The Gateway Medical Foundation
The Foundation was established in 1991 by a group of Sedgwick County businessmen, along with the expertise of its medical community-representatives of our doctors, medical staff and hospital board. In the early years the organization’s primary focus was on doctor recruitment. Over time, its interests have branched out into many projects.
The Gateway Medical Foundation is also instrumental in assisting with continuing education in medicine, and providing matching funds in securing grants for the health center. The foundation is literally the fundraising arm of Sedgwick County Health Center. They received a memorial years ago that was set up for providing scholarships to college youth seeking a degree in nursing or in the medical field. These scholarships are available to youth graduating from high schools in either Sedgwick or Phillips Counties, and only the interest is awarded, thus securing the longevity of the scholarship fund.
Gateway Medical Foundation has a governing board of 7 individuals, dedicated to maintaining the highest quality of health care for the community and surrounding area. Gateway considers itself the fundraising arm of Sedgwick County Health Center. They meet the third Monday of each month at noon in the Board Room of the Sedgwick County Health Center.
As identified above, Sedgwick County Health Center has a wide variety of programs and activities designed to keep people seeking health care in their hometown. Accomplishments in our facility include receiving Trauma IV designation in our emergency department; successful State survey’s in nursing home and assisted living center, low staff turnover rates, and a high level of performance. Although we are a struggling facility like most rural facilities, we feel that we have been conservative over the years, which has made us more financial stable than our counterparts in northeast Colorado. This is an accomplishment that cannot go unnoticed.
In 2002, we began a successful journey in search of funding the expansion/remodel of the existing hospital and clinic, combining them physical and at the same time creating additional space for ER, radiology, lab, and physical therapy departments-total of $3.3 million! We restructured bonds from the Assisted Living Center, creating the original $700,000 for this project. Our own Gateway Medical Foundation then began a variety of fundraisers, pledging $100,000 in local funds, showing outside foundations our show of local support for the project. The remaining funds were procured from grants received from foundations throughout the state of Colorado. Having received the necessary funding, the project began in the fall of 2003 and the grand opening was held in September of 2006. We are very proud of this accomplishment!
When the hospital and clinic were combined, and business offices added to the east side by the expanded ER, an enclosed courtyard was formed. Before the outside walls could be enclosed, the courtyard was leveled, then sloped for drainage, and plastic and landscape rock added. Once the walls were finished, only a double wide door served as entrance to the courtyard. With no funding available, a memorial healing garden project began, and soon families and employees alike rallied to provide trees, shrubs, perennials, pots for annuals, and picnic tables/umbrellas and the manpower to create a beautiful, healing sanctuary. Recently a sparse corner was gifted with a large memorial fountain and grass garden. SCHC has beauty on the inside, and thanks to Colorado Garden Show’s grants in 2008 and 2010, we are looking good around the facility grounds.
In addition to the above projects and the expansion/remodel project, specific projects completed in recent years include:
Whirlpools/towel, blanket warmers for the Assisted Living Center and Nursing Home.
Emergency call system/bracelets for the Assisted Living Center.
Replacement windows/window treatments for the Nursing Home.
Awarded one nursing scholarship in 2021 and one in 2022.
Assistance with purchasing a ligasure for the hospital in conjunction with a grant from the William Stretesky Foundation.
Our project for 2021 was helping to purchase a new CT machine and a new Radiology Suite. This project was completed quickly and successfully..
2022 Board Members of The Gateway Medical Foundation:
Lori Ehmke - President
Mike Benson - Secretary/Treasurer
Lance Burnett
Anita Nein - Vice President
Ashley Baker
Dee Daugherty
Brian Lanckriet
(970) 474-3323 * 900 Cedar Street, Julesburg, CO 80737
