Locally Rooted. Stronger Together.
Amberwell Health exists so that community hospitals in Northeast Kansas can do more — together — without losing what makes them community hospitals. Each affiliated organization remains locally governed, locally funded, and locally focused. The shared infrastructure is what makes each one stronger.
We are not a hospital system that owns hospitals. We are a commitment that community hospitals in Northeast Kansas have made to each other — and to the communities they serve.
WHO WE ARE
Two Hospitals. One Shared Commitment.
Amberwell Health is the connective tissue between two independently governed, locally owned critical access hospitals in Northeast Kansas: Amberwell Health Atchison and Amberwell Health Hiawatha. Each affiliated organization includes its hospital and a network of associated rural health clinics. Together, they represent the largest critical access hospital system in Kansas — more than 700 employees serving patients across 7 locations in 6 communities.
That combined scale creates advantages that neither hospital could achieve alone: the ability to recruit top-tier providers and clinical staff, invest in shared technology and infrastructure, and develop leaders capable of sustaining excellent rural healthcare for the long term.
But each hospital is its own organization. Each has its own board of directors drawn from its community. Each has its own budget, its own foundation, and its own identity. Amberwell Health does not own Amberwell Atchison or Amberwell Hiawatha. Both hospitals operate under a shared affiliation agreement — one that gives each of them more capacity than they would have independently, while keeping governance and accountability exactly where it belongs: local.
HOW IT WORKS
What the Affiliation Makes Possible
Running a great rural hospital means doing dozens of things well at once. Clinical care is the mission — but behind every patient interaction is a foundation of finance, compliance, technology, workforce development, and more. When hospitals build these capabilities independently, they pay full cost for each one and rarely achieve the scale needed to do any of them exceptionally well.
The Amberwell affiliation model changes that. By sharing the following services across both organizations, we reduce overhead and raise the standard on every function — because neither hospital is building it from scratch alone.
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Finance |
Revenue Cycle |
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Education Services |
IT |
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Credentialing |
Marketing |
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Quality & Risk Management |
Human Resources |
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Pharmacy |
Leadership Development |
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Patient Education |
Legal & Regulatory |
This shared infrastructure does not come at the cost of local control. Each hospital’s clinical decisions, operational priorities, and community investments remain in the hands of local leadership and local boards. The affiliation handles the back office so local leaders can focus on what matters most: the patient and the community.
FOR DONORS & SUPPORTERS
Give With Purpose. Give Locally.
Philanthropy at Amberwell works the same way the affiliation does — shared infrastructure, local impact. Each affiliated hospital has its own foundation and its own auxiliary group, governed by local volunteer committees and focused on the priorities of their community. When you give, you choose both where your gift goes and what it supports. Gifts to Amberwell Atchison stay in Atchison. Gifts to Amberwell Hiawatha stay in Hiawatha.
What the Amberwell affiliation makes possible is a stronger philanthropic infrastructure behind each of those local efforts — shared donor software, marketing support, and organizational resources that reduce the administrative burden on volunteer committees and allow them to focus on what matters: stewarding donor relationships and investing in their communities.
Amberwell funds this shared philanthropic infrastructure directly, ensuring that local foundations and auxiliary groups have the tools of a larger organization without losing the volunteer-led, community-rooted character that makes them effective.
Amberwell Health is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. It receives no local tax support. The affiliated hospitals are also not-for-profit and are not subsidized by tax dollars.
FOR PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES & PROVIDERS
The Best of Both Worlds.
A career at Amberwell means joining a community hospital with real infrastructure behind it. You get the relationships and meaning of small-community medicine alongside the professional development, clinical resources, and organizational stability that larger systems offer.
With more than 700 employees and 60+ physicians and APPs across both organizations, Amberwell is the largest critical access hospital system in Kansas. That scale translates directly into:
- Competitive compensation and benefits supported by shared HR infrastructure
- Robust onboarding, continuing education, and leadership development programs
- Credentialing and compliance support that keeps you focused on practice, not paperwork
- A culture that values and invests in the people who make rural healthcare possible
You will be known by name. Your patients will be your neighbors. And you will have the tools to take care of them well.
HOW THE AMBERWELL MODEL WORKS
Common Questions
Is Amberwell Health a non-profit?
Yes. Amberwell Health is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. It is not supported by local tax dollars, and neither are its affiliated hospitals.
Is Amberwell Health a management company?
No. Amberwell Health is not a management company and does not manage or direct the operations of its affiliated hospitals. It is a healthcare system built on a shared affiliation agreement — one that provides shared services, group purchasing, and leadership support, while leaving operational authority with each local organization.
Does Amberwell Health own Amberwell Atchison or Amberwell Hiawatha?
No. Each hospital continues to be locally owned and operated by its own board of directors. Amberwell Health’s affiliation model is designed specifically to preserve local ownership and governance while enabling the resource-sharing benefits that help both hospitals thrive.
If I donate to one of the hospitals, does my gift go to Amberwell Health?
No. Gifts to Amberwell Health Atchison support Amberwell Atchison and its community. Gifts to Amberwell Health Hiawatha support Amberwell Hiawatha and its community. Each hospital has its own foundation and its own philanthropic priorities. Donations are never pooled or redirected across organizations.
Who governs each hospital?
Each affiliated hospital has its own local board of directors, made up of residents and community leaders. Governance is intentionally kept local — the people making decisions about each hospital live in and are accountable to the communities those hospitals serve.
OUR AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS
Learn More About Each Hospital Organization
Each affiliated organization has its own story, its own history, and its own deep roots in its community. We invite you to learn more:
- Amberwell Health Atchison
Serving Atchison and surrounding communities since 1914. Amberwell Health Atchison includes a 25-bed critical access hospital and four associated rural health clinic locations — Amberwell Eighth Street Clinic (Atchison), Amberwell Horton Clinic, Amberwell Troy Clinic, and Amberwell Lansing Clinic. With 360+ employees and 40+ physicians and APPs, the organization provides primary care, specialty care, and hospital services across a broad region of Northeast Kansas.
- Amberwell Health Hiawatha
Serving Hiawatha and surrounding communities since 1951. Amberwell Health Hiawatha includes a 25-bed critical access hospital and an associated rural health clinic in Highland — Amberwell Highland Clinic. With 270+ employees and 20+ physicians and APPs, the organization provides a full range of inpatient, outpatient, and primary care services for Brown County and surrounding areas