Monthly KC Digital Drive Health Innovation Team Meeting
KC Digital Drive's Health Innovation Team invites you to join our 2026 virtual meetings on digital health. We have held nearly-monthly meetings for 13 years, concentrating on how digital health can have an impact on wellbeing in the community (medical, mental, and social). These meetings are dedicated to :
1.) Building community – and, ultimately, action – around good ideas happening locally related to digital health, though we bring in global, national, and regional perspectives to keep alert and fresh
2.) Keeping a mindset around “The Connected Health Community/The Connectable Moment”
3.) Driving an ethos, forum, and engine for digital health
AGENDA
Two unrelated, but compelling, discussions this month. We look forward to seeing all of you.
First, we will learn about Storytailor, one of the most creative health "interventions" in a very long time. It's bibliotherapy designed to turn a child's emotions and challenges into adventures filled with imagination and wonder. The objective is that, whether it’s their appearance, abilities, or emotions, every child should feel seen and valued in the stories they read. In health, Storytailor is meant to help kids heal with stories that soothe, distract, and spark imagination in tough times.
Storytailor uses AI to help families select a story type and personalize it. Even short prompts are sufficient. Then, the family can enjoy the story, create audio, download PDFs, and work through screen-free activities. Wouldn't you rather have kids using their screentime this way?
Taking us through this fascinating realm will be JQ Sirls, Storytailor Co-founder and CEO. JQ is a published author and illustrator with an MBA, plus a Certificate in AI Product Development from MIT's xPRO program. He is committed to providing a safe alternative for those who are constantly overlooked by the current system, whose perspectives may never be found on bookshelves.
We will shift tracks in our second discussion to what is happening in interoperability in digital health, specifically within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP/ONC) of the US Department of Health and Human Services. ASTP holds its annual meeting February 11 - 12.
We have asked KC-based expert Kendra Wyatt to give us a short recap of that meeting. Kendra will attend it with several colleagues who work in the maternal and child health arena.
Originally pursuing industrial engineering, Kendra shifted to health IT with Cerner for 13 years, working in implementation and business development. She left to co-found New Birth Company, a birth center designed to be led by a licensed and accredited advanced practice registered nurse midwife. New Birth achieved outstanding outcomes with over 3600 planned community births. She will bring this perspective as a provider to our discussion and be able to put ASTP's outcomes in the context of a specific and needy domain - maternal health data - an area in which she also collaborates with KC Digital Drive, Digital Health KC and many others.
Kendra has operated as a consultant for the past few years. Over her career, she has interacted with federal and state policy leaders, legislators, employers, insurance plans, Medicaid managed care organizations, and community based organizations.