MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center is nearing a major milestone in its effort to move away from traveling medical staff and toward a fully local workforce, a shift hospital leaders say is improving care continuity, reducing costs and strengthening the community economy.
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center CEO Benjamin Anderson and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Samuel Akidiva said the hospital’s emergency department is now almost entirely staffed by physicians who live in Hutchinson or the immediate area.
Two years ago, Anderson said, the hospital relied heavily on physicians who traveled in from cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Kansas City and Tulsa to work short-term shifts — a model that was costly and created challenges in consistency and accountability.
“We set out to transform our emergency department medical staff to be almost exclusively local,” Anderson said. “When physicians live here, shop here, and raise their families here, there’s a different level of connection and consistency for patients.”
According to Anderson, the hospital has now recruited a full emergency department physician team, with the final physician — who grew up in Sterling — expected to arrive this summer. With one long-tenured physician still living in Wichita, the rest of the team now resides in Hutchinson.
The hospital has also made significant progress reducing its reliance on contract nurses. At one point, Hutchinson Regional employed nearly 70 traveling nurses on short-term contracts. That number has now dropped to 16, with plans to eliminate the remaining contract positions by this summer.
Anderson credited Chief Nursing Officer Jill White for leading a scholarship and workforce pipeline program in partnership with local community colleges and regional nursing schools. With nursing staffing stabilizing, the hospital is now looking to redirect future scholarship funding toward other high-need allied health and technical positions.
Hospital leaders say the shift to a local workforce is already having ripple effects beyond the hospital walls.
“When you recruit an emergency department team that lives here, it’s like the Chamber recruiting a business with several million dollars in payroll,” Anderson said. “It impacts housing, schools, and the overall local economy.”
Looking ahead, Hutchinson Regional Medical Center is also advancing plans for a new childcare center designed to support hospital employees and other working families in the community. The project is a partnership with the Cosmosphere, the YMCA of Greater Wichita, and Horizons Mental Health Center.
The proposed facility, to be located just east of the new YMCA, would offer 130 childcare slots. Thirty of those would be dedicated to children with special needs, supported by additional staffing and space under Horizons’ oversight. The remaining 100 slots would primarily serve hospital employees, with the YMCA operating the center. The program will feature a STEM-focused curriculum developed in partnership with the Cosmosphere.
The total project cost is estimated at $8 million. Anderson said several million dollars have already been raised, with hospital leaders currently meeting with foundations about potential seven-figure gifts. If fundraising stays on track, construction could begin later this year, with the center opening by summer 2027.
Hospital officials say access to reliable childcare is becoming increasingly critical for recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals, particularly physicians and young families.
“We’re not just bringing in doctors — we’re bringing in families,” Anderson said. “Childcare is one of the biggest barriers, and this project is about fixing that here in Hutchinson.”
Anderson noted that during recent meetings with foundations, hospital leaders even brought along the one-year-old child of a newly recruited family physician to underscore the real-world need for childcare capacity in the community.
“This is about supporting the families we already have and the ones we’re working to bring here,” Anderson said. “And we’re committed to making that happen.”