Next-level community care

At Columbus Community Hospital, our mission is simple — to improve the health and wellness of the communities we serve. While our services have grown and evolved over the years, one thing that hasn’t changed is our focus on community.

Every three years, the hospital joins forces with East Central Health District to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The CHNA looks at the four East Central Health District counties: Boone, Colfax, Nance and Platte. The goal of the assessment is to describe the population's health status, identify areas for health improvement and determine factors that contribute to health issues. Currently, the hospital and East Central are working to complete the 2024 CHNA.

Mike Hansen, president and CEO of Columbus Community Hospital, said he is looking forward to viewing the results from this year’s CHNA because they will reveal trending data on how different acute and chronic illnesses have evolved over the past three years.  Historically, the results have shown a high incidence of diabetes, cardiac health, cancer and behavioral health issues. 

The hospital works hard to invest in new services, health care providers and technology. Hospital leaders keep their mission and vision top of mind as they execute the strategic plan, which comprises goals to sustain and grow, promote high quality, collaborate and affiliate. As part of that plan, the hospital focuses on surgical services, workforce, quality of care, telemedicine and partnerships in order to maintain its volume of services and ongoing financial sustainability.

A look back at the past 

In 2012, the CHNA revealed obesity and mental health as two priority issues for Platte County. According to Hansen, these results led to the hospital’s wellness initiative, which began in 2015. 

“We knew we had wellness issues and needed to come up with a brick-and-mortar solution to address those issues,” Hansen said. “The Columbus Wellness Center helped us develop a population health approach to wellness, and we will further expand on this initiative with the opening of the Columbus Fieldhouse.”

In addition to expanding the wellness initiative and opening the Columbus Fieldhouse, the hospital has kept true to the goals set forth by its strategic plan. Over the last three years, CCH completed a $35 million renovation and expansion project that included the addition of a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab, opened a 10-bed senior behavioral health unit, launched its health science pathway and nurse apprenticeship programs, and added various providers, services and clinics. 

“We have an absolutely amazing facility for a town this size, and can do almost everything an acute care hospital needs to do,” Hansen said. “Our programs and services are top of the line, and we have filled in most of the gaps in terms of providers.”

Moving toward the future

With the start of a new year, Hansen said the hospital board of directors is preparing for its annual retreat. During this time, the group plans to review the strategic plan and determine the main areas of focus for the next five years. Following the retreat, the hospital senior leadership team will meet to operationalize the strategic plan. Among those plans is the development of a cancer center.

“We’ve had great oncology services in our town for a long time, but the system is a little fragmented,” Hansen said. “Our goal is to bring each of our cancer services together. That way, our patients can receive everything they need for treatment in one place.”

Hospital leaders are working to determine the best location and design for the facility. They are also in communication with Nebraska Medicine regarding a partnership for research opportunities, treatments and clinical trials.

Community is our middle name.

As the hospital has grown, Hansen said many projects have made him proud — particularly the surgical services renovation and the Columbus Fieldhouse project. But above everything else is the hospital’s culture.

“With more than 950 employees plus doctors and volunteers, it’s a lot of personalities to have in one organization,” Hansen said. “But the culture is simply incredible. The people who work here are second to none.”