WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — One year after it opened, a dialysis program in southern Kansas is shutting its doors.

The program started after a massive community push and a fundraising effort spearheaded by Harper County Health Foundation.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup costs later, the program is closing in August. It’s the only resource of its kind for miles around.

The closest dialysis program to this community, where Patterson Health Center is located, will soon be Wichita, an hour away.

Other counties farther west will have to drive even longer.

Heidi Greve remembers the last years of her stepfather’s life. He did dialysis several times a week.

“Towards the end of his life, he talked a lot about how his choices affected him and how dialysis was draining for him,” Greve said. “I mean, he was exhausted by the end.”

He pushed for a dialysis program at Patterson Health Center.

It didn’t start until after he’d passed.

“We raised over $200,000 from private donations. Then the Harper County Health Foundation did matching funds of another $200,000.”

The fundraising started two years ago. The program saw its first patient one year ago.

“The need is great, we had a waiting list of over 12 people, which is more than we could see, but every day that list gets larger and larger,” said Jason Wolff, Harper County Health Foundation President.

He says dialysis is becoming more of a need in rural areas. Patients were coming from 50 miles away.

Medicare patients were costing the hospital money because of low reimbursement rates from their programs.

“We knew that we would get less than what it cost for care, we were hoping that the commercial insurers would pay on time in full, and that would help subsidize some of the losses from medicare insurers,” said Sarah Teaff, Patterson Health Center CEO.

But private insurers denied claims and refused to pay for treatments. In the end, $200,000 in the hole. The health center had to call off the whole venture.

“I’m crushed because a lot of people put a lot of money and effort into this,” said Wolff.

Greve says her father-in-law would’ve been proud anyway.

“I just think he would’ve been so proud of his community and his hometown,” Greve said.

There aren’t any immediate plans to bring back the dialysis center. The community health foundation says the health center did everything it could to keep the clinic open.