The Rooks County Healthcare Foundation exceeded the $1 million fundraising mark for Stockton Medical Clinic at its "Appreciation for Rural Health" dinner and auction Saturday at Stockton High School.
The event generated about $63,000, and the silent and live auctions combined for $13,000 of that total.
Rooks
County Healthcare Foundation Executive Director Kathy Ramsay said that put the
total fundraising amount for the facility at "just over $1 million."
Ramsay said their goal is to raise $1.5 million, which will help pay for the building, medical equipment and furnishings. Doctors are slated to begin practicing by December, with the dedication Nov. 13.
Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., delivered the keynote speech for the event.
Moran said in his travels of the state, he often has heard Rooks County discussed as a shining beacon in the field of health care.
"We are known by our physicians, we are known by our hospital, we are known as a county that has figured it out to get together and make a difference in the delivery of health care," Moran said.
Moran also said Republicans and Democrats must work together to create progress in Washington and noted change and innovation must be created from the community level up.
"If we are not careful, we will lose what we have," Moran said.
Moran donated a U.S. flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol to the auction, and it sold for $625.
Loren Goodheart, Caring for You Today-Building for Tomorrow Capital Campaign Committee co-chairman, and Tammy Peterman, chief operating officer, chief nursing officer and senior vice president for patient care services at the University of Kansas Medical Center, delivered introductory speeches.
Goodheart communicated the importance of the synergistic efforts of those in Rooks County and reveled in how so many Rooks County residents have become successful in the medical industry.
"In small communities, you learn loyalty, how to work hard and how to get along with people," Goodheart said. "That will allow you to be successful anywhere you go."
In her speech, Peterman, whose father was a longtime physician in Rooks County, reflected on the history, discussed the present and took a glimpse at the future of Rooks County health services.
"There is a commitment from so many people in this county today to make sure there is excellent health care today and in the future," Peterman said.