About the Northwest Kansas Health Alliance

The Northwest Kansas Health Alliance began in 1991 in response to the federally created Essential Access Community Hospital/Rural Primary Care Hospital (EACH/RPCH) Program. The Alliance is composed of twenty four Critical Access Hospitals and Hays Medical Center, the supporting hospital. The Northwest Kansas Health Alliance, after twelve years of successful operation, is the largest formal Critical Access Hospital network in the United States.

The environment in which the Alliance developed was a frightful time for some small hospitals in various rural parts of the nation, as some small rural hospitals had closed, and many others were facing closure due to high expenses and low income. By banding together with Hays Medical Center, the eight small rural hospitals that gave birth to the Alliance found opportunities to promote the survival of their hospitals through increased efficiency of operations and collaboration at various levels.

Today, the twenty four Critical Access Hospitals of the Alliance and Hays Medical Center diligently work to promote the delivery of high quality health care while keeping that care local for the communities of Northwest Kansas. Through activities that promote the efficient utilization of resources, the delivery of high quality patient care, professional staff recruitment and retention, and strategic financial management, the Alliance is working to set the stage for the preservation and delivery of customer-oriented patient at a local level for the years to come.

• See a list of participating hospitals
• View a Map of our coverage area (PDF)