Drs. Alana Longwell, Andrea Willhite Receive Summit Award for Excellence in Care
Date: 11/17/16
Above left: Dr. Katherine Friedebach, Sunflower chief medical director; Dr. Andrea Willhite; Susan Hood, Sunflower director of quality improvement. Above right: Dr. Alana Longwell and Dr. Katherine Friedebach.
Sunflower Health Plan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, has recognized two Kansas physicians with national awards for clinical excellence.
“We are proud to honor Dr. Alana Longwell, of Emporia, Kan., and Dr. Andrea Willhite, of Parsons, Kan., each as recipients of our 2016 Summit Award for Excellence in Care,” said Chris Coffey, plan president and CEO. “These physicians have demonstrated that they are champions of exceptional patient care, and the awards express our appreciation for their dedication to positive healthcare outcomes and improvements.”
Practitioners are selected each year for the Summit Award for Excellence in Care based on their exemplary performance in a number of quality measures. The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare has sponsored this annual award since 2008.
“With the Summit Award for Excellence in Care, we thank Drs. Willhite and Longwell for their commitment to improving the many lives they touch throughout their respective communities and for representing the best in quality medical care,” said Chief Medical Director Dr. Katherine Friedebach.
“Our primary focus is on delivering the best possible care to our members, and we could not do that without strong relationships with our network physicians. The Summit Award is just one way we can thank these physicians and their staffs for their ongoing dedication to helping Kansans live healthy lives,” Coffey said.
Dr. Willhite received her medical degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine & Health Sciences in Des Moines, Iowa. She completed her residency at Jefferson Regional Medical Center and is board certified with the American Board of Family Medicine. Willhite and her staff were recognized Wednesday during an award luncheon hosted at Labette Health Physicians Group. Labette Health Physicians Group is located at 1902 S. US Highway 59 in Parsons.
Dr. Longwell earned her undergraduate degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Ill., and her graduate degree from Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences, Kansas City, Mo. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Sunflower Health Plan honored Longwell and her staff Tuesday with a luncheon and presentation at the Cotton-O’Neil Clinic at 1301 W. 12th Ave., in Emporia.