Kearney, NE, is Home to High-Quality Health Care

Area residents are met with high-quality, innovative health care.

By Patsy B. Weiler on January 17, 2024

CHI Health Good Samaritan

In Kearney, NE, your health is in good hands. The region is home to a group of leading-edge medical facilities that are focused on providing an extensive range of services, from trauma to cancer care.

Nearly a Century of Service in Kearney, NE

Since 1924, CHI Health Good Samaritan has ensured quality health care is available to those it serves – many of whom live outside of metropolitan areas – and has grown from a community hospital to a thriving regional referral center. Today, Good Samaritan is a 236-bed facility that encompasses nearly 800,000 square feet on two campuses. It is an economic anchor in the region, as more than 50% of its patients come from outside the hospital’s home in Buffalo County. 

A new emergency department opened in 2021, and AirCare emergency helicopter transport service is available, along with a full-service cardiac program featuring the new Hybrid Cath Lab, which just opened in spring 2023. Inpatient and outpatient mental health services are offered at the free-standing Richard Young Behavioral Health facility in Kearney. Plus, staff physicians at Good Samaritan regularly conduct outreach clinics in rural locations across central Nebraska and northern Kansas. 

“We are a vibrant and thriving regional medical center that is ranked among the nation’s best, earning a place in Healthgrades America’s Top 250 Hospitals,” says Curt Coleman, president of CHI Health Good Samaritan. “As a Level II trauma center and leader of a critical access network of 16 hospitals – one of the largest in the state – we are focused on providing vital services to our expansive service area.” 

A New Cancer Center in Kearney, NE

Based in Omaha, Nebraska Medicine has health care roots that date to 1869, and it is known for providing extraordinary care across the region. New on the horizon is an important collaboration between Nebraska Medicine and the developers of Kearney’s University Village to build a lifesaving cancer center on the site. 

The more than 53,000-square-foot structure will bring a design and construction investment of more than $33 million. University Village is an innovative, 104-acre, mixed-use project that’s being created through a partnership with the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). Located on the western edge of UNK’s campus, it combines educational, residential, recreational and commercial opportunities in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood. 

Area patients will greatly benefit from the center, as they won’t have to travel long distances to get the specialized treatment they need. A broad range of cancer services, including medical oncology, hematology, infusion, radiation oncology, pharmacy, laboratory, genetics counseling and survivorship programs, are planned as well as a healing garden. Support from and access to the Nebraska Medicine Hematology and Oncology team will be part of the hands-on support provided. 

“This new state-of-the-art facility brings the nationally recognized cancer care Nebraska Medicine is known for to Kearney. Patients in central Nebraska will now have the added convenience and seamless access to that care right in their own community,” says Dr. Michael Ash, executive vice president and COO of Nebraska Medicine. 

Courtesy of Kearney Regional Medical Center

Providing Innovative Surgery in Kearney, NE

As a physician-guided, full-service, acute care hospital, Kearney Regional Medical Center is providing expert medical care that is both convenient and people-centered. Previously only offered in metropolitan areas like Lincoln, Omaha or Denver, TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement surgery) is now available at Kearney Regional – the only hospital in central Nebraska to offer the groundbreaking procedure. 

“As patients get older, the heart valve sometimes can get calcified and does not open as well,” says Dr. Vivek Varma, a cardiologist with Kearney Regional Medical Center. 

Due to it being less invasive, the technique works especially well with older patients. Rather than undergoing traditional open-heart surgery, a small incision is made near the hip instead of the chest and recovery time spent in the hospital is much quicker – usually around one day. 

Dr. James Wudel, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Kearney Regional, explains how the body’s blood vessels are utilized like a road to the heart: “We can go through a blood vessel, and then we allow the new valve to expand in the heart. Generally, there are less restrictions after surgery.”