When Ed and Alice Archer moved back to rural Coffey County twenty-four years ago, it was a homecoming. Ed had taught for many years in Burlington, Humboldt, and LeRoy. He continued to teach at Waverly, and Alice worked in Chanute until their retirement.
The close-knit environment and community they so enjoyed became even more important when Ed developed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). He quickly found familiar faces and names throughout Coffey Health System with former students and the children of former students.
"It was God's blessing that we had moved back to Coffey County," Alice said. "Coffey Health System is our family—from the doctors and EMTs to the people who cook the meals, and the people who clean, and everyone in between."
After twenty years of treatments and hospitalizations in Burlington and at KU Med, Ed chose to live out his final days with family.
"We have really good friends at KU Med with the doctors and medical staff throughout that system, but this is home. He told me he wanted to stay here, and I promised him we would do that. He would be right here with our Coffey County Hospital family and our family."
Even after Ed passed away in 2023, the bonds continued, and a lasting legacy of his healthcare journey came to fruition.
Shortly after his passing, Alice became aware that the hospital’s Holter monitors only track for 24 hours, and often patients need to wear them for 48 hours, necessitating a second trip to the hospital. She saw this as the perfect opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. As a lasting tribute to Ed's experience at Coffey County Hospital, Alice purchased a Philips DigiTrak XT Holder monitor with some of his memorial contributions. The new unit allows monitoring up to seven days on a single battery.
"Before he died, we'd discussed leaving a memorial here at the hospital, and he was 100 percent in favor of it,” she said. “I know that he would be really excited that we found something so appropriate for all the care he'd received."
A Holter monitor is a type of portable electrocardiogram (ECG). It records the electrical activity of the heart over 24 hours or longer. Certain abnormal heart rhythms—or symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, and low blood pressure—may happen only occasionally, making it hard to record an ECG in the office or hospital. Because of this, the healthcare provider might request a Holter monitor to get a better chance of catching any abnormal heartbeats or rhythms that may be causing the symptoms.
"On behalf of the entire CHS family, we thank Alice for this gracious and generous gift," said Chief Executive Officer Joben Rieth. "It was put to work almost immediately and will undoubtedly be of great help to our clinicians—and, even more importantly, our patients."
Alice is thankful for all the love and support received during Ed’s staff and Coffey County Hospital and since his death.
“God has so graciously blessed me,” she said. “I would like to thank everyone for their generous contributions to Ed’s memorial fund to enable the monitor to be purchased.”