Ashland Health Center and Comanche County Hospital - WEPAC Hoops for Hope

Overview

These two small hospitals and the five southwest Kansas communities they serve – Ashland, Coldwater, Englewood, Protection, and Wilmore – joined forces to benefit the women of their communities. The towns recently formed a non-profit organization, the WEPAC Alliance, which is dedicated to providing education and resources to help local women become more proactive about their health care. The hospitals and WEPAC recently collaborated on a project – “Hoops for Hope” – a basketball game to raise funds for breast cancer education, research and treatment. What started out as a simple local fundraiser morphed into a two-day event.

The highlight of the weekend event was the Hoops for Hope game between teams composed of local high school athletes and several award-winning basketball players and coaches. Many of these stellar players started their climb to basketball fame within the community. They include: the only female player to have scored more than 1,000 points in a single season, a member of the U.S. Olympic gold medalist Women’s Basketball Team in 1988 and the Bronze Medal team in 1992, a member of the USA Women’s Pan American Team, many members of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, as well as award-winning collage coaches and professional players.

Impact

Thanks to the participation of so many sports celebrities and the enthusiastic support of the community, some $100,000 was raised. Ten percent of that benefits the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, established in honor of North Carolina State University's former women's basketball coach, who lost her battle with cancer in early 2009. Ninety percent of the proceeds benefit the WEPAC Alliance to support cancer education, screening and treatment for women in the member communities.

It was anticipated that game tickets would sell out quickly. Therefore, additional events were planned so that a greater number of community residents could be involved in the festivities by attending a practice session, a tailgate party, or watching the game live on a jumbotron set up at the Ashland High School football field. The Women's health theme continued the next day at a Community Women's Health Forum featuring presentations by a researcher from the Kansas School of Medicine, the executive director of the Kansas Health Consumer Coalition, and representatives from the Department of Health and Environment and Cheyenne County Hospital. And not to be left out, physician and hospital leaders participated in a rural health forum.

Challenges/success factors

Anything can happen if you're determined to get it done. The five towns that rallied around this event have a combined population of only 2,500 people. Yet, size of the community has not minimized the amount of enthusiasm and support for this effort.

Future direction/sustainability

Hoops for Hope was the first of what will become an annual event held alternating years in the towns of Ashland and Coldwater. It was also the first of what is anticipated to become a series of events designed to provide women with the education and resources to enable them to take responsibility for their health.

Advice to others

Lack of size should not hinder any community from raising the resources it needs to have a positive impact on the health of its community. Women's basketball happens to be tremendously popular in Southwest Kansas and, therefore, something that could magnetize the entire community. Other communities have an asset that has just as much power to induce widespread support for a worthy cause; they just need to identify it.

Contact: Benjamin D. Anderson, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: 620-635-2241
E-mail: banderson@ashlandhc.org