Location(s): Onaga
A Personalized Birthing Experience, Inspired by You
Having a baby is an amazing, life-changing experience, and here at the Birth Center at Community HealthCare System, this is where cherished memories are born.
From our innovative care model that keeps mother and baby together, to our professional care team of experts in obstetric, postpartum, and neonatal care, our Birth Center offers a 5-star patient experience with a personal touch you won’t find elsewhere. We work closely with you, your physician, and your family to provide personalized, compassionate, one-on-one care for mother and baby – all in a warm, supportive, family-oriented setting that’s close to home.
We join you in celebrating your journey of parenthood, and we are always here for your family… before, during and after the birth of your child.
Step Inside Our Warm, Welcoming Birth Center
We invite you to schedule a tour of our exceptional Birth Center to discuss your personalized birthing experience where you’ll feel right at home – and right where you belong. Contact Katie Kufahl, RN, at 785-889-5122 to schedule a tour or to learn more about the Birth Center.
At CHCS, we offer you choices so you can tailor your birth plan to reflect what you envision for your own birthing experience. It begins with the unique design of our Birth Center and includes our innovative care model that ensures mothers and infants are cared for as one, by the same nurse, to facilitate teaching of skills and to promote family bonding.
This model of care keeps baby with the mother longer and allows the father to have a more active role in the birthing process.
And, since baby stays close to mother, moms and babies will likely experience more successful breastfeeding, which provides for optimal nutrition and immune system support. As a High 5 for Mom & Baby Premier hospital, we prioritize the bond that encourages and supports successful breastfeeding.
Our Birth Center nurses are trained to provide an expanded menu of options for labor and pain management and new infant care, all in keeping with our respect for the role of the mother. Our Birth Center features:
Dedicated labor and delivery team
24-hour obstetric anesthesia for pain management
Emergency cesarean childbirth team
Neonatal specialist referral relationship
Spacious, all-private rooms
Personalized and experienced postpartum nursing care
Queen size, adjustable massage bed for postpartum comfort
Safe, comfortable environment
Locked unit with an infant security system
Expert Labor & Delivery Care, Close to Home - With a Personal Touch
The CHCS Birth Center team is made up of physicians and clinical staff who live and work here in our local Northeast Kansas communities. You can get to know and trust your CHCS clinical team members who make up your Birth Center support network – before, during and after your due date.
The goal of our family-centered Birth Center is to obtain the best possible healthy outcome for all members of the family, both individually and as a whole.
Pre-and post-natal services are provided at all our local community clinics, allowing for close-to-home care. While you will travel to our Birth Center in Onaga for labor, your family physician will be by your side for delivery. With our CHCS satellite clinics located near your home, relationships with your care team can develop, ensuring long-term, personalized care for your growing family.
Award Winning Care
In 2025, the Birth Center at CHCS was awarded Gold Level status by the Kansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative’s Fourth Trimester Initiative. Among all Kansas hospitals, only 22 achieved Gold Level. As part of the Initiative, the CHCS Birth Center staff participated in a 3-year program and developed best practices for:
- Addressing social detriments of health and health equity
- Identifying each mother’s Postpartum Care Team
- Developing personalized care plans for each mom
- Creating educational plans on reproductive health planning
- Establishing ongoing insurance coverage
- Developing standardized screenings for childbearing-aged women
The Fourth Trimester Initiative is an innovative approach to studying and improving the birthing experience for mothers and families across the State through targeted goals and actions.
Comprehensive, Specialized Breastfeeding Support
The benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and infants are well known. As a High 5 for Mom & Baby Premier hospital, we follow all ten of the High 5 for Mom & Baby evidence-based practices proven to increase breastfeeding success. In addition to personalized, specialized lactation support and guidance, we make it a priority to:
Offer skin-to-skin contact for mothers and newborns right after birth
Feed only breastmilk to newborn infants unless medically necessary
Allow mothers and babies to stay together 24 hours a day
Do not offer pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants
Provide extensive breastfeeding resources to guide and educate our new moms and babies
A Customized Recovery Plan Just for You
We offer prenatal and postpartum pelvic floor therapy through our Community Rehabilitation outpatient services. Pelvic floor muscles can often become strained or weakened during pregnancy and childbirth. However, research shows that pelvic therapy can help improve or repair these muscles, reducing pain and leading to an easier recovery. Your pelvic floor therapist will create a customized care plan based on your individual needs.
Prenatal pelvic floor therapy can help you prepare for delivery by teaching you labor positioning, what to expect, and how to best care for your body after giving birth. After delivery, the goal of postpartum pelvic floor therapy is to return your pelvic floor muscles to their pre-birth status. This therapy can help you address any pelvic floor issues that may arise during the postpartum period.
Advantages of pelvic floor therapy include:
- Improved core strength
- Decreased pelvic pain
- Tightened pelvic floor
- Shortened postpartum recovery time
- Reduced risk of postpartum complications
Contact our pelvic floor therapy specialists to learn more.
Special Services for Your Growing Family
Keeping mothers and babies at the center of what we do, we offer these special services:
- Complimentary labor and delivery unit tour
- Physician referrals
- Keepsake birth certificate
- Childbirth, breastfeeding, and infant care classes four times per year
- Complimentary steak dinner for couples to celebrate baby’s birth
Ben Harstine, MD, FMOB
Family Medicine
Locations: Centralia, Corning, Onaga
Position: Physician
Medical Services: Diabetic Care, Emergency Department, Men's Health, Youth Services, Senior Care, Family Medicine, Birth Center, Women's Health
Ben Harstine, MD, FMOB
Dr. Harstine earned his bachelor of science in Public Health Nutrition from Kansas State University and attended medical school at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He completed his family medicine residency and family medicine obstetrics fellowship at Waco Family Medicine in Waco, Texas. He recently received both his family medicine and family medicine obstetrics board certifications. Dr. Harstine always knew he had a strong desire to teach. In the years after college, while working in Manhattan, he realized he also wanted “to be in the trenches with folks discussing the events and on-goings of their daily lives.” “Medicine became a place where I could use a natural interest in the sciences and human well-being to do a little bit of both. I want to be an active listener and teach my patients the benefits of daily exercise and movement to improve overall health." As a native Kansan, Dr. Harstine has always dreamed of living and serving a rural Kansas community. “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with CHCS as a medical student because my wife was from the area. I grew to love the hospital, staff, and community and I am glad to be joining an organization with such a long history of providing patient-centered care.” In his spare time, Dr. Harstine enjoys spending time with his wife Emily and their three children, working outside, exercising, reading and cooking. “Emily and I are excited to be back in rural Kansas, close to family, and are excited to make Onaga our home,” Dr. Harstine said.
Collin Connor, MD
Family Medicine
Locations: Holton, St. Marys
Position: Physician
Medical Services: Diabetic Care, Emergency Department, Men's Health, Youth Services, Senior Care, Family Medicine, Birth Center, Women's Health
Collin Connor, MD
Dr. Connor graduated from Emporia State University (ESU) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. He attended medical school at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He completed his family medicine residency at Ascension Via Christi in Wichita, Kansas. Dr. Connor did not always know he wanted to be a physician. It wasn’t until after he spent a year working as an AmeriCorps volunteer at a free medical clinic in Providence, Rhode Island that he realized that’s what he wanted to be. “After that experience, I knew I could use my gifts of teamwork, listening, and problem solving along with my love for learning and science to serve others. I also felt like it was a calling from God, especially how everything fell into place for me to apply and be accepted into medical school in just a few months. When I finally made the decision to apply for medical school I felt a lot of freedom. I had never been willing to attempt something so important or difficult if I knew that I may fail, but by entrusting the decision to God I felt at peace,” he said. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, listening to music/podcasts, reading, playing or watching almost any sport, and gardening. He plans to learn more about hunting and fishing and will be going on an elk hunting trip next year. Dr. Connor and his wife are both native Kansans and believe CHCS is a perfect fit. They will reside in Onaga with their three sons.
David Allen, MD
Family Medicine
Location: Holton
Position: Physician
Medical Services: Medical & Surgical Care, Emergency Department, Youth Services, Diabetic Care, Men's Health, Senior Care, Family Medicine, Birth Center, Women's Health
David Allen, MD
Dr. David Allen holds degrees from Kansas State University and the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita. His specialties are family medicine and obstetrics, including C-sections, GI procedures (upper and lower endoscopy), and pediatric services.
Marcus Weiser, DO
Family Medicine
Location: Onaga
Position: Physician
Medical Services: Medical & Surgical Care, Emergency Department, Youth Services, Diabetic Care, Men's Health, Senior Care, Family Medicine, Birth Center, Women's Health
Marcus Weiser, DO
Dr. Marcus Weiser graduated from Bethany College with a bachelor’s degree in biology and from medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. He completed his residency at Via Christi (St. Joseph and St. Francis) in Wichita and served as chief resident. Dr. Weiser is board-certified in family medicine. He is also trained to do obstetrics and performs EGDs (esophagogastroduodenoscopy), colonoscopies, and C-sections. He particularly enjoys teaching both third- and fourth-year medical students as a clinical assistant professor in the University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Family Medicine and as a clerkship preceptor for the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. Dr. Weiser enjoys caring for others in a variety of settings. “I love family medicine, and it is a privilege to serve others as a family medicine physician. I find the variety that rural family medicine offers both challenging and rewarding,” he says. Dr. Weiser was born and raised in northwest Kansas and lives in Onaga with his wife and five children. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, helping coach his kids’ sports teams, and, occasionally, golfing. Dr. Weiser is an active member of the American Association for Primary Care Endoscopy.
Nancy J. Zidek, MD
Family Medicine
Locations: Frankfort, Onaga, Holton
Position: Physician
Medical Services: Emergency Department, Youth Services, Diabetic Care, Men's Health, Senior Care, Family Medicine, Birth Center, Women's Health
Nancy J. Zidek, MD
Dr. Nancy Zidek graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor of arts in microbiology and holds a degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She completed her residency at Wesley Family Practice in Wichita, Kansas. She is particularly interested in women’s health and performs colposcopies and places birth control implants and intrauterine devices, or IUDs. Dr. Zidek is a lifelong Kansas resident and a second-generation doctor. Her father practiced for more than 40 years in Marysville, Kansas, and she knew from a young age that she wanted to join the same profession. She enjoys “being part of the family” and watching her young patients grow and mature into adults. Dr. Zidek is married and has two almost-grown kids. Her daughter, Bethany is married. She is a doctor and is in her Family Medicine Residency at Ascension Via Christi in Wichita, KS. Elijah is working in Kansas City. Dr. Zidek and her husband, Paul, enjoy being empty-nesters and are trying to travel more. They have two “spoiled mutts” and enjoy feeding hummingbirds in the summer, when they have up to 10 “hummers” who visit their feeders.
Hear firsthand from one of our CHCS moms as she shares her birth experience at Community HealthCare System. From expert care to personal touches that made all the difference, this story highlights the supportive, family-centered approach that sets our Birth Center apart.