Patient story

The Power of Occupational Therapy

April 28, 2025

April is National Occupational Therapy Month

Donna Gilliland believes in the power of occupational therapy (OT). After receiving OT services for 8 months post a difficult and eight (8) hour C-spine operation, she has regained strength in her arms and legs, making her day-to-day tasks possible once again.

Gilliland underwent the neuro surgical procedure in September 2024 to repair vertebrae that were compressing her spinal cord. Due to the spinal...

Rural Development: An Impact that Saves Lives

November 18, 2024

Categories: Patient story

By Jessica Bowser, Content Management Analyst, Rural Development - Daughter of a CHCS Patient

On April 10, 2024, I received a call from my dad asking me to come help him at our family farm there had been an accident. The front axle of my dad’s tractor had broken in half, and he had jumped off the tractor before it tipped over. When I arrived at the farm, my dad couldn’t walk. I called a local ambulance to transport him to a trauma center in Topeka, Kan., for evaluation of...

Breathing Easier after Pulmonary Rehab

October 10, 2024

Categories: Patient story

Roger Adams can breathe easier after his pulmonary rehab visits at Community HealthCare System.

In February 2024, Adams was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a disease that causes swelling and irritation in your lungs. In April of 2024, after numerous bouts with difficulty in breathing and enduring several trips to the Emergency Room, he was referred to pulmonary rehab by Sheila Talley, PA, Dr. Marcus Weiser and his cardiologist who suggested the program...

Set a good example by getting your colonoscopy

March 16, 2023

Categories: News, Patient story

Wade Talley, Centralia K-12 principal, is pictured here with his beautiful family. He recently took his provider's advice and had a colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer. Wade agreed to share his experience. Here's what he said.

"I'm 46. Dr. Weiser said I should do it. I had a clean bill from the screening."

"We've had teachers here who have been directly affected by [colon cancer]. For me, it wasn't about me, but I have kids and a...

Colonoscopy 'nothing to be afraid of'

March 1, 2023

Categories: Patient story

Olivia Hoffman is only 19 years old, but she’s already had a colonoscopy. Screening for colorectal cancer doesn’t usually begin until age 45, but because an older sister experienced some health problems and a colonoscopy revealed multiple polyps, the rest of the family was advised to get checked out.

Olivia and other family members came to Community HealthCare System in Onaga. Olivia said her colonoscopy was easier than she thought it was going to be.

“Everyone...

Get around to your mammogram

October 3, 2022

Categories: Community health news, Patient story

Hallie Beardsley was 42. She was a busy single mom to her two kids, and although she knew she needed to get a mammogram, she says she just “hadn’t gotten around to it.”

She’s glad she finally made the time, because the mammogram revealed a large mass that proved to be a rare type of breast cancer. Beardsley said she “completely lost it and thought it was a death sentence,” but her CHCS provider, Physician Assistant Jeremy Brandt, and...

Physical therapy helps Bob Avery push for progress

March 14, 2022

Categories: Patient story

If you visit the Onaga Rehabilitation and Fitness Center on weekdays during the lunch hour, you’re likely to see Bob Avery hard at work on the weight machines. He travels to the Fitness Center several times a week from his home near Olsburg to do strengthening exercises, and he sees a physical therapist once a week. He’s come a long way since a harrowing accident nearly five years ago left him with a partial spinal cord injury.

Avery, a lifelong rancher who...

Back in the saddle after Cardiac Rehab

February 9, 2022

Categories: Patient story

Betty Fairchild is back in the saddle at age 97, and Community HealthCare System’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program helped her get there.

After an aortic valve replacement, fatigue and shortness of breath kept Fairchild, who lives four miles outside of Frankfort, from the active lifestyle she had always enjoyed. She was referred to CHCS Cardiopulmonary Rehab by her cardiac surgeon, Dr. Muehlebach, from the University of Kansas Health System. Fairchild...

Patient's daughter 'nothing less than amazed' at CHCS care

December 9, 2021

Categories: Patient story

CHCS received the following email from a patient's daughter who shared her experience. What a wonderful tale she tells of the care her mother has received from our caring staff! We thank her for taking time to write and for giving us permission to share her comments.

Hello,

My name is Laurie Moody, and I am the daughter of Oleta Curtis, a patient at your clinic who is treated by both Dr. Allen and Dr. Heredia. I recently moved back to the area...

Birth Center delivers 'a joyful day'

November 12, 2021

Categories: Patient story

Annie Crumbaker’s daughter Emmy is five months old. Crumbaker smiles when she talks about her, and you can hear the pride in her voice when she describes her: “She’s such a happy baby,” said the proud mom. (Baby Emmy is pictured above in the arms of her dad, Kyle.)

Crumbaker was not all smiles the day Emmy was born. Although she anticipated an uncomplicated birth like those of her other three children, Crumbaker’s labor did not progress as expected,...