(KAIR)--A Jefferson County-based health provider is gifted thousands of dollars.

According to a news release issued by FreeState Electric Cooperative, a check for $15,000 was presented Thursday, August 29, to the employees of F.W. Huston Medical Center, in Winchester.

Submitted photo 

The amount of the check was kept secret until the time of the presentation, with the release saying the hospital staff attending the ceremony “were blown away and completely shocked” when the check was presented by Free State Board President Jeanine Murphy.

The donated funds were generated through an internal drive of the electric cooperative. The cooperative’s 80 employees and nine trustees raised $7,500, with those funds matched by FreeState’s primary lender, CoBank, through the bank’s Sharing Success program.

The program matches employee donations dollar-for-dollar, with monies annually donated to a nonprofit organization selected by the cooperative.

F.W. Huston was selected for the services it provides to the community, which includes radiology, urgent care, medical clinics, assisted and senior living, independent living, mental health services, pharmacy services, and apartments. According to the release, the rural hospital has served the area for 60-years and provides 160 jobs. It receives no tax support, and relies heavily on fundraising, private donations, and grants.

FreeState, which has participated in the Sharing Success program for the past 8-years, is the largest rural electric cooperative in eastern Kansas, and the fifth largest in the state of Kansas.

It serves nine local area Kansas counties while providing infrastructure to Fort Leavenworth.