PLAINVILLE — Rooks County Health Center employees who helped organize a Haunted Hospital fundraiser presented the Rooks County Healthcare Foundation a check for $18,700.55. Over three weekends, 2,132 people, some traveling hundreds of miles, visited the haunted hospital located inside the former Plainville Rural Hospital, 304 S. Colorado, which is scheduled for demolition.

“Over 1200 volunteer hours and a lot of ingenuity paid off big for the community and the foundation,” said Darci Kimmerling, Director of the Rooks County Healthcare Foundation. “We can’t thank the employees of RCH enough for their time, materials and enthusiasm. They are the reason Plainville’s haunted hospital was such a success and will be remembered for years to come.”

RCH staff, family and friends donated materials and approximately 484 hours setting up and tearing down the event, but the bulk of the time donated was participating in the “live” productions that brought terror to the halls. “Our costs were low due to everyone’s generosity and in-kind sponsorships from Western Electric Cooperative, RDH, Crawford Supply, Stahl Products and Lance and Angie Armbruster,” said Kimmerling. “Social media and word of mouth spread the word quickly with very little advertising and after the first weekend of satisfied thrill seekers those channels blossomed.”

According to Kimmerling of the 2,132 patrons, there were travelers from Colorado, Nebraska and from Kansas towns as far away as Colby, Ness City, Beloit and Overbrook (south of Topeka) and all points in between. “They stood in line for hours, and when asked what they thought, they declared is was well worth it.”

The funds from the haunted hospital will go toward RCH’s new expansion projects at its new location north of Plainville, 1210 N. Washington Street.