In Interview With Salina311, Dr. Kraft Details Vision for New Salina Family Healthcare Facility

Salina Family Healthcare marked a major milestone Thursday as leaders, staff and supporters gathered for the groundbreaking of its future facility, a project CEO Dr. Robert Kraft said will allow the organization to expand care, train more rural doctors and improve access to key services for patients across the region.

In responses to questions from Salina311, Kraft said the new building is expected to address one of the organization’s biggest ongoing challenges: space.

“The new facility will allow us to expand our rural family medicine residency program and expand several service lines, particularly dental and vision care,” Kraft said. “Our educational programs and dental and vision care are particularly constrained by a lack of space.”

Kraft said the project is designed to do more than simply relocate services. He said the new site will allow Salina Family Healthcare to serve more patients while improving how care is delivered across medical, dental, behavioral health, vision and pharmacy services.

The facility will also include a pharmacy drive-thru, a feature not possible at the organization’s current location.

For patients in Salina and surrounding rural communities, Kraft said the new space is expected to improve both capacity and efficiency.

“In addition to more space that allows for the recruitment of additional healthcare providers, the space in the new facility is designed to enhance our efficiency in providing care,” Kraft said. “Our time will be spent providing services to the community, rather than overcoming compromises made in the design of our current repurposed space.”

A major focus of the project is integrated care, something Salina Family Healthcare says is central to how it serves patients.

“When all our services are under one roof, we can integrate the care for each patient,” Kraft said. “An example of what this means to a patient is that if you come through our doors for a medical concern, but also have a behavioral health concern, our care teams work together to treat you as a whole person at the first point of contact.”

He said that model reduces the need for patients to wait for care at another location on a different day and supports a more team-based approach to treatment.

“You do not have to wait for another provider at a different location in the community at a future date and time,” Kraft said. “We have current programs to integrate each service line with every other service line and plans to enhance that team-based and whole-person care in the new facility.”

The project also carries long-term implications for healthcare access beyond Salina.

Kraft said Salina Family Healthcare Center’s roots include the Smoky Hill Family Medicine Residency Program, which began in 1979 and was built around training future family doctors outside Kansas’ largest metro areas.

“This model of training has resulted in over 80% of our graduates practicing long-term in rural Kansas communities,” Kraft said.

He said the new facility will allow the organization to expand that work at a time when many rural communities continue to face provider shortages, hospital closures and poor health outcomes tied to limited access to care.

“The new facility will allow Salina Family to train more doctors for our rural areas that continue to face challenges to healthcare access, hospital closures, and the poorer health outcomes that result,” Kraft said.

In addition to physicians, Salina Family Healthcare also trains pharmacists, dentists, nurses, behavioral health professionals and others.

Looking ahead, Kraft said fundraising remains one of the biggest priorities between now and the planned opening in Fall 2027.

“May 31, 2026 is the deadline to donate or pledge to help us meet the Ted and Almita Augustine Match Challenge,” Kraft said.

He said those interested in supporting the capital campaign can visit Salina Family Healthcare’s website or contact the organization directly.

Kraft also said planning is already underway for the next steps, including expansion of the family medicine residency program in July 2027 and the eventual move into the new building later that year.

“In the meantime, we will also be planning for the transition from one location to another with minimal disruption for our patients, which will be a big undertaking,” Kraft said.

Thursday’s groundbreaking offered a public first look at that future, as Salina Family Healthcare moves forward with a project aimed at expanding services, strengthening rural workforce training and improving access to care for patients in Salina and communities across the region.