Ellinwood District Hospital closing in on groundbreaking date

BY MIKE GILMORE mgilmore@GBTribune.com

ELLINWOOD —

Officials of Ellinwood District Hospital are closing in on an official groundbreaking date for a new facility west of town.

Kile Magner, hospital CEO, said that the date has been selected for within the next two weeks.

Officials are currently coordinating with project stakeholders and invited dignitaries.

“We do know the date, but we’re still contacting the people that need to be there and making sure that the date works for everybody,” Magner noted.

In the meantime, project construction company McCownGordon, Wichita, will be transporting equipment and containment structures to the 15-acre site off U.S. 56 on the west edge of Ellinwood within the next week to begin site preparation, in a process typical of large-scale construction projects. The area has been fenced and city crews have erected temporary utility access at the site for the project expected to continue for the next 18-24 months.

“There is quite a bit of dirtwork to be done ahead of time,” Magner said. “I think that’s pretty typical.” Hospital services

As construction progresses, healthcare services and operations at the hospital located at 605 N. Main St. in Ellinwood will continue as normal, Magner said.

“We’ll have the services we’ve always provided,” Magner said. “In the time between now and when construction completes we won’t be adding new services. That’s part of the reason we need a new facility; we don’t have the room to expand any more where we are.”

In place since 1952, Ellinwood Hospital and Clinic is a 25-bed Critical

Access Hospital and Rural Health Clinic. With a 24/7 Emergency Room with two beds, the hospital provides inpatient acute care, skilled swing bed, and intermediate swing bed care and many outpatient services: endoscopy, physical and occupational therapy, a full-service medical laboratory, and a full range of imaging services – traditional X-ray, CT, mobile mammography, mobile US/sonography, mobile MRI. The Ellinwood Clinic offers full family care, from newborn to geriatric care, as well as endoscopy specialty services.

Magner said the hospital has known for quite some time that they had a visibility problem at its current location.

“There are people who live in Ellinwood and the surrounding area that don’t know the hospital is here in Ellinwood,” he said. “And there are others that think it is a nursing home or that thought it was closed.”

He noted that when talks about a new facility first began, officials considered on-site demolition and construction, but because of its location in a residential district, space was limited. Having purchased the 15-acre site presents the best of all worlds, Magner said.

“Initially, we were going to build on the site we’re currently on,” he said. “We were going to continue to operate while we were building. The new facility was going to be between the old hospital and the north building that houses the church’s daycare here.

“What we found quickly in discussions with the city, however, is that the city infrastructure couldn’t handle the additional water run-off so that’s why we moved outside the city.

“What seems to be kind of a problem at the time turned out to be more of a blessing,” Magner said. “With a community member willing to sell us the land it’s going to work out better for everybody because we don’t have to deal with blocking off entrances or weird traffic control issues.”

As talks about a new facility progressed, the hospital did add services and personnel to provide additional healthcare options for its patients with a focus on physical, occupational and speech therapy programs.

In 2021, the hospital announced the addition of Troy Moore, DPT, to its physical therapy department.

Moore is a manually trained physical therapist who is able to treat the whole person, regardless of age. He practices all aspects of sports medicine; post-surgical rehab for all types of surgery, including hipand knee-replacement and rotator cuff repair; cervical, lumbar, and thoracic pain of the spine; and can help injured or ill patients improve movement and manage pain.

“Our therapy department has really grown,” Magner said, noting that high school and college age athletes are able to receive both in-hospital and on-site treatment.

Clara Barton looks toward public education, mental health model

BY MIKE GILMORE mgilmore@GBTribune.com

HOISINGTON —

Clara Barton Medical Center in Hoisington enjoyed a very busy year in 2022, with completion of its imaging department expansion, construction of its clinic in Great Bend and additions to services, programs, equipment and personnel.

The process continues in 2023, as the hospital continues to meet and master the challenges of the healthcare industry, notes Jim Blackwell, Clara Barton president and CEO.

“There are always challenges ... this never goes away in this industry,” Blackwell said. “We like to view ‘challenges’ as ‘opportunities’ to learn and improve our care to the next level. You improve if you constantly strive to reach the next mark,” he said. “Our medical staff is a great group of clinicians that strive for that very thing.”

Keeping the public informed is an important part of healthcare awareness, Blackwell noted. “We embrace any opportunity to provide information to our community, which is why we are excited to announce our next public session event slated for

6 p.m, Monday, Feb. 27, at Clara Barton Medical Center conference room, accessed by the Green Street entrance. The free educational seminar including representatives from Watkins Calcara law firm in Great Bend will encompass preparing healthcare directives in advance, with topics of discussion including durable power of attorney; healthcare directives and a living will.

Other priorities Blackwell notes that a focus for the upcoming year will turn toward the upgrade and conversion of the hospital’s patient monitoring system encompassing cardiac telemetry and patient vital signs. “Our new equipment will provide so much more for us and be a great benefit for patients as the current platform is aging out to 12 years old,” he said. With Kansas lawmakers looking at mental health issues in the 2023 session, Blackwell noted that the hospital is working to