This is the first story in a National Public Radio series that will explore how the closure of a rural hospital, Mercy Hospital Fort Scott, disrupts a community’s health care, economy and identity.
Across the country, more than 100 rural hospitals like Fort Scott’s have closed since 2010, under increasing financial pressure.
Because of public response, NPR added a Facebook page for public comments, see the last link in this feature.
Holding the check facsimile – Former President and CEO of Mercy Reta Baker and President and CEO of Ascension Via Christi-Pittsburg Randy Cason; second row-Kayla Stewart, Via Christi-Bryan Holt, Mercy Foundation-Bill Michaud, Foundation; third row-Nicole Brown, Via Christi-Brooke Newell, Via Christi-Barb Dunlap, Via Christi- Holly Ryan, Via Christi; fourth row- Becky Tourtillott, Foundation-Alysia Johnston, Foundation. Submitted photo, dated April 22, 2019.
Mercy Health Foundation Donates $200,000 to Ascension/Via Christi for Continuation of Emergency Services in Fort Scott
Access to numerous health care services has remained intact following the closure of Mercy Hospital in December 2018, due in part to substantial donations from Mercy Health Foundation Fort Scott, according to a press release from Mercy Hospital Foundation.
In their continued support of healthcare in the community, the foundation board agreed to donate $200,000 to the Ascension/Via Christi Emergency Department, Ft. Scott to ensure the continuation of essential health care services for residents of Fort Scott and Bourbon County.
Natalie Snyder, RN; Kristi Harbit, RN and Cheryl Koppa, RN, all of Fort Scott are members of the Ascension Via Christi staff in Fort Scott. This photo was taken the day of the grand opening of the Ascension Via Christi Emergency Department, Feb. 28.
Emergency care, lab, and radiology services are currently available at the prior Mercy location, 403 Woodlands Blvd., south of Fort Scott, just off 69 Hwy. and are being provided by Ascension/Via Christi. The funds are intended to facilitate technology and equipment for the emergency services.
Funds donated by Mercy Health Foundation will assist Ascension/Via Christi with costs associated to support a lab interface with the electronic health record and documentation system, a Lucas chest compression system, space lab patient monitors, iStat lab equipment, EKG TC 70 wireless, and a CT power injector, according to the Mercy Foundation press release.
Earlier this year, Mercy Health Foundation donated $300,000 to Community Health Center, who now provides clinical services in the former Mercy Hospital Clinic. That CHC clinic includes a primary care physicians office area, laboratory, x-ray and mammogram services. In addition, it provides convenient care at the location at 1624 S. National Avenue.
Mercy Health Foundation—Fort Scott, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and the following are members: Jared Leek, chair; Chris Petty, vice chair; Bryan Holt, treasurer; Becky Tourtillott, secretary; Alysia Johnston, Mark McCoy, Bill Michaud, Jolynne Mitchell, Pat Neff, Colleen Quick and Darcy Smith, according to the website:
This follows the closure of Mercy Hospital Fort Scott in December 2018.
Under the agreement between Mercy Hospital and Ascension Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, the latter now manages emergency and outpatient services at the Fort Scott hospital location.
Mercy Hospital Fort Scott signed an agreement with Ascension Via Christi to provide equipment and furnishings for emergency room services.
Mercy Hospital’s President Reta Baker signed an agreement with Ascension Via Christi on Jan. 27 to provide emergency room services at the hospital that ends for Mercy today, Jan. 31.
“It is an agreement that Mercy will provide lease space and provide the necessary equipment and furnishings to provide the services of an emergency room,” Baker said.
The Mercy Emergency Room waiting area, January 2019.
One issue: there is a gap between the Mercy closing date and when Via Christi will get regulatory approval to provide emergency room services.
“Before Via Christi can operate ER services in this setting and building, they have to have a license from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment,” Baker said. “It takes time. It has steps…I think all the parties engaged will work as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
She is estimating a few weeks, but it could be more, she said.
Baker said the ambulance service will take patients to area emergency rooms in the meantime.
“If they call 911, they will take the patient to the closest appropriate ER,” Baker said. “Or if a person wants to take themselves, they could choose which ER they can go to. Pittsburg, Girard, Nevada, Iola, Olathe, Overland Park…all the ER’s are aware of the need.”
The Mercy ambulance service continues under Mercy operation until April 1, then Bourbon County will become the owners, she said.
Reta Baker. Courtesy photo.
Baker also addressed the following questions:
What about the hospital pharmacy?
“The pharmacy will continue to operate under Mercy until April 1, then operate under the Community Health Center.”
Mammography?
“Mammography is under CHC.”
Radiology?
“Radiology will be available under Via Christi.”
The administration wing of the hospital will be a Mercy hub work-site, Baker said. “There will be 15 employees working out of the building. (They will have)An assortment of responsibilities to support the business functions of Mercy Regional .”
The patient room wing of the hospital has been partitioned off to prevent the public from entering the area, she said.
Even though it is a sad time, it is an exciting one, she said.
“It’s an exciting new opportunity,” Baker said. “And a new model of care for the community.
“The (Mercy Hospital) emergency room will operate as Mercy until Feb. 1,” said Tina Rockhold, whose last day as the communication director for Mercy Hospital Fort Scott was Dec. 28.
“The emergency room is open as usual until Jan. 31,” Reta Baker, Mercy Hospital Administrator, said. “The clinics are available and open until January 31, then will continue as Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas.”
“Convenient Care is closed Jan. 1 (because of the New Year’s holiday) and will be open Jan 2, with the same hours and phone number,” Baker said.
The phone numbers will remain the same for the clinics, Rockhold said.
Mercy Convenient Care on National Avenue’s phone number is 620-223-8428. Mercy’s Clinic at the hospital is 223-8402. The Mercy Emergency Room can be contacted by phone through the main Mercy phone line at 223-2200.
The clinics scheduled transitions are as follows:
Mercy Clinic Family Medicine Linn County, located at 11155 Tucker Road, Pleasanton, Kansas, will transition to CHC/SEK effective January 1, 2019
Mercy Clinic Family Medicine Arma, located at 601 E. Washington Street, Arma, Kansas, will transition to CHC/SEK effective January 1, 2019
Mercy Clinic Fort Scott, located at 403 Woodland Hills Boulevard, Fort Scott, Kansas, will transition to CHC/SEK effective February 1, 2019
Mercy Convenient Care National, located at 1624 S. National Avenue, Fort Scott, Kansas, will transition to CHC/SEK effective February 1, 2019
Patients who plan to transition care the CHC are required to complete a medical release form.
This will allow past medical records to be uploaded into the CHC/SEK electronic health records so providers can view a patient’s medical history once they are seen as CHC/SEK patients.
Parents and guardians may complete a release of medical records for those patients less than 18 years old. A durable power of attorney designation is necessary to complete a form for anyone older than 18 who is unable to sign.
Filling out online takes about 10 minutes or less.
To complete a hard copy form, please contact Jessica Marsh at jessica.marsh@mercy.net or call 620-223-8515. Completed forms may be mailed to Jessica Marsh; Mercy Fort Scott Medical Records; 401 Woodland Hills Blvd.; Fort Scott, KS, 66701.
Pictured (front, L-R): Colleen Quick, Mercy Health Foundation board member; Krista Postai, CEO of CHC/SEK; and Daniel Creitz, CHC/SEK general counsel; (back, L-R) Bryan Holt, Mercy Health Foundation treasurer; Chris Petty, Mercy Health Foundation vice chair; and Jason Wesco, CHC/SEK executive vice president.
Access to numerous health care services will remain intact following the closure of Mercy Hospital due in part to a substantial donation from Mercy Health Foundation Fort Scott. The foundation board agreed to donate $300,000 to Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas to ensure the continuation of essential health care services in Fort Scott and Bourbon County.
Mercy Health Foundation board members presented the check for $300,000 to CHC/SEK leadership on Tuesday, December 18.
Many services currently offered by Mercy will transition to CHC/SEK in Fort Scott effective February 1. The services include:
A primary care clinic consisting of Dr. Katrina Burke, Dr. P.K. Gugnani, Dr. Maxwell Self, and numerous nurse practitioners.
Convenient Care located at 1624 S. National will also transition to CHC/SEK effective February 1. Hours of the convenient care clinic will remain the same.
Pre-natal care will continue to be offered with Dr. Larry Seals and Dr. Katrina Burke.
Lab, x-ray, and mammograms.
Future expansion of services by CHC/SEK which will likely include dental care, behavioral health and transportation services.
Funds donated by Mercy Health Foundation will assist CHC/SEK with start-up costs associated to support a new electronic health record and documentation system, computers, phones, printers and other business-related devices necessary to manage a clinic.
Mercy Health Foundation—Fort Scott, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, raises money and community awareness for Mercy Hospital. It is dependent on the support of individuals, corporations and foundations to help Mercy meet community health care needs. Mercy Health Foundation invests its philanthropic support in facilities and the advancement of technologies and programs to enhance Mercy’s ability to provide excellence in health care. For more information, visit mercy.net/giving.
Front Row—Roger “Skipper” Brown, May Viles, LaShawn Noel, and W.W. O’Bryan. Back Row– Rebecca Davied, Brian Studer, and Jim Barrows
Every December Mercy Hospice volunteers take time out of their schedules to give back by baking cookies and making cookie trays for the patients that are served by Mercy Hospice.
Since July of 2012 Mercy Hospice has served patients and families within a 50-mile radius needing end of life care. Each December volunteers take time to bake and or purchase cookies and prepare cookie trays. All kinds of cookies from no bake, sugar, snickerdoodle, oatmeal and chocolate chip to name a few that are brought in to make a great assortment for the cookie trays for our patients and families. This year, 57 dozen cookies were donated.
Along with the cookies, patients are given a blanket and a copy of the holiday edition of The Daily Bread. When delivered. “This is one way that all of our volunteers can participate and give back to the patients,” said LaShawn Noel, Volunteer Coordinator and Social Worker.
“As we move forward in the coming months our name will soon change, as we have partnered with Integrity Home Care + Hospice to continue to provide end of life care in our community. Although the name will be different our staff and our service will continue to be the same.” Rebecca Davied, Director of Mercy Home Health and Hospice. “We want to thank the community for its ongoing support this last six year.”
Would you like to be a volunteer?
Mercy Hospice is always looking for volunteers age 18 or older. If anyone is interested in becoming a volunteer or would want more information they can contact Mercy Hospice at 620-223-8090 or volunteer Coordinator LaShawn Noel at 620-223-8532 to learn more.
Stephanie Hinton, medical assistant III, and Greg King, orthopedic nurse practitioner, received five-star honors for patient care.
Mercy is pleased to announce Greg King, orthopedic nurse practitioner, plus the Mercy Clinic Orthopedic team of King and medical assistant III Stephanie Hinton, have earned the Professional Research Consultants, Inc. (PRC) Five-Star Excellence Award for Provider Services and Overall Care.
The five-star award ranks King and the orthopedic practice in the top 10 percent nationally for “excellent” responses in patient satisfaction surveys.
“I am truly honored and humbled that the people in my hometown place their trust in my care,” King said. “Stephanie and I try our best every day to serve patients in our health care region with compassionate, thoughtful and competent orthopedic care.”
“Receiving this recognition is very nice,” King added. “At the same time, I think these awards say just as much about the quality and character of our patrons who take the time to say a few nice words about their caregivers in a survey. We are fortunate to be able to play a part in the health care for this wonderful community and the surrounding area.”
As nurse practitioner, King offers orthopedic evaluations, joint injections, sports medicine treatment, fracture casting and care, as well as emergency department coverage.
A task force began in October 2018 following the announcing of the closure of Mercy Hospital Fort Scott.
That task force has been meeting weekly since, to work on issues regarding the need for emergency medical services following the closure of Mercy.
“There is a statute that counties are to provide EMS services,” Dave Bruner, a member of the task force said.
“What is in concrete at this point is that the county and the city have signed a contract to provide a service for a year,” Bruner said.
Since both the City of Fort Scott and Bourbon County Commission had already set their budget for 2019 prior to the announcement of Mercy closing, it put them in an uncertain financial position to provide those emergency medical services.
Fort Scott City Hall
“We said ‘let’s put this together and after a year, look at the contract’,” Bruner said.
“When Mercy announced the closure, they have to give 180 days notice,” Bruner said. “So April 1 is when we will be fully Bourbon County EMS.”
“In the meantime from Jan. 1 to April 1, there will be a change of labels on the ambulances,” he said. “Mercy is obligated until April 1. They will still be employees of Mercy.”
There are currently six full-time employees and 16 part-time employees of Mercy EMS.
“We are going to do our best to retain all of them,” Bruner said. “The city will run the day to day operations of the service-the staffing of ambulances and dispatch.”
The county will pay a subsidy to the city and handle the billing.
“There is a goal to establish a third-party entity to do the billing for the county,” Bruner said.
“The first responders (in emergency situations) in the small towns will continue to be local volunteer fire departments and EMT’s,” he said.
This provides help until the ambulance can arrive on sight of the emergency.
“The goal is to keep the same familiar faces,” Bruner said. “The only thing that will change will be the names on the ambulance and the uniforms.”
“My goal is to give the EMS a place to call their own facility,” he said
Currently, the task force is in negotiations.
“We don’t have a list of what Mercy is donating yet,” Justin Meeks, Bourbon County Legal Counselor said.
“We hope donations will be finalized by Dec. 18,” Meeks said.
Under discussion in negotiations are vehicles, equipment and facilities.
The task force is comprised of Nick Ruhl, Meeks, Jody Hoener from the county; Dave Martin, Bruner, Robert Uhler, Paul Ballou, Rhonda Dunn and Deb Needleman from the city; and Christi Keating from Mercy.
For the fourth consecutive year, Trina Arndt, RN; Dr. Larry Seals, OBGYN; and Crystal Roberts, RN; rank in the nation’s top 10 percent through patient surveys by PRC.
Patient satisfaction scores rank him/team in the nation’s top 10 percent
Forget about a three-peat: Dr. Larry Seals and his team take it another level.
For the fourth consecutive year, Seals and the Mercy Clinic Fort Scott OB/GYN team have earned the Professional Research Consultants, Inc. (PRC) Five-Star Excellence Award for Provider Services and Overall Care.
Once again, Seals has been recognized for scoring in the top 10 percent nationally for “excellent” responses in patient satisfaction surveys.
Like a legendary sports teams, consecutive awards take commitment and hard work. Going into his 32nd years in practice – and thousands and thousands of beautiful babies delivered in his hands – Seals gives all the credit to teamwork.
“I’m happy because my nursing staff does a great job of treating patients with superb clinical skill and unmatched compassion,” Seals said.
Seals attributes his practice’s success to putting patients first.
“When precious life in your hands, it’s important to empathize and share genuine care for everyone,” he added. “Every day we give our best to those who trust us for excellent medical care and understanding.”
Patients who cannot afford a mammogram because they are uninsured or underinsured will benefit from a $3,000 donation from Mercy Health Foundation Fort Scott.
Between now and Dec. 31, 2018, patients who are due for a mammogram and have not received the screening are encouraged to take advantage of this offer at Mercy Hospital Fort Scott. Funds donated by Mercy Health Foundation are used to provide mammograms and breast imaging for patients who meet certain criteria such as those not insured, or insured but their coverage does not include mammograms.
Funds are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For more information about digital mammography or to schedule a mammography appointment online, visit mercy.net/ScheduleMammo or call Mercy’s Imagining Services at 620-223-7015.
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Mercy Health Foundation—Fort Scott, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, raises money and community awareness for Mercy Hospital. It is dependent on the support of individuals, corporations and foundations to help Mercy meet community health care needs. Mercy Health Foundation invests its philanthropic support in facilities and the advancement of technologies and programs to enhance Mercy’s ability to provide excellence in health care. For more information, visit mercy.net/giving.
Medical Release Needed for Mercy Clinic Patients Transitioning to CHC/SEK
Current Mercy Clinic patients who plan to transition health care services to the new Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) located in either Fort Scott, Arma or Linn County, are required to complete a release of medical records to transfer documents. This will allow past medical records to be uploaded into the CHC/SEK electronic health records so providers can view a patient’s medical history once they are seen as CHC/SEK patients.
Parents and guardians may complete a release of medical records for those patients less than 18 years old. A durable power of attorney designation is necessary to complete a form for anyone older than 18 who is unable to sign.
To complete a hard copy form, please contact Jessica Marsh at jessica.marsh@mercy.net or call 620-223-8515. Completed forms may be mailed to Jessica Marsh; Mercy Fort Scott Medical Records; 401 Woodland Hills Blvd.; Fort Scott, KS, 66701.
