From Norton to Hays, Salina to Hill City, Hoxie to Russell, Phillipsburg to Great Bend, and many other towns across northwest and central Kansas, Nex-Tech continues to power healthcare and directly support the provision of health-related services for tens of thousands of people. But why and how do we do this? Read further for details.

An adage that many of us will agree with states, “Health is wealth”. The quality of healthcare in a community determines the quality of life in the community, and as a result, this also determines the well-being and the prosperity of the community. For the many rural towns and cities dotting the western Kansas prairie, quality healthcare is an extremely valuable resource today. This is because it will determine whether families and businesses will choose to live or settle in that town or decide to live closer to quality healthcare. Community life occurs where people reside. Employment opportunities, businesses, educational institutions, and events are all established to serve the needs of the population.  The point is that all these aspects of community life can be negatively affected when there is no quality healthcare in the community, and people make the decision to leave a town.

The above is one of the reasons why Nex-Tech has intentionally supported healthcare and health institutions across our service footprint. They are essential to community life. They determine the quality of life in the community. They are important to the prosperity of the community, and therefore, they are important to us.

But how have we done this?

Typically, we have donated funds and gifts to health centers as well as hospitals/clinics. Sometimes, our leadership approves donations to organizations, and at other times, we organize fundraisers, such as golf tournaments, to raise money for health-related causes. See below for a list of some of the healthcare and health-related organizations we have supported.

Nex-Tech’s fiber optic broadband network directly facilitates healthcare services. We have invested in the latest fiber optic broadband technology and deployed it across our footprint to serve many of these health facilities. Our network powers telemedicine, real-time virtual care, electronic health record-keeping, remote patient monitoring, emergency first response, and more.

Nex-Tech broadband service may be considered a social determinant of health. This means that while we do not directly offer health services, our broadband access can lead to better health outcomes and lower the cost of providing healthcare overall. This is because most times when people utilize telehealth, they are taking advantage of preventative care – trying to care for a symptom, ailment or indisposition, and they are typically not in critical condition. In other words, more often than not, people who use telehealth are not in a state of emergency that requires hospital admission. Research indicates that telehealth users visit emergency rooms less frequently. As expected, therefore, the cost of preventative care is mostly lower than seeking help when in critical condition. This is another often unseen but vital way Nex-Tech supports healthcare for our customers and communities through telehealth access.

Some health-related facilities and organizations we have supported within the last few years are below.

• Brodstone Healthcare, Superior NE
• Castle Rock Health & Fitness, Quinter KS
• Cheyenne County Hospital, St. Francis KS
• Clara Barton Foundation, Hoisington KS
• Decatur Health, Oberlin KS
• Gove County Medical Center, Quinter KS
• Graham County Health & Wellness Committee, Hill City KS
• Graham County Hospital, Hill City KS
• Hays Med Foundation, Hays, KS
• Hospice Services, Inc. of Northwest Kansas, Phillipsburg KS
• KUMC Area Health Education Center, Pittsburg KS
• Norton County Hospital, Norton KS
• Osborne County Memorial Hospital, Osborne KS
• Phillips County Healthcare Foundation, Phillipsburg KS
• Phillips County Healthcare Foundation, Phillipsburg, KS
• Phillips County Healthcare, Phillipsburg KS
• Rawlins County Health Center Foundation, Atwood KS
• Rawlins County Health Center, Awood KS
• Republic County Hospital, Belleville KS
• Rooks County Health Center, Plainville KS
• Salina Regional Health Foundation, Salina KS
• Sheridan County Health Complex, Hoxie KS
• Smith County Health Department, Smith Center KS
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Salina KS
• Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital, WaKeeney KS
• Valley Hope Foundation, Norton KS
And many more.