A Moving Mission

Karen Kim, MD, is invested in making her workplace a healthier place. For Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Kim planned the “Shake Your Booty” event, encouraging faculty and staff to sign up for a colonoscopy. The festive event, which featured dancing and giveaways, promoted an incentive rewarding one personal day off with the completion of a colonoscopy.

Kim says the event’s inspiration stems from statistics. “I was shocked to learn that UCM employees have a screening rate of 35 percent — significantly lower than most safety net hospitals in our area. More disturbing, this low screening rate is among insured individuals, many of whom take the time to care for our patients.”

Ultimately, the event exceeded Kim’s goal, with 30 individuals signed up for colonoscopies and 65 pledging to complete a screening prior to Sept. 30.

Lorna Wong, executive director of communications and content strategy, appreciates Kim’s integration of her specialty and outreach strategy. “Dr. Kim’s creativity and passion for her specialization shines through on a regular basis, yet particularly through this event,” said Wong. “She really goes out of her way to not only make sure that her patients are healthy, but that all of her UChicago Medicine colleagues are as well."