We hope you can join us in recognizing him at the KHA Political Advocacy and Grassroots breakfast during the KHA Convention and Trade Show on Sept. 7.
--Chad Austin