Welcome to Community HealthCare System
Your health and well-being are at the heart of everything we do—because when you choose Community HealthCare System, you deserve nothing less than exceptional care and an experience that exceeds your expectations.
With more than 450 dedicated associates across seven locations, CHCS is proud to be a leading nonprofit health system rooted in a long tradition of compassionate, high-quality care for the rural communities of northeast Kansas. As we continue to grow and integrate services throughout the region, we’re making it easier than ever for Kansans to access the care they need, close to home.
As you explore our website, we invite you to discover the full range of medical services available throughout our system. You’ll also see how our integrated, team-based approach ensures every patient receives thoughtful, coordinated care—care that honors your needs, respects your preferences, and supports your whole health journey.
Whether you’re visiting one of our seven Family Practice Medical Clinics or Community Hospital Onaga, our caring professionals are here to guide and support you every step of the way. We make sure you have the information you need and the confidence to make informed decisions alongside your health care team.
Our staff’s expertise, compassion, and unwavering dedication to service are at the core of who we are—and we’re proud to be recognized for both excellence and heart.
Thank you for trusting CHCS with your care. We’re honored to be part of your health and your community.
Our Mission
The Mission of Community HealthCare System, Inc. is to Enrich the Health and Lives of the People We Serve.
We believe, in everything we do, our responsibility is to add value and purpose as we enrich the experience of our patients, our long-term care residents and every family. Most important, our single and only purpose for existence is to serve the people we have the privilege of caring for.
Our Vision
We Will Be the trusted resource for quality, innovative, personalized care,
We Will Be the integrated healthcare system of choice allocating resources to be responsive to the unique characteristics of the communities we serve, and
We Will Be an outstanding environment for our associates.
Our Values
As we work toward our mission, it's essential to reflect on the values and behaviors that ground our success. We have a responsibility to define how we approach our work—and to support and hold one another accountable in living those standards.
Deliver the WOW Experience
Live with Passion and Purpose
Enrich Our Communities
Do the Right Thing
Embrace Compassion and Kindness
Pursue Growth and Seek Knowledge
Create and Sustain Change
Cultivate Open and Honest Relationships
We model these values by treating patients with courtesy, respect and dignity.
Our History
The Beginning
Dr. John Koentz, who obtained his medical training in Amsterdam, Netherlands, homesteaded near Onaga in 1859 and established his medical practice. From these "horse and buggy" beginnings, the residents of Onaga and the surrounding communities of Havensville, Soldier, Circleville, Holton, Corning, Centralia, Emmett and Westmoreland have had continuous, professional medical care. In 1943 the Charles Day 3-story victorian residence was converted into a hospital that offered inpatient care for adults and pediatrics, emergency services, obstetrical and surgical services.
In 1955, the communities of Emmett, Havensville, Onaga and Wheaton came together to create Community Hospital District 1 and built a new hospital for this area in northeast Kansas. The hospital opened its doors in 1957 under the leadership of C. C. Stauffer and Roy Tessendorf. It provided the same services as the initial hospital with Dr. Fleckenstein and Dr. Eugene Walsh as the medical staff. Dr. Tom Walsh joined them in July 1975.
The Growth Years
The decades of the '80s and '90s saw tremendous growth, both in program and service development as well as geographical expansion. As the organization expanded into other communities, Community Hospital District 1 changed its name to the more inclusive Community HealthCare System (CHCS).
CHCS has always been centered on serving rural citizens. This focus was the guiding principle behind its expansion: recognizing the communities of its existing patient base and establishing family practice medical clinics in those communities to better serve them. By the beginning of 2000, CHCS was directly serving the communities of Centralia, Frankfort, Holton, Onaga and St. Marys. It developed a continuum of care services meeting the needs of patients of all ages with inpatient and outpatient services, skilled services, wellness services and programming, home-based care, senior services, expanded lab, imaging, and rehabilitation services.
Today
CHCS has added two additional locations in the past few years, taking health and wellness services to the communities of Corning and Westmoreland.
The health system covers a four-county area. Family practice is the core of our care and is complemented by a full array of hospital outpatient services. CHCS employs more than 25 providers. It is an award-winning health care system and an economic contributor for a number of communities in northeastern Kansas.
CHCS has always had its roots in caring for rural communities. It finds its strength in the relationships of our patients, communities, physicians and advanced practitioners in carrying out its mission: To enrich the health and lives of the people we serve.
Community Benefits
Since 1954, Community HealthCare System has had the privilege of serving the communities of northeast Kansas. While technology and techniques over the years are ever changing, at its core health care is personal.
The caring professionals at CHCS understand that and remain steadfast in providing programs and services that meet the needs of the community, our friends and neighbors, young or old, from wellness to emergencies and natural disasters, with a consistent aim to enrich the health and lives of the people we serve.
CHCS associates serve on civic, chamber, school and nonprofit boards, champion charitable causes, and provide hours of volunteer service to make our community a better place to live, work and play. Whether conducting free sports physicals, mentoring children in area schools, walking for the American Heart Association or American Cancer Society, or simply helping to make a child’s Christmas special, CHCS is giving back, getting involved and taking action when and where it’s needed most.