Physicians and staff from The University of Kansas Health System always take pride in being the official healthcare provider for the Kansas City Chiefs. This year, some of our patients got involved too.
As coin-toss captains.
It's the first time our organization has participated in the pregame ritual - providing the opportunity to participate as a way to honor someone at the Kansas City Chiefs 10 home games, including 2 in the preseason. And so they did. Unlike throwing out the ceremonial (and nail-biting) first pitch at Royals games, Chiefs coin-toss captains' responsibilities were fairly calm affairs: Watch the teams warm-up from the sidelines, walk to the middle of the field with KC Wolf, shake hands with players, look up to see their names and images broadcast throughout the stadium's massive video screens, and then witness the all-important flipping of the coin to determine which team receives the ball first.
Simple, and yet the ceremony helped spotlight patients and their lifesaving caregivers. Each week a different health awareness topic was highlighted. Patients and their physicians also were interviewed live on KCTV5’s Better KC morning show, telling the patient's story and educating viewers on the health awareness topic.