Since the COVID-19 pandemic started sending patients to Wichita-area hospitals in March of 2020, healthcare workers have dedicated themselves to saving the lives of Wichitans and others from Kansas and beyond.

Many healthcare workers, especially in critical care, saw more death and experienced more horror than they've been able to put into words. People go into healthcare to save lives. They care about patients and hurt deeply when patients die or experience long-term disability. They grieve with the patients' families and try to care for those patients as their families would if they could. 

With the trauma experienced, many hospital workers understandably sought positions away from bedside care. Baby Boomer retirements add to the healthcare worker shortage as does burnout from the ongoing moral injury of being unable to provide needed care due to arbitrary insurance and other restrictions.

We formed Wichita Hearts for Healers to let Wichita's healthcare workers know that we appreciate them, value their sacrifice, and are beyond grateful that they continue caring for us and our families. We want the medical community to know that they are not alone and that we commit to doing everything we can to support them.

We created the Wichita heart flag, a modified Wichita flag emblazoned with a heart and medical cross symbolizing that Wichita's healthcare workers are on our hearts. We hope that when healthcare workers see it around town on businesses or cars, it will remind them they are appreciated. We also table at Wichita-area events collecting supportive messages from the community that we then distribute to local hospitals and clinics.

Wichita Hearts for Healers is entirely volunteer-run and 100% of donations go directly to materials and operational costs. We welcome volunteers, donations, and ideas for additional ways to support Wichita-area healthcare workers.