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Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas

CHC/SEK Finalizes Plans for Transition of Mercy Clinics

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CHC/SEK Welcomes Fort Scott Medical Providers Dr. Katrina Burke, Dr. Larry Seals, Amanda Stice APRN, Dr. Maxwell Self, Kristine O’Dell APRN, Pamela Moyers APRN and Dr. Pankaj Gugnani. (Not pictured are Hannah Born APRN and Amber Hunziker APRN)

(Pittsburg, KS) – The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) is preparing for a very busy new year as it will assume operations of five clinics in Bourbon, Linn and Crawford counties beginning January 1.

Following the news that Mercy Health System would be closing the hospital in Fort Scott, it was announced that CHC/SEK would take over operations of Mercy’s primary care clinics in Fort Scott, Pleasanton and Arma.

“Mercy recognized the impact that closing the hospital would have and approached us about preserving access to care in Bourbon and Linn counties,” said CHC/SEK CEO Krista Postai adding that CHC/SEK also recognized the need. “We immediately began working with them on a transition plan.”

CHC/SEK will officially assume operations of the Mercy clinics at 601 East Washington in Arma and 11155 Tucker Road in Pleasanton on January 1. CHC/SEK will also transition the Mound City Family Care clinic — which is owned by the Mound City Medical Foundation and currently under the management of the Olathe Health System — on January 1.

Postai said transition of the Fort Scott clinics will begin on February 1 with Convenient Care at 1624 South National changing its name to CHC/SEK Walk-In Care.

“The hours and services will stay the same,” said Postai. “For most people, the only change they will notice will be the name on the building.”

The main clinic located inside the hospital at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. will be managed by Mercy until January 31. It will then be closed until February 4 when it reopens as part of CHC/SEK. Postai said the clinic will have the same hours and offer the same services.

“We will continue to provide primary medical care along with obstetrics, lab, x-ray and immunizations,” she said. “We also plan to continue to offer mammograms and provide space for specialists including the Cancer Center of Kansas.”

Postai added that CHC/SEK will also operate the retail pharmacy next to the main clinic. “The only difference patients should notice is lower costs for their prescriptions,” she said. “It will have the same hours and you will see the same faces as before.”

Postai said the question she hears most often has to do with staff, particularly which medical providers will be staying with the organization.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Katrina Burke, Dr. Larry Seals, Dr. Maxwell Self and Dr. Pankaj Gugnani from Fort Scott as well as Dr. Jay Allen from Mound City to our medical staff,” said Postai. “Dr. Seals and Dr. Burke will also provide delivery services at Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg.”

CHC/SEK Welcomes Rhonda Kellstadt APRN, Brad Young APRN and Kristyn Milburn APRN in Pleasanton
CHC/SEK Welcomes Kim Burns APRN in Arma

Postai added that several nurse practitioners will also make the transition including Amanda Stice, Pamela Moyers, Kristine O’Dell, Hannah Born, Amber Hunziker, Brad Young, Kristyn Milburn, Rhonda Kellstadt, Kim Burns and Kelsey Welch.

CHC/SEK Welcomes Dr. Jay Allen and Kelsey Welch APRN in Mound City

“We have also hired local Practice Managers who will be on-site to oversee the daily operations,” said Postai. “Amy Budy will oversee the Bourbon County clinics and Tesia Coffey will be in charge of the clinics in Linn County.”

Postai went on to say the addition of five clinics along with a combined total of more than 15,000 patients and approximately 75 staff members represents an estimated 35 percent growth for CHC/SEK.

“This is not only the largest undertaking in our 15-year history,” she said. “It is quite possibly the most significant.”

In the meantime, Postai said one of the biggest tasks CHC/SEK is working on right now is transferring all of the electronic medical records which can be very time consuming. “Every patient needs to sign a release form in order for us to do that.”

Postai encouraged all current patients of the Mercy clinics or Mound City Family Care to complete the forms which are available on CHC/SEK’s website at www.chcsek.org/medicalrecords.

About Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas. Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) is a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center dedicated to providing affordable, high quality medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and out

 

Health Care, Mercy Hospital

Mercy Health Foundation Donates $300,000 To Community Health Center

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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.

 

 

 

Obituary

Obituary of Daryl Keith Swanwick

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Daryl Keith Swanwick was born in Columbus, Kansas on August 23, 1946, to Francis Darrell “Sonny” Swanwick and Alma Arlene McCorkle Swanwick of rural Oswego, Kansas. He attended Sunny View Elementary School, which was a one-room schoolhouse in his 1st-grade year, then replaced by a modern two-room school from his second through eighth grades. There were five students in his eighth-grade graduation class, four boys and one girl. Daryl sang The Marines Hymn at his graduation.

He graduated from Labette County Community High School in 1964, attended Kansas State University one year, then graduated from Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) in May 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

Daryl and Nancy Kathleen Austin had been married on January 25, 1969, at the First United Methodist Church in Parsons, Kansas.

He was drafted and inducted into the Army in July 1969. He was chosen to be an Image Interpreter with a Top-Secret Security clearance, doing his AIT at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, Maryland. Orders for Viet Nam were changed as his brother was already serving there, so he spent a year in Khorat, Thailand. When he returned home, he enrolled in chemistry courses at Pitt State while Nancy finished her degree, then did a year’s training at Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri to become a Registered Medical Technologist. Daryl and Nancy moved to Fort Scott, Kansas in December 1973 where he worked in the laboratory at Newman-Young Clinic for eight years, then the rest of his career at Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott, retiring on Dec. 18, 2008.

At his retirement, Daryl took up distance running. He trained for, entered, and placed in his age division in many half marathons beginning in 2009, and he has the medals and trophies to prove it. He also traveled all over the United States, Canada, Italy, France, England and Ireland with his wife and attended more quilting events than he ever planned to, always a good sport and supportive husband.

As a young father, Daryl was a “room dad” at Winfield Scott school, a soccer coach, T ball and Little League coach, 2nd and 3rd grade Sunday School teacher, a member of the Marching Dragoons and volunteer through the Fort Scott National Park Site, co-chair of the Fort Scott High School Booster Club, and became a very knowledgeable father/coach of two placekickers for the FSHS football team.

Baptized in the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church by Rev. Jerry Tubach in 1988 with his wife and sons as witnesses, he has been a very devoted and faithful member of the church. He has served on boards and since retirement has been the paint specialist on the Wednesday Morning Men work crew.

A retroperitoneal sarcoma, diagnosed October 1, 2018, took Daryl’s life. He was stoic and strong through the ordeal and those of us who mourn him take comfort that his faith was strong, and his pain was relatively short.

He was a kind and gentle man who will be forever loved and missed.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Austin Swanwick of Fort Scott; his sons and families, Matthew Austin Swanwick, wife Carissa, children Tatum and Elliott of Lenexa, KS; and Daniel Levi Swanwick, wife Catherine, and children Benjamin and Anna of Warrenton, Virginia; his father, F.D. Swanwick of Oswego; his brothers, Roger Swanwick of Wann, Oklahoma and Duane Swanwick and wife Traci of Alma, Kansas, his in-laws Virginia Austin Constance of Lawrence, Dennis Constance of Lawrence, T. J. and Sharon Austin of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and several nieces, nephews, aunts and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Alma Swanwick of Oswego, his parents-in-law, Kirk and Barbara Austin of Parsons, his sister-in-law, Carolyn Austin Brigman and her daughter, Laura Ann Brigman, of Mukilteo, Washington.

Daryl’s service will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, December 27, 2018, at the First United Methodist Church under the direction of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home.

Visitation will be at 10:00 a.m. until service the at 11 a.m.

Burial will take place in the Oswego Cemetery, in the family plot purchased by Daryl’s great-great-grandfather, Lt. Col. Francis Swanwick, who served in the Black Hawk War and led the 22nd Illinois Infantry in the Civil War before moving to Kansas.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Fort Scott or to Mercy Hospice, soon to be Integrity Hospice. They were truly a Godsend to Daryl and his family. Contributions may be left in the care of the Konantz-Cheney Funeral Home, 15 W. Wall Street, PO Box 309, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Condolences may be submitted to the online guestbook at konantz-cheney.com.

Government, Kansas

Hilderbrand Files To Prevent Transfers From Highway Fund

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KANSAS SENATOR RICHARD HILDERBRAND FILES SCR 1601

TO PREVENT THE TRANSFERS FROM THE STATE HIGHWAY FUND

GALENA- Senator Richard Hilderbrand (R-Galena) pre-files SCR 1601to prevent transfers and limit expenditures from the state highway fund to only those items related to transportation set forth in the amendment.

“The state of Kansas has swept $3.35 billion from the state highway fund over the last several years. This last fiscal year the state swept over $290 million. This has left a devastating effect on not only the safety but the long-term economic impact of our great state.

The state of Kansas currently has 25 T-Works projects delayed because of a lack of funding. The total cost to fund those 25 projects would be $553 million. In just two years after this bill becomes law, all 25 of those T-Works projects could be funded.

We must stop robbing from Peter to pay Paul, and bring fiscal accountability back to Kansas!

I will continue to work hard in Topeka to continue infrastructure investments in Southeast Kansas, to encourage growth and allow us to remain competitive throughout the state and entire nation.”

Bourbon County, Government

Bourbon County Commission Agenda Dec. 20

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Agenda

Bourbon County Commission Room

1st Floor, County Courthouse

210 S. National Avenue

Fort Scott, KS 66701

Tuesdays starting at 9:00

Date: December 20th, 2018

1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________

2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________

3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________

County Clerk-Kendell Mason

9:00-Commissioners to have a meeting regarding Economic Development

Justifications for Executive Session:

          Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel

          Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship

          Matters relating to employer-employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency

          Confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships

          Preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property

          Matters relating to the security of a public body or agency, public building or facility or the information system of a public body or agency, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize the security of such public body, agency, building, facility or information system

Bourbon County, Fort Scott Community College

FSCC Offers Vatterott College Students and Staff Opportunities

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With the recent closing of Vatterott College(s), Fort Scott Community College is offering to students and faculty/staff a chance to keep moving forward in their careers.

FSCC offers General Education, HVAC, Cosmetology, Manicuring, Welding, Construction Trades, Masonry, Harley-Davidson Technology, John Deere Technology, Criminal Justice, Nursing, and Allied Health courses.

FSCC has four locations in Pittsburg, Frontenac, Fort Scott, and Paola, KS. to serve their students.

FSCC is financial aid eligible and scholarships are still available.

They also offer four affordable student housing options at the Fort Scott location. Those with scholarships are required to live in student housing.

For more information about our programs, please visit http://www.fortscott.edu/Academics or contact Admissions at [email protected].

 

For the faculty and staff affected by the closure, FSCC has full-time and part-time positions available. Please contact the business office at 620.223.2700 ext. 3000.

 

The  FSCC campus will be closed December 20 through January 2 for the holiday season.

Business, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce

Weekly Chamber Coffee at City Hall

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WEEKLY CHAMBER COFFEE REMINDER
Join us for Chamber Coffee
Hosted by:

City Hall
 
 

Location:

123 S. Main St.
Thursday, December 20, 2018


Click here for City Hall’s website.


Chamber members and guests are encouraged to attend for networking, community announcements, and to learn about the hosting business or organization.
Members may pay $1 to make an announcement about an upcoming event, special/sale/discount, or news of any kind.
Upcoming Coffees:
December 27th – No Coffee in Observance of Christmas
January 3 – Chamber Board @ Chamber Office
January 10 – Fort Scott Pharmacy
January 17 – USD 234 – Fort Scott High School
Government, Kansas

Driver’s License Office Hours Extended Christmas through New Years Eve

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Division of Vehicles announces extended holiday hours

 

 

TOPEKA—Driver’s license offices statewide will offer extended hours the week of Christmas and New Years for added customer convenience, the Division of Vehicles announced Tuesday.

 

The hours for the two week holiday schedule beginning December 24 are:

 

December 24 — CLOSED Monday

December 25 — CLOSED Tuesday

December 26 — 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday

December 27 — 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday

December 28 – 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday

 

December 31 — 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday

January 1 — CLOSED Tuesday

January 2 — 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday

January 3 – 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday

January 4 — 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday

 

Many customers can skip the office entirely and renew their license using the iKan app, available for iOS, Android, and at https://ikan.ks.gov/.

 

Customer seeking Real ID should come in to the office with the required documents that can be found on a checklist at ksrevenue.org/realid.

 

Normal business hours will resume on Monday, January 7, which for most offices statewide is 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. To find hours for specific locations, visit https://www.ksrevenue.org/dovstations.html

 

Area News

Warning To Westar Customers

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KCP&L and Westar Energy warn customers of imposters

Callers use threat of disconnection to get immediate payment.

KANSAS CITY, Mo., and TOPEKA, Kan. – Dec. 17, 2018 – KCP&L and Westar Energy are alerting customers that imposters claiming to work for the companies are threatening to disconnect service and asking for prepaid cards as payment. In some cases, the caller is using a prerecorded voice. Several customers have called to report receiving suspicious phone calls.

Some imposters are very convincing. They may use websites that allow them to manipulate caller ID, making the call appear to come from KCP&L or Westar. They may use a prerecorded message. They speak with authority. When the targeted customer calls the phone numbers provided, the person who answers sounds like they work for KCP&L or Westar. In some cases, callers may even provide information like amount due that makes them sound credible.

“Scammers create a sense of urgency to get customers to act quickly rather than allowing them time to check their account,” Gina Penzig, manager, media communications, said. “We will never require a pre-paid card for payment. Also, we notify customers multiple times in advance if service may be interrupted for non-payment.”

Before acting on one of these calls, check your records to see if a recent payment has been made. If you are still unsure, check your account online or call the Westar Energy Customer Relations Center, 1-800-383-1183, or the KCP&L Customer Contact Center, 1-888-471-5275, and check your account status. More about identifying scams: https://www.westarenergy.com/scams or https://www.kcpl.com/involvement/safety/fraud-alerts.

If a customer receives a suspicious visit from an individual, he or she should also report it to their local law enforcement agency.

About KCP&L and Westar Energy:

Serving approximately 1.5 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L), KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company and Westar Energy are the electric utilities of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE: EVRG). Together we generate nearly half the power we provide to homes and businesses with emission-free sources. We support our local communities where we live and work, and strive to meet the needs of customers through energy savings and innovative solutions.

Contacts – Media:

Gina Penzig

Manager, media communications

785-575-8089

Media line: 888-613-0003

[email protected]