May 11, 2020
NORTON, Kan. – Hospitals in Kansas and across the U.S. are celebrating National Hospital Week, May 10-16. The theme for National Hospital Week 2020 is “Where Health Comes First.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the U.S. and world, there has never been a more important or appropriate time to honor our hospitals and the people who work in hospitals.
National Hospital Week, celebrated the first full week in May since 1921, highlights the importance of every hospital, health system and person involved in keeping our communities healthy. Now more than ever, this important week gives us all the opportunity to highlight our health care workers and the innovative ways they are supporting the needs of their community members during this pandemic.
Norton County Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital and Level IV trauma center, has the Norton Medical Clinic and has a foundation, the Norton Regional Health Foundation. The hospital and its clinic currently staff about 120 employees, including one physician, one nurse practitioner, one physician assistant and one nurse anesthetist. The hospital will welcome three additional physicians to the medical team in September 2020. The hospital is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year, and it offers many levels of inpatient care, a wide range of outpatient services and several visiting physician specialty clinics.
Not only do Kansas hospitals, like Norton County Hospital, keep communities healthy, strong and vibrant, hospitals also benefit the financial health of the state. In Kansas, hospitals employ more than 97,000 people or 4.8 percent of all job holders and generate $7.1 billion in direct total income. Kansas hospitals support the creation of additional jobs in other business and industry and have a total employment impact of approximately 185,000 jobs. For every one dollar of income generated in the hospital sector, another 60 cents is generated in other businesses and industries in the state’s economy; thus, Kansas hospitals have an estimated total impact on income throughout all business and industry of $11.4 billion.
Take this year’s National Hospital Week as an opportunity to thank all of the dedicated individuals – physicians, nurses, therapists, engineers, food service workers, administrators and so many more – for their contributions.
Kansas Hospital Association information contributed to this report. KHA is a voluntary, nonprofit organization existing to be the leading advocate and resource for members. KHA membership includes 216 member facilities, of which 123 are full-service, community hospitals. Founded in 1910, KHA’s vision is “Optimal Health for Kansans.”
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