Sidewalk Project Provides Pathway to Better Health

Apr 24, 2020

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William Newton Hospital is the recent recipient of three grants through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas Pathways to a Healthy Kansas program. The hospital combined funding through three of the designated pathways to complete a $22,475 sidewalk renovation on the southwest corner of its Winfield campus.

“That section of sidewalk was entirely unusable,” said Ruth Bumgarner, William Newton Hospital Healthways Coordinator. “We identified it as a priority area because it is part of the designated walking path used by many of our employees, and because it helps connect the hospital campus to the Winfield Public Library, Winfield Recreation Commission, and other community resources. With the new sidewalk in place, our campus is more accessible to community members, and it is safer and more convenient for our employees to use the walking path.”

The sidewalk construction was completed by Conco Construction of Wichita, Kansas. Conco also made an in-kind contribution of $5,675 to help fund the project.

William Newton Hospital CEO Ben Quinton thanked Conco for its role in enhancing the hospital campus.

“Conco Construction has been a valued contractor throughout our $9.1 million project to develop the H. L. Snyder Medical Foundation Surgery Center,” explained Quinton. “New sidewalks were poured as part of that project as well, significantly improving the walkability around our campus. We greatly appreciate Conco’s generosity in making our hospital more safe, welcoming, and accessible.”

Local health coalition RISE Cowley is the administrator for Pathways grant funds in Cowley County. The coalition applied for and received the three-year grant in 2017 and has coordinated and facilitated Pathways projects around the county.

“Funding from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas’ Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant has positively impacted every community in Cowley County. It is exciting to engage community partners to make healthy choices easier,” said Becky Reid, RISE Cowley grant coordinator.

Pathways to a Healthy Kansas is the largest community grant program ever funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. The Pathways program provides community coalitions with the tools and resources needed to remove barriers and engage their communities in ways that enable healthy eating and tobacco-free, active living to become a way of life. The goal is to positively affect communities in seven key Pathways — Community Policy, Resident and Community Well-Being, Food Retail, Health Care, Restaurants, Schools, and Worksites.

The hospital fills three roles identified by the Pathways criteria, said Bumgarner. “We are a healthcare provider, an employer, and a community resource. We wanted to find a unifying project that would make a difference in all three of those capacities.”****