Provider story

Community HealthCare System will offer orthopedic services starting in August. Dr. Heidi Smith of Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Center in Manhattan will take appointments in Onaga every other Wednesday each month starting August 11.

Dr. Smith provides care for a wide variety of general orthopedic complaints and injuries in patients of all ages and functional status. Her area of specialty is orthopedic surgery, and she has additional specialty training in sports medicine/arthroscopy,...

CHCS provides a number of specialty clinics each month in our Onaga, Holton, and St. Marys locations. Dr. Brian Beard is our June Specialty Clinic Provider of the month. Dr. Beard is a cardiologist with the University of Kansas Health System and Vascular Center, and he visits our Holton Family Health Center location. His colleagues, Dr. Joliff and Dr. Boolani, visit our Onaga and St. Marys locations.

Dr....

CHCS provides a number of specialty clinics each month in our Onaga, Holton, and St. Marys locations. Dr. Dagoberto Heredia, psychiatrist, is our May Specialty Clinic Provider of the Month. Dr. Heredia provides general adult, child, and adolescent psychiatry in our Holton location.

Dr. Heredia diagnoses mental health issues and provides medication and management of conditions including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorders, ADHD, OCD, ODD, panic disorders, schizophrenia,...

Dr. Tom Walsh, who moved back to Onaga in 1975 to practice medicine with his father, has announced that he plans to retire by the end of 2021.

“This is my hometown. I love the people here. I have enjoyed practicing here all these years, and it has been a blessing for myself and my family,” Dr. Walsh said.

Dr. Walsh was newly married to Marcia Walsh when he came back to Onaga, and they carried all of their possession in the back of a borrowed pickup truck. They raised...

CHCS provides an array of specialty clinics in several of our locations each month. Dr. David Cancelada, general surgeon, is our April Specialty Clinic Provider of the Month. Dr. Cancelada serves CHCS patients well because of his range of experience as a 25-year military veteran and specialized training in trauma surgery, tissue repair, and bariatric surgery to assist in weight loss. He is also known for a caring and calming presence that his patients appreciate.

Dr....

Claire Blumer, physician assistant, will join the Community HealthCare System Centralia Clinic in early April. Blumer will see patients Wednesday through Friday each week and is eager to develop personal relationships with her patients.

“No two days are the same in family practice, and I appreciate the variety of ages and medical cases that come with this field,” Blumer said.

She particularly appreciates rural medical practice.

“I...

Andy Barnes, APRN, will be joining Community HealthCare System full-time in February 2021. Barnes previously worked on an as-needed basis and provided care in the Emergency Department and family practice clinics at CHCS for two and a half years and continues with Stormont Vail Emergency Room, where he has been for more than 15 years. In his new role at CHCS, Barnes will work three days a week in Centralia Clinic and Onaga Clinic, plus continue to be on call one weekend per month.

“We...

Community HealthCare System received an allocation of 150 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, December 17, for healthcare workers. Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Nicole Huey received the vaccine on Friday, December 18. Nicole also took time to share her thoughts on the vaccine.

Why did you choose to receive the vaccine?  

I feel immunization is the only way to get control of this virus as natural immunity does not produce...

Community HealthCare System received an allocation of 150 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, December 17, for healthcare workers. Dr. Nicholas Cahoj was the second associate to receive it after longtime CHCS physician Dr. Tom Walsh. Dr. Cahoj also took time to share his thoughts on the vaccine for those who are interested in learning more.

Why did you choose to receive the vaccine?

I’ve seen a number of patients test positive...

Community HealthCare System received an allocation of 150 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, December 17, for healthcare workers. Dr. Tom Walsh was the first associate to receive it. Dr. Walsh also took time to share his thoughts on the vaccine for those who are interested in learning more.

Why did you want to receive the vaccine?

I wanted to protect myself from the coronavirus.

What should people know about side effects?

The...