ALMA, Neb. — A large crowd of Harlan County citizens and medical professionals gathered in Alma Saturday morning to celebrate health care in Harlan County and break ground on a new medical clinic.
Bruce Beins, chairman of the board of trustees for the Harlan County Health System, feels that this new clinic will be able to better serve the needs of people in Harlan County, which has changed a lot since the original clinic opened in 1971.
Beins and the board of trustees feel that the clinic will not only help cover the evolving medical needs of Harlan County, but will also help maintain a strong economy in the rural county.
"It's very important, rural communities survive with a few key elements. A good main street, good schools, and quality healthcare. Any three of those or any one of those three that you lose has an effect on the economy of the whole area. So being able to keep quality healthcare in Harlan county is vital to the economy of the whole area," said Beins.
One of the most appealing parts about the project is its cost to taxpayers. The new clinic is being funded almost entirely by donations, saving citizens of harlan county from having to pay more out of their own pocket.
Beins said of the funding, "We are raising the money for the clinic, the Harlan county foundation, health system foundation is a non–profit that is raising money and we have a fundraising campaign going on right now."
Beins and the board of trustees hope to begin construction of the clinic soon with the project having an expected completion date of spring 2019.
