Rita J. Bicknell Women’s Health Fund Announce 2026 Grant Recipients
Unique problems require creative solutions, and healthcare for women faces serious challenges in our region. Thankfully, The Women’s Health Fund (WHF) has granted $59,910 to 15 nonprofit organizations across Southeast Kansas in 2026 to help address those challenges.
Founded in 2007, the Rita J. Bicknell Women’s Giving Circle at CFSEK was created with the mission, “To improve the health and wellbeing of women by supporting education, increasing awareness, and sharing quality of life opportunities to benefit all women.”
Today, the Rita J. Bicknell Women’s Health Fund comprises the Women’s Giving Circle, the Circle of Friends, and the Nightingale Endowment. Since 2007, WHF has granted nearly $630,000 to nonprofits in Southeast Kansas. The Nightingale Endowment supports technology upgrades and enhancements at the Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing Simulation Hospital at Pittsburg State University, granting $17,600 to the school in 2026. The Women’s Giving Circle and the Circle of Friends pool their financial resources to combat poverty, lack of health care, and improve women’s health education.
“The needs for women’s health don’t stop, and the economic climate we are in was evident this year in the applications, especially to provide assistance for non-medical needs,” said WHF chair Lynda Wilkinson. “When a woman is facing health challenges it impacts their entire lives. By pooling our resources, we can support local organizations that help women overcome barriers to better health and well-being. We’re grateful to our donors and this year’s grant recipients for turning that shared commitment into practical help for women across Southeast Kansas.”
The Women’s Health Fund and CFSEK would like to congratulate the following 2026 grant recipients:
Women’s Giving Circle – $54,053
Angels Among Us – Helping Local Cancer Patients with Financial Needs
Care to Share Cancer Support Group of Bourbon County Kansas, Inc. – Ongoing Cancer Support Services
Catholic Charities Inc. – SEK Neighborhood Financial Stabilization Project
Cherokee County Health Department – Providing Support in More than One Way (The Post Mastectomy Bra Project, Part 2)
City of Parsons Recreation Commission – PRC StrongHer: Women’s Strength, Wellness & Confidence Initiative
Coffeyville Regional Medical Center Foundation – Mother’s Matter at CRMC
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas – DIY Cancer Prevention
Fostering Connections – Home Start: Independent Living Essentials for Young Women
SE Kansas Women Helping Women – UNIQUE NEEDS
SEK Juneteenth Foundation – A Woman Worth
Wildcat Extension Education Foundation – Kitchen Restore Starter Kits Project for those Exiting the Safehouse Crisis Center
Circle of Friends Giving Circle – $5,857
Care to Share Cancer Support Group of Bourbon County Kansas, Inc. – Ongoing Cancer Support Services
Cherokee County Health Department – Providing Advocacy, One Exam at a Time
Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Four States – NICU Mothers & Families: Breast Feedings & Memory Milestones
Women’s Resource Center of Southeast Kansas – Perinatal Hospice
The Women’s Health Fund is proud to be able to play a small part in supporting these projects benefiting the women of our region.
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is proud to be the host agency for the Rita J. Bicknell Women’s Health Fund. CFSEK is a public non-profit foundation that serves the region by helping donors fulfill their charitable giving goals in ways that benefit the common good and improve the quality of life. The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation, the Girard Area Community Foundation, and the Columbus Area Community Foundation are CFSEK affiliates. If you would like to learn more about the CFSEK or the Women’s Giving Circles, please visit SoutheastKansas.org/WHF or call 620-231-8897.
From left: Robin Bradbury, office manager; Brianna Herlocker, physical therapy assistant; and Hugo Dahlstrom, occupational therapist. Not pictured: Dennis Gillard, physical therapist; C. Jae Meech and Lisa Proctor-both physical therapy assistants.
I Am Rehab, a physical therapy and fitness center, has moved locations.
On September 21, the business moved to 1502 Scott Avenue, a former preschool.
Co-owner Hugo Dahlstrom said the move was prompted by the cost of renting the space they have occupied since January 2019.
They were previously located on the lower level of the former Mercy Hospital building at 401 Woodland Hills.
Dahlstrom said the business is unique in that in addition to outpatient physical therapy, they also offer occupational therapy.
“This is important for folks recovering from more severe debilitating health issues,” he said. “We are the only occupational therapy offering in Bourbon County providing outpatient services.
Doctors must refer patients to them with scripts, he said.
He is the occupational therapist; co-owner Dennis Gillard is the physical therapist.
The hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday.
Other employees are Robin Bradbury, office manager; C. Jae Meech, Brianna Herlocker and Lisa Proctor-all physical therapy assistants.
Contact by phone: 620.223.7073.
The I Am Rehab 24-hour access fitness center.
They have 5, 300 square feet of space for both the physical therapy side and the fitness room side of the business.
“We allow access to a 24-hour-per-day fitness center,” he said. “Members can use an app or a barcode to enter.”
At the former space, “We had a lot more space than we needed.”
The company that sold the former Mercy Hospital building at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. shares an owner with Kansas Renewal Institute, and Kansas Renewal Institute shares a manager and an address with the building’s new owner, according to public filings in five states and New York City.
FortScott.biz reported that a deed recorded Oct. 13 conveys the building from Kansas RE Investment Group LLC to 401 Woodland Hills KS Realty LLC, and that the new owner and Kansas Renewal Institute LLC (KRI) took out a $17.5 million mortgage on it the same day. This story maps the relationships between the various entities and the people who had ownership, management, or business transactions related to the old Mercy building.
The interactive map below shows each connection. Click a name to see its links and the record that shows each one.
CompanyPersonGovernmentShown in a recordLikely or name match, unconfirmed
Click any name
Click a person or company in the map, or pick one from the list, to see how it connects to the others and which record shows each link.
Interactive map. If it does not load (for example in an email), the main connections are also described in the story above.
The seller and KRI share an owner
The seller, Kansas RE Investment Group, is a Georgia company based in Sandy Springs, Ga. The 2026 deed was signed for it by Erik Engebretson, as authorized signatory of Guild Dream Homes LLC, which the deed calls a managing member of the seller.
Guild Dream Homes is also one of the five companies that each own 5% or more of KRI, according to KRI’s 2026 report to the Kansas Secretary of State, which Engebretson signed. Georgia records list Engebretson as the registered agent for Guild Dream Homes, Kansas RE Investment Group and a third company, EME Consulting Inc., all at the Sandy Springs address. In 2024, FortScott.biz identified Engebretson as KRI’s chief financial officer.
Timothy Denning is the seller’s registered agent in Kansas, at the hospital building’s address. The 2024 story identified T.J. Denning as KRI’s chief operating officer.
Kansas Secretary of State records show the seller’s Kansas registration was forfeited July 15, 2026, for failing to file its annual information report, about six weeks before it signed the deed. Its Georgia registration is active.
KRI’s owners
KRI’s 2026 Kansas report lists five companies that each own 5% or more of it:
JG Healthcare Solutions LLC, Golden, Colo. Colorado records show it was formed in 2023 and is in good standing. The 2024 FortScott.biz story called it KRI’s parent company and identified Jonathan Gross as KRI’s chief executive.
Guild Dream Homes LLC, Sandy Springs, Ga. (Engebretson; see above).
Dennings LLC, Seneca, Mo. Missouri has a DENNING’S LLC, formed in December 2023 with Bounds Law LLC of Kansas City as organizer, the same firm that organized KRI in Kansas two weeks later. The Missouri filing names no owners or principal business address, so it is not clear it is the same company. The name is similar to that of KRI’s chief operating officer, but no record we found confirms a link.
KRI Otto HoldCo LLC, Lexington, Ky. Kentucky lists it as formed in April 2024 and now inactive and in bad standing, with Matthew Otto as registered agent. Its Kansas registration was also forfeited in July.
Tinervin Consulting LLC, Novato, Calif. California records show it was formed in December 2023 and is managed by its members. Its 2025 statements of information list Joseph Robert Tinervin as its manager or member and give its type of business as behavioral health care. The 2024 FortScott.biz story identified Joe Tinervin as KRI’s president of operations.
The new owner
401 Woodland Hills KS Realty LLC was formed in Kansas on July 1, 2026. Its formation filing was signed by Elliott Teitelbaum and does not name its owners.
David E. Marx signed the $17.5 million mortgage as manager of the new owner and, separately, as manager of Kansas Renewal Institute LLC. Both companies give the same address in Flushing, N.Y., on the loan papers. New York City housing records list 7MDR of Queens, Inc. as the owner of that building and a David E. Marx as its president. The website of Marx Development Group, a New York City developer, lists a David E. Marx as its owner and chief executive. KRI’s own Kansas filings still give the hospital building as its address.
Legacy and the BR companies
Bourbon County donated the building and $2 million to Legacy Healthcare Foundation in November 2022. Legacy’s 2024 IRS Form 990 lists Troy Schell as chairman, Jose Banos as chief financial officer, Juan Banos as president and Vanessa Banos as a director, with an address in Glendora, Calif. Schell signed the 2022 donation agreement and the 2024 deed for Legacy, and signed the 2024 mortgage assignment as manager of Legacy Health LLC, which gives the same Glendora address.
The donation agreement required Legacy to provide at closing proof of a purchase, or a signed agreement to purchase, of other Bourbon County property worth more than $300,000, or of a line of credit or loan of $2 million or more. Its opening section describes the line of credit as one “secured by a lending institution in the amount of no less than Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) which has already been verified by Donor.” County records released under the Kansas Open Records Act include a Sept. 27, 2022, letter headed “Re: Legacy Health Bourbon County Hospital” on letterhead listing Legacy’s Glendora address and www.brco.com. It says, “I am authorizing the use of $2,000,000.00 (TWO MILLION DOLLARS AND 00/100) as an additional operating line of credit from the B.R. General Fund I,” and describes the fund as “a private investment fund.” The letter is in the name of Camron Cubak, managing principal. Cubak emailed it on Sept. 29, 2022, from a brco.com address to Rob Harrington, then executive director of Bourbon County REDI, the county-funded economic development organization, with copies to Jose Banos and Juan Banos at brco.com addresses. Harrington forwarded it to commissioners and county officials. In a June 2022 email in the same records, Jennifer Massey, whom FortScott.biz identified in November 2022 as Legacy’s chief clinical operations officer, is addressed at a brco.com address. FortScott.biz’s review of the county’s records found no other proof of a line of credit, from a lending institution or otherwise.
California Secretary of State records show the same names as Legacy’s chairman and president, and as Cubak, on three corporations with B.R. names that list Legacy’s address. The records do not say who owns them or whether they are connected to Legacy:
B.R. Capital and Finance Corporation was incorporated April 16, 2021, at Legacy’s Glendora address. Troy Schell signed its articles as incorporator and was its registered agent. Juan J. Banos signed its election to wind up and dissolve on July 15, 2021, and the state lists it as terminated as of Aug. 12, 2021.
BR Capital & Finance, a separate corporation formed in January 2019 and still active, gives a principal address in Newport Beach and uses Legacy’s Glendora address as its mailing address. Its registered agent is Camron G. Cubak of Glendora.
BR Capital Inc., formed in August 2023 and active, gives Legacy’s Glendora address as both its principal and mailing address. Its registered agent, Mohamad Khattab, is listed at the same address.
Business listings also place The BR Companies and BR Real Estate at that Glendora address. None of the California records we reviewed mention B.R. General Fund I, the fund named in the 2022 letter.
We found no shared people or addresses between the Legacy companies and the new owner.
Where the companies are
These are the addresses the records give. Each links to Google Street View of the street address, which shows the building but cannot show which business is inside.
Kansas RE Investment Group, Guild Dream Homes and EME Consulting: 110 Ridgemont Trace, Sandy Springs, Ga. Aerial imagery shows a house on a wooded residential street.
Legacy Healthcare Foundation, Legacy Health LLC, BR Capital Inc., the former B.R. Capital and Finance Corporation and B.R. General Fund I (letterhead): 2250 Lindsay Way, Glendora, Calif. Aerial imagery shows a one-story commercial building in an office park.
FortScott.biz called Marx Development and KRI on Thursday. Marx Development’s line reached an automated attendant and no one answered. A KRI receptionist returned the call to ask whether we could meet at the facility Monday morning, but declined to provide the telephone number of the person who could answer our questions.
As flu season begins, the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) encourages everyone aged six months and older to receive their yearly influenza vaccine to protect themselves and their loved ones.
“It’s important to get the flu vaccine annually because each year’s version includes the viruses expected to be most common,” said Dr. Linda Bean, CHC/SEK Chief Medical Officer. “Getting vaccinated now allows time to build immunity before flu season peaks in the winter.”
CHC/SEK offers flu vaccinations on a walk-in basis at all clinics in Kansas and Oklahoma. No appointment is necessary, and financial assistance is available.
In addition to receiving the annual vaccine, everyday habits such as frequent handwashing and avoiding close contact with people who are ill can help reduce the risk of getting the flu.
The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) serves as a healthcare hub for communities in Kansas and Oklahoma. CHC/SEK delivers quality, integrated care to nearly 90,000 patients each year with a goal of improving health, sustaining rural communities, and providing purpose-driven work to 950 staff members. Beyond healthcare, CHC/SEK finds innovative ways to improve lives by focusing on education, housing, and transportation. Regardless of income or insurance status, CHC/SEK ensures everyone receives the care they need. For more information, visit chcsek.org.
The former Mercy Hospital building at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. has a new owner, according to documents recorded Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Bourbon County Register of Deeds office.
A special warranty deed conveys the property from Kansas RE Investment Group LLC to 401 Woodland Hills KS Realty LLC, a Kansas company that gives its mailing address as 158-13 72nd Avenue, Suite 2D, Flushing, New York 11365. The deed is dated Aug. 26, 2026.
The same afternoon, the new owner and Kansas Renewal Institute LLC recorded a $17.5 million mortgage on the property in favor of Bankwell Bank, a Connecticut bank acting as agent for the lenders.
What the building has changed hands for
The building was given away twice before Legacy reported a $7.5 million value when it transferred the building in 2024. This table shows each transfer we can document, using the best information available.
The county also gave Legacy $2 million. (2022 story)
Dec. 20, 2024
Legacy Healthcare Foundation → Kansas RE Investment Group LLLP
$7,500,000 (reported fair market value)
Value Legacy reported to the IRS, citing the escrow closing statement. The buyer borrowed $2.5 million from Legacy Health LLC under a mortgage recorded the same day. (2024 Form 990)
Aug. 26, 2026 (recorded Oct. 13)
Kansas RE Investment Group LLC → 401 Woodland Hills KS Realty LLC
Not stated
The deed lists “$10.00 and other good and valuable consideration.” The new owner and Kansas Renewal Institute LLC, with “certain affiliates,” borrowed $17,500,000 secured by the property.
The $17.5 million is a loan amount, not a sale price, and the mortgage says it was borrowed by the two companies “and certain affiliates.” For comparison, the Bourbon County appraiser values the two lots at $3,877,950 for 2025: $3,601,940 for the hospital lot and $276,010 for the lot at 0 S. Horton.
Two figures have been reported for the 2024 transfer. Legacy’s 2024 Form 990 lists the building, land and equipment at a fair market value of $7.5 million and shows $7.5 million in notes and loans receivable. A higher figure comes secondhand: in June 2026, the Bourbon County Monitor reported that Commissioner Gregg Motley said KRI’s T.J. Denning told him KRI had paid Legacy $8.5 million in total for the building. No record we have reviewed shows the $8.5 million figure.
What the deed shows
The seller is Kansas RE Investment Group LLC, a Georgia company. The deed says it was formerly Kansas RE Investment Group LLLP. Erik Engebretson signed for the seller as authorized signatory of Guild Dream Homes LLC, which the deed describes as a managing member of the seller.
The deed covers Lots 1 and 2 of the Mercy Health Systems of Kansas addition, which it lists as 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. and 0 S. Horton. It does not disclose an actual purchase price; it recites only “Ten and 00/100 Dollars ($10.00) and other good and valuable consideration.”
The new owner
According to the Kansas Secretary of State, 401 Woodland Hills KS Realty LLC was formed July 1, 2026. Its resident agent is NUCO Filings Corp. of Topeka, and the formation filing was signed by Elliott Teitelbaum as an authorized person. The filing does not list the company’s owners.
The $17.5 million mortgage
The mortgage names two borrowers, jointly and severally: 401 Woodland Hills KS Realty LLC as “Owner” and Kansas Renewal Institute LLC, a Kansas company, as “Operator.” Both list the same Flushing, New York, address. The documents say the owner leases the property to Kansas Renewal Institute under a lease agreement dated the same day as the mortgage.
The mortgage says the borrowers “and certain affiliates of Borrower have borrowed the sum of $17,500,000.00” from the lenders, with Bankwell Bank acting as agent. The loan matures Aug. 26, 2029, “subject to extension.” A separate assignment of leases and rents, also recorded Tuesday, assigns the borrowers’ leases and rents to Bankwell Bank, as agent for itself and the other lenders, as additional security for the loan.
One passage in the mortgage describes the promissory note as being in “the principal amount of Six Million Four Hundred Eighty-Seven Thousand Five Hundred and No/100 Dollars ($17,500,000.00).” The recording stamp, the mortgage’s opening recital and the assignment of rents all give the amount as $17.5 million.
The written-out amount and the figure in parentheses do not match on page 2 of the mortgage recorded Oct. 13, 2026 (Book 534, Page 140). Highlighting added by FortScott.biz. Source: Bourbon County Register of Deeds.
David E. Marx signed the mortgage and the assignment as manager of both 401 Woodland Hills KS Realty LLC and Kansas Renewal Institute LLC. The website of Marx Development Group, a New York City developer, lists a David E. Marx as its owner and chief executive officer and describes him as an attorney and real estate developer whose projects include skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities. New York City housing registration records list a David E. Marx as president of the company that owns the Flushing building where both Kansas companies give their address.
An earlier mortgage is released
In December 2024, Kansas RE Investment Group LLLP gave Legacy Health LLC, a California company, a $2.5 million mortgage on the building. On Dec. 21, Legacy Health LLC assigned that mortgage to Pasadena Private Lending Inc., a Delaware corporation with an address in Pasadena, California.
A release recorded Tuesday, dated Aug. 26, 2026, says Pasadena Private Lending “certifies that the Mortgage has been fully paid and satisfied and is of no further force or effect.”
Property taxes
Bourbon County Treasurer records show the 2025 property taxes on both lots were paid Sept. 1, 2026. As of Oct. 15, those records still listed Kansas RE Investment Group as owner and taxpayer of both lots. The payments covered $180,999.54 in 2025 taxes, plus $13,574.97 in interest and $34 in fees, for a total of $194,608.51. The tax histories show a $0 balance due on both lots for every year listed.
Most of the bill was for Lot 2, the hospital building at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd., which was assessed at $900,485 for 2025 and taxed $168,116.96. That lot carried no assessed value and no tax for 2023 and 2024, the years the tax records list Legacy Healthcare Foundation as its owner. Lot 1, listed at 0 S. Horton, was taxed $12,882.58 for 2025.
Kansas Renewal Institute runs a behavioral health treatment center in the building, and Freeman opened its hospital and emergency department there on Sept. 4, 2025. In September 2026, Freeman and KRI signed a non-binding letter of intent to explore the future ownership and operation of Freeman Fort Scott Hospital. It is unclear how the change in ownership will affect current hospital operations. None of the four documents recorded Tuesday mentions Freeman or the county’s 2022 donation agreement.
FortScott.biz called Marx Development and reached an automated attendant; no one answered. A KRI receptionist returned our call to ask whether we could meet at the facility Monday morning, but could not comment on our questions. We will update this story if KRI responds with a statement.
Walk-In Screening Mammograms Available in Pittsburg and Fort Scott
FORT SCOTT, Kan.—With Breast Cancer Awareness Month just around the corner, the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) encourages women ages 40 to 74 to receive a screening mammogram annually.
“Making time for your regular mammogram is an important part of taking care of your health,” said Kimberly Wass, CHC/SEK Radiology Lead. “Mammograms are one of the most effective ways to detect breast cancer early, often before symptoms appear.”
CHC/SEK offers walk-in mammograms year-round from 8 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday, at two locations:
Fort Scott: 2322 S. Main St.
Pittsburg South: 1011 S. Mount Carmel Pl.
In October, CHC/SEK will also host Brunching for Breast Cancer Awareness, a special event offering women an opportunity to walk in to receive a mammogram, enjoy a complimentary brunch treat, and be entered to win a prize basket.
The event will be held:
October 14, 7 am to 2 pm at the Pittsburg South location
October 22, 7 am to 2 pm at the Fort Scott location
Mammograms are also available by appointment. To schedule an appointment, call 620-223-8484. No physician order is needed for a screening mammogram.
In addition to screening mammograms, CHC/SEK offers diagnostic mammograms and breast ultrasounds, allowing patients to receive comprehensive breast health care in one place. Advanced Genius® 3D Mammography™ technology is available for every exam.
Patients can also expect timely access to their mammogram results. “We know how important it is for patients to get answers quickly after a screening,” said Jennifer Dugan, CHC/SEK Mammography Lead. “That’s why we work to have mammogram results ready and shared through the patient portal within 24 hours.”
Financial assistance is offered at both CHC/SEK locations. Patients are encouraged to speak with a benefits enrollment specialist who can help them understand their options.
CHC/SEK is an American College of Radiology-accredited facility and an FDA-certified mammography facility.
For more information, visit chcsek.org.
About Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas
The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas (CHC/SEK) serves as a healthcare hub for communities in Kansas and Oklahoma. CHC/SEK delivers quality, integrated care to nearly 90,000 patients each year with a goal of improving health, sustaining rural communities, and providing purpose-driven work to 950 staff members. Beyond healthcare, CHC/SEK finds innovative ways to improve lives by focusing on education, housing, and transportation. Regardless of income or insurance status, CHC/SEK ensures everyone receives the care they need. For more information, visit chcsek.org.
Freeman Health System and Kansas Renewal Institute (KRI) issued a joint statement Monday announcing the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent to explore the future ownership and operation of Freeman Fort Scott Hospital.
“The Letter of Intent provides Freeman Health System and Kansas Renewal Institute (KRI) the opportunity to evaluate whether a transition of ownership and operations could further support the long-term access to healthcare,” according to the press release.
“The Letter of Intent is non-binding, and no final agreement has been reached. Any potential transaction remains subject to due diligence, negotiation of definitive agreements, regulatory review and other necessary approvals,” according to the press release. “Throughout this process, patient care, hospital operations and services will continue as normal.”
“Freeman Health is trying to sell its hospital to KRI,” said Gregg Motley, who is the Bourbon County Commission Chairman. “They (Freeman Health System) don’t have a building to sell; they have its operations to sell.”
“KRI would have to acquire expertise to run the hospital, and all the Freeman staff would have to be willing to reassign their contract with KRI,” he said. “KRI has to be willing to buy the operations of Freeman Fort Scott. The fly in the ointment is that the State of Kansas will have to give licensing to KRI.”
“I tried to trigger the ‘Claw Back Provision’ with the Bourbon County Commission (who previously owned the building), to give the building to Freeman, and the commission would not support that,” Motley said.
“Now KRI has to be willing to buy the operations of Freeman Fort Scott Hospital,” he said.
Part of what keeps the emergency department running is a tax county voters approved themselves. On May 14, 2024, Bourbon County voters approved a quarter-cent countywide retail sales tax, 1,611 to 496. It took effect Oct. 1, 2024 and runs five years. The ballot language limits the money to the “establishment and operation of an emergency department in Bourbon County,” and says that when the tax ends, whatever is left goes to emergency medical services or to reducing property taxes.
A citizens committee appointed by the commission checks that the money is spent that way. Charles Gentry and Dr. Randy Nichols reported to commissioners on Aug. 31 that the tax collected $336,741.49 in the first half of 2026 and that $280,602.05 of it was disbursed to Freeman to operate the emergency department.
The county is not a party to the Letter of Intent. Commissioners declined in July to put $300,000 in the 2027 budget to pursue the clawback against KRI and Legacy, a push Motley had led and said he would stop; he laid out his reasoning in a June interview with FortScott.biz. Separately, a federal rural hospital bill introduced in July could change what a hospital like Fort Scott’s can bill for.
The press release, as sent
Joint Statement Freeman Health System and KRI Sign Letter of Intent Regarding the Future of Fort Scott Healthcare Services
Freeman Health System and KRI today announced the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to explore the future ownership and operation of Freeman Fort Scott Hospital.
Since opening Freeman Fort Scott Hospital on September 4, 2025, Freeman has remained committed to providing the residents of Fort Scott and Bourbon County with access to high-quality local healthcare. During that time, healthcare organizations across the country, particularly those serving rural communities, have continued to face significant workforce, reimbursement, operational and financial pressures.
As part of its ongoing commitment to the community, Freeman has worked closely with local leaders, providers and stakeholders to evaluate opportunities that could support the long-term sustainability of healthcare services in Fort Scott. Those efforts have included operational improvements and evaluation of potential care delivery models, including opportunities associated with the Rural Emergency Hospital model.
The Letter of Intent provides Freeman Health System and KRI the opportunity to evaluate whether a transition of ownership and operations could further support the long-term access to healthcare.
The LOI is non-binding, and no final agreement has been reached. Any potential transaction remains subject to due diligence, negotiation of definitive agreements, regulatory review and other necessary approvals.
Throughout this process, patient care, hospital operations and services will continue as normal.
Both organizations remain committed to supporting employees, providers, patients and community stakeholders while exploring opportunities to preserve and strengthen local healthcare access.
Additional information will be shared as appropriate as discussions progress.
###
About Freeman Health System
Locally owned and nationally recognized, Freeman Health System is a not-for-profit health system serving communities across Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas through a network of hospitals, physician clinics, outpatient locations, and specialty services. The system includes Freeman Hospital West, Freeman Hospital East, Freeman Neosho Hospital, Freeman Fort Scott Hospital, Inc. and the Freeman Health System facilities in Bentonville, Springdale, Johnson and Siloam Springs. Freeman Health System also operates Ozark Center—the region’s largest provider of behavioral health services, and offers comprehensive cancer, cardiology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, and women’s and children’s services. The system is supported by more than 7,000 employees and is the only Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in a 70-mile radius. For more information, visit Freeman Health System.
From left: Emily Norris, chiropractic assistant, Dr. Ethan Couch, Dr. Kaylee Clifton, and Angie Trim, office manager. The team at Clifton Chiropractic.
Dr. Kaylee Clifton is expanding the treatments Clifton Chiropractic LLC offers its clients.
In late August, she purchased a hydro-massage bed.
The hydro-massage bed is in a treatment room at the business just off Hwy. 69 on Third Street.
“The hydro treatment has been going well,” Dr. Clifton said. “It’s a good added treatment to relax and help with muscle and joint pain.”
“You can do this before or after a treatment, or just walk in,” said Angie Trim, office manager. “It may be eligible for a Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account, you have to check in with the plan administrator.”
The treatment was at first located at Spoiled Brat Salon, and Heather Engstrom, the owner, “reached out to us. Several of our chiropractic patients were using it there,” said Trim.
The cost is $20 for 20 minutes of hydro-massage in the lounge chair.
During the week of September 21, high school or community college athletes get 1/2 price off the hydro-massage treatment.
Other services
The price list at Clifton Chiropractic.
Both Dr. Couch and Dr. Clifton provide traditional chiropractic adjustments, and they provide other services as well.
“Dr. Couch does the dry needling treatment service,” Clifton said.
Dry needling is a technique where a very small, thin needed is used to release tight muscle knots and help reduce pain. It helps muscles relax, improves blood flow, and allows the body to heal better. It targets specific tight or irritated muscles, according to information provided by Clifton.
Dr. Clifton does acupuncture, a treatment that uses very thin needles placed at specific points on the body to help reduce pain, improve energy flow, and support the body’s natural healing process. It’s based on traditional Chinese medicine and focuses on energy pathways in the body, while dry needling targets tight muscles directly, according to information from Clifton.
Dr. Clifton is also a practitioner in allergy elimination, in a technique known as NAET.
NAET is a mild, non-invasive, gentle energy balancing procedure.
She is also doing vagus nerve resets (restoring healthy rhythm and responsiveness) with acupuncture.
Fees.
Clifton Chiropractic is located on Third Street, just off of Hwy. 69. The address is 203 E. Third. Contact the office at 620.644.5000.
The Kansas Board of Tax Appeals has granted the ten-year property tax exemption for the vacant dialysis clinic at 2526 S. Main.
The board’s order, in Docket No. 2026-3773-IRBX, runs ten calendar years, from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2035, or for as long as the bonds remain outstanding, whichever is shorter. Bourbon County Appraiser Matt Quick provided the order to FortScott.biz on Aug. 13. The copy he sent is stamped received Aug. 3.
The industrial revenue bonds, in an amount not to exceed $800,000, were issued December 30, 2025. The order records $450,000 of that for improvements and $350,000 for personal property, which is already exempt under a separate statute and was not at issue.
What the break covers
The exemption reaches only the portion of the property paid for with bond money. It does not touch USD 234’s capital outlay levy — 7.998 mills, about 4.3 percent of the 186.696 mills on this parcel. Everything else can be abated, including Bourbon County’s share.
It is not automatic, and the paperwork does not end here. A claim has to be filed with the county appraiser before March 1 every year for ten years, and the exemption ends if taxes on the non-exempt portion go unpaid. The order puts that annual filing on the applicant (the city). The city makes the filings, at Moka Rentals’ request.
The 2025 bill on the parcel was $65,343.80, paid in full on Dec. 18, 2025. The first tax statement the exemption can affect goes out this November.
The building, and who owns it
The order describes the property as “leased to Moka Rentals, L.L.C., who uses the subject as a dialysis treatment facility” — the language an exemption order uses for the qualifying use. The building was dark when FortScott.biz visited July 25: no signage, no activity, blinds drawn. It has been empty since Fresenius Medical Care closed it on Sept. 30, 2019.
The building at 2526 S. Main on July 25, 2026. FortScott.biz photo.
The deal runs on two leases, which is how the city ends up a party to a tax case over a building it does not own. Moka Rentals, which the county lists as the owner and taxpayer of record, leases an interest in the property to the city; the city then leases the project back to Moka. That is a standard industrial revenue bond arrangement when the company already owns the building. Wichita used the same structure, drafted by the same bond counsel, for a $134 million project at Wesley Medical Center. Under the Fort Scott project lease, the city’s promise to keep filing for the exemption across the full ten years holds only “[s]ubject to the Project being continually operated as a dialysis center.”
There is still no announced opening date. In late July, the practice manager at Joplin Nephrology Consultants said there were “no updates as of right now” on the project.
HBCAT Shows Measurable Progress in Bourbon County Health Indicators Over Time
Ten years of sustained community work are producing measurable improvements in tobacco use, nutrition, and healthy-weight indicators
FORT SCOTT, Kan. — August 2026 — Ten years after Bourbon County received its first Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant, long-term data are showing measurable progress in several of the health priorities the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team has worked to address since 2016.
Bourbon County is seeing measurable signs of improved health, with fewer adults smoking, fewer adults classified as overweight, and more adults reporting that they eat fruits and vegetables at least once each day.
Heather Smith, then economic development director for the City of Fort Scott, and Jody Love, then community benefit lead at Mercy Hospital Fort Scott, worked together to write Bourbon County’s successful 2016 application for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas® (BCBSKS) Pathways to a Healthy Kansas (Pathways) grant.
The application was informed by Bourbon County’s Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan, both written by Love during her work at Mercy Hospital. Local data identified tobacco use, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, chronic disease, and limited access to healthy choices as significant community concerns.
Following the award, Love established and led the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team to implement the Pathways initiative and build the lasting community infrastructure needed to carry the work forward.
At the time of the application, Bourbon County ranked near the bottom of Kansas counties for overall health outcomes. The original grant called for long-term policy, environmental, and systems changes that would make healthy choices easier and more accessible for residents.
Long-Term Indicator Movement
Indicator
Earlier Value
Latest Value
Change
Adults who smoke
21.2% (2018)
16.9% (2023)
More than 20% reduction
Consuming fruit less than once daily
44.7% (2017)
42.1% (2021)
About 6% improvement
Consuming vegetables less than once daily
22.9% (2017)
21.1% (2021)
About 8% improvement
Adults classified as overweight
36.6% (2017)
26.6% (2021)
More than 27% reduction
Lower percentages represent improvement for the fruit and vegetable indicators because they measure the percentage of adults consuming those foods less than once per day.
The original grant application envisioned increased access to healthy food, safer places for physical activity, greater youth and community engagement, stronger cross-sector relationships, and a community culture in which the healthy choice could become the easier choice.
That early work developed into a broader and sustained effort addressing community health, food access, active living, tobacco prevention, economic mobility, entrepreneurship, and quality of life. HBCAT created a structure through which residents and organizations could continue working together beyond a single grant or funding cycle.
Over the past decade, HBCAT has worked with residents and organizations across healthcare, education, economic development, local government, business, and the nonprofit sector. Individual partners and levels of participation have changed over time, but HBCAT has remained focused on the long-term vision established in 2016.
Population-level outcomes are affected by many factors and cannot be attributed to one grant or organization alone. However, the alignment between the priorities identified in 2016, nearly a decade of sustained policy, environmental, and systems-change work, and improvement in several long-term indicators provides strong evidence that HBCAT and Bourbon County’s broader community efforts have contributed to meaningful change.
“When Heather and I wrote the Pathways grant in 2016, we knew meaningful community change would not happen quickly. We have been through hospital closure, leadership transitions, funding challenges, a pandemic, and countless changes in our community. Through it all, we kept building relationships, listening to residents, using data, and working to change the systems and environments that shape health. Ten years later, we are seeing the fruit of that hard work.”
— Jody Love, President and CEO, Healthy Bourbon County Action Team
“Pathways to a Healthy Kansas is grounded in the belief that better health starts long before someone needs medical care. By investing in partnerships, supporting local leadership and addressing the factors that shape health, BCBSKS is helping create lasting change across Kansas communities,” said Virginia Barnes, director of Blue Health Initiatives. “The health improvements we are seeing after a decade of partnership with the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team reflect our belief that real change happens through local leadership, strong relationships and sustained commitment.”
“The numbers matter, but so does what it took to move them,” Love said. “This progress represents years of persistence from staff, residents, volunteers, businesses, organizations, policymakers, and funders who believed Bourbon County could become a healthier place. We still have significant work ahead of us, but we should also pause and recognize that sustained community investment can produce measurable results.”
The original 2016 Pathways application stated that Bourbon County was ready to pursue work that would have “meaningful impact and measurable outcomes.” Ten years later, the community can demonstrate progress toward that promise.
Data cited are from Kansas Health Matters. Available measurement years vary by indicator. The fruit, vegetable, overweight, and adult-smoking indicators referenced here are archived indicators and should be considered alongside local program, policy, and systems-change evidence.
About the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team works to increase access to healthy food and physical activity, promote commercial tobacco prevention and cessation, enhance quality of life, and support economic growth. HBCAT advances community-driven solutions through resident engagement, cross-sector relationships, resource development, and policy, environmental, and systems change.
About Pathways to a Healthy Kansas
Pathways to a Healthy Kansas is the largest community grant program ever funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. The Pathways program provides community coalitions with the tools and resources needed to remove barriers and engage their communities in ways that improve active living, healthy eating, behavioral health and commercial tobacco prevention. For more information, visit bcbsks.com/pathways.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas
For more than 80 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.
Media Contact: Jody Love | President and CEO | Healthy Bourbon County Action Team | 620-215-2892
The following is a news release issued July 31, 2026 by the office of U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), originally headlined “Sens. Moran, Smith Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Rural Hospitals.” It is reprinted in full, unedited. View the original release.
REH 2.0 makes changes to bolster & improve the original REH Designation
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) this week introduced the Rural Emergency Hospital Designation Improvement Act (REH 2.0), bipartisan legislation to expand access to federal resources for rural hospitals through the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Medicare designation. This legislation would allow more Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and rural hospitals at risk of closure to sustain health care services in rural communities, and it would make technical improvements to the designation. The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Roger Marshall, M.D., (R-Kan.).
“I have visited every hospital in Kansas numerous times, and these conversations help guide my efforts to make certain health care providers across our state have the support they need to provide critical services to patients in their communities,” said Sen. Moran. “During these visits, providers shared with me their recommendations for strengthening the Rural Emergency Hospital designation so it can better support the struggling facilities it was originally intended to serve. The legislation I am introducing with Senator Tina Smith is the direct result of what we have heard from rural hospitals and health care providers in our states, and it makes needed improvements to the program to help make certain patients can continue to access critical health care services in their communities for years to come.”
“Rural hospitals are vital for families in small towns and rural communities. These hospitals not only provide care close to home, they’re also economic engines for their region,” said Sen. Smith. “But many rural hospitals face increasingly dire financial strain and workforce shortages, forcing them to cut services or even close down altogether. This important legislation is just one tool in the toolbox to help rural hospitals on the verge of closure keep their doors open. Make no mistake, much more is needed to ensure the health and wellness of rural hospitals and families.
“The Rural Emergency Hospital designation has already created new opportunities to preserve health care access in rural Kansas, but experience has also shown where additional flexibility is needed,” said Chad Austin, President and CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association. “The Rural Emergency Hospital Improvement Act represents the next step in strengthening this model by removing barriers that have prevented certain hospitals from participating and by providing commonsense improvements that will help more rural communities maintain access to essential services. We appreciate Senator Moran’s leadership and longstanding commitment to ensuring hospitals have the tools they need to care for their patients today and well into the future.”
“Healthcare access across rural Kansas is at a critical tipping point, with our state facing one of the highest numbers of at-risk rural hospitals in the nation,” said Tripp Owings, CEO of Ascension Via Christi. “The reality is that the needs of rural communities continue to evolve, and hospitals need the flexibility to adapt how they deliver care so they can preserve access and remain sustainable for the long term. When the Ascension Via Christi Emergency Department in Wellington opened in March 2021 to restore emergency services after the local hospital closed, we missed the initial federal REH cutoff by mere months, leaving our facility without a pathway to qualify. We thank Senator Moran for his continued support for rural hospitals in Kansas and we believe that REH 2.0 would provide important flexibilities to ensure more hospitals across Kansas and the country to adapt, stabilize, and maintain 24/7 emergency care close to home.”
“As the first Rural Emergency Hospital in Kansas, SCK Health has seen firsthand how the REH designation can preserve access to high-quality care in rural communities,” said Margaret Grismer, CEO of SCK Health. “The Rural Emergency Hospital Improvement Act builds on that success by providing the flexibility hospitals need to better serve their patients while strengthening the long-term sustainability of rural healthcare. We applaud Senator Moran’s leadership in advancing practical solutions that help ensure rural Kansans continue to receive the care they deserve, close to home.”
“In the fall of 2015, the hospital located in Independence, Kansas closed. Labette Health located 35 miles east of Independence worked with local leaders, KDHE, the USDA, and Senator Moran to open an off-campus Emergency Room, Observation Unit, and Rural Health Clinic on July 4, 2017, in Independence. This REH 2.0 will provide two paths to sustainability for Independence Healthcare Center as either an REH or as a ‘REH like’ facility,” said Brian Williams, President and CEO of Labette Health.
“REH 2.0 will provide needed updates to the Rural Emergency Hospital model by allowing those REH hospitals in America’s most rural and vulnerable areas to provide Swing Bed Skilled services for their communities, along with other vital legislative updates, such as Medicaid payment parity,” said Aaron Herbel, Administrator of Mercy Hospital. “Rural Emergency Hospitals across the U.S., including Mercy Hospital in Moundridge, Kansas, are grateful for the continued support that Senator Moran has showed by authoring this essential legislation.”
The REH Designation Improvement Act is also supported by the National Rural Health Association.
The provisions in the REH Designation Improvement Act are the result of numerous conversations Sen. Moran held with rural health care providers and CEOs of hospitals that are eligible for the REH designation. Originally created with the support of Sen. Moran as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, REH is a Medicare provider designation that offers certain rural hospitals the opportunity to convert and continue operating with limited services rather than closing.
The Rural Emergency Hospital Designation Improvement Act would:
Allow previously closed rural hospitals to re-open and apply for the Rural Emergency Hospital designation if they can demonstrate they met all eligibility requirements between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 27, 2020.
Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a waiver program for facilities operating similarly to an REH in order to convert to an REH.
Allow REH facilities to maintain or create a unit for inpatient psychiatric care, obstetric care and allow for limited inpatient rehabilitation services.
Require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide additional funding for laboratory services.
Clarify that REH facilities are eligible for Small Rural Hospital Improvement grants.
Direct the Secretary of HHS to allow an REH to be eligible as a National Health Service Corp site.
Authorize REH facilities to transfer patients from acute care to a Skilled Nursing Facility without leaving the hospital, in accordance with the Social Security Act.
Allow an REH facility to revert back to a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) to regain necessary provider status, only if the facility was designated a necessary provider prior to converting to REH.
Clarify state Medicaid agencies can pay REH facilities as hospitals.
Late in 2025 the Fort Scott City Commission approved a property tax break of up to ten years for the vacant dialysis clinic at 2526 S. Main, to help a Joplin kidney specialist reopen it. Fort Scott has had no dialysis center since 2019. Patients drive to Pittsburg or Chanute, three times a week.
This week, FortScott.biz checked with those involved. City officials say their part is finished. The commission awarded the abatement, the bond paperwork is complete, and nothing more is pending at City Hall. The reopening is now in the hands of the physician who will run the clinic.
The building itself is quiet for now. A July 25 visit found no signage or activity yet, and county records show the property’s 2025 tax bill of $65,343.80 was paid in full. That fits the timeline in the city’s documents, which say the exemption cannot appear before the 2026 tax statement.
Where the building is
Most people know it as the low brick building in front of Walmart.
Bourbon County’s tax record for the parcel (tax ID 002-FS10762B, in the Wal-Mart Plaza Pointe subdivision) answers the abatement question directly.
The building did change hands. The county lists Moka Rentals LLC as the current owner and taxpayer of record. That is the company named in the city’s bond documents as the tenant. Before Moka, the record shows Phoenix Fort Scott LLC, and before that Wal-Mart Stores and Wellington Ft Scott Ltd.
The 2025 taxes were paid in full, with no exemption. For tax year 2025 the county appraised the property at $1,400,000 ($193,790 in land, $1,206,210 in building) for an assessed value of $350,001. At a mill levy of 186.696 that produced a bill of $65,343.80, paid on December 18, 2025.
Tax year
Owner of record
Assessed value
Total tax
2025
Moka Rentals LLC
$350,001
$65,343.80
2024
Phoenix Fort Scott LLC
$377,331
$72,397.38
2023
Phoenix Fort Scott LLC
$422,346
$80,914.32
2022
Phoenix Fort Scott LLC
$413,983
$79,080.28
2021
Phoenix Fort Scott LLC
$395,233
$78,653.34
2020
Phoenix Fort Scott LLC
$389,186
$77,981.20
2019
Phoenix Fort Scott LLC
$396,485
$80,160.54
So when does the abatement take effect? By the terms of the city’s own documents, the earliest it can apply is tax year 2026. Both the resolution and the ordinance say the exemption runs for ten years “commencing in the calendar year following the calendar year in which the Bonds are issued.” The draft bond documents date the bonds December 23, 2025. If they were issued on schedule, the first year the exemption could show up on a tax bill is 2026. Kansas tax statements for 2026 don’t go out until November.
That makes this November’s statement for 2526 S. Main the first place the exemption can appear in the public record.
The county’s appraisal record still lists the structure under its old name, “Fresenius Medical Care Dialysis,” a 7,992-square-foot medical office building put up in 2014.
The deal ran through taxable industrial revenue bonds. Despite the name, the city borrows nothing and owes nothing; it acts as a pass-through so a private project can reach two state-level tax breaks, a property-tax exemption and a sales-tax exemption on construction.
On November 18, 2025, after a public hearing, the commission voted 5-0 to move forward with Resolution 40-2025, declaring it advisable to issue about $800,000 in bonds to acquire, renovate, furnish and equip the building and lease it to Moka Rentals LLC (resolution; minutes).
Dr. Nadine Aboul-Magd, a kidney specialist with Joplin Nephrology Consultants who the minutes say served Fort Scott from 2015 to 2019, told the commission the abatement was essential to the project. The minutes record her saying the reopened clinic would employ at least seven people initially and would add two kidney physicians (minutes).
Steve Robb of Municipal Consulting LLC, who prepared the cost-benefit study Kansas requires before a city grants this kind of exemption, told commissioners the deal would return $9.67 for every dollar the city gave up, well above the 1.3 he called the cutoff for a worthwhile deal, mostly because a dialysis clinic uses a great deal of city water (minutes).
On December 16, 2025, the commission took up Ordinance No. 3792, which authorizes the bonds (ordinance). “There were no changes from what was discussed,” Mayor Tim Van Hoecke said as he introduced it (video, 2:07:39). A staff member called it “just procedural.” The commission voted and the mayor moved on. The city has not posted approved minutes for that meeting, so the exact tally is not on the public record.
Two details in the paperwork are worth knowing:
The break covers the bond-funded share of the property. The exemption applies only to the part of the property paid for with bond money, and it must be applied for. The one levy it cannot touch is the school district’s capital outlay levy, under the statute the resolution cites, K.S.A. 72-53,113 (resolution, § 4). For USD 234 that levy is 7.998 mills (about 4.3% of the 186.696 total on this parcel). Everything else can be abated, including Bourbon County’s share. This parcel sits in tax unit 002, which is made up of the state, Bourbon County, Fort Scott Community College, the city of Fort Scott, USD 234 and the Southwind Extension District (2025 Bourbon County levy sheet). The minutes record the city’s consultant telling commissioners that most taxing entities come out ahead, with minimal impact on the extension district and the community college (minutes).
The break is tied to actually running a dialysis center. The lease says that “[s]ubject to the Project being continually operated as a dialysis center,” the city will make the filings needed to keep the exemption alive for the full ten years (project lease, § 7.4).
What the city, the county and the doctor’s office said this week
On July 29, Mary Wyatt, Fort Scott’s Planning, Housing and Business Development Director, told FortScott.biz the city’s part of the deal is done. The commission voted to award the ten-year abatement, and the paperwork between the city’s bond counsel and the owner has been completed. “It’s all in the hands of the owner at this point,” she said. “The ball is just in their court to get their operations up and running.”
Wyatt said she had not heard from the owner recently. In their last conversation, she said, the owner told her that opening a dialysis clinic is a legally involved process, lining up physicians in particular, and that she wants to go about it carefully, given the building’s history of closing.
Bourbon County Appraiser Matt Quick confirmed that no exemption yet appears in county records. Once the remaining paperwork is complete, he said, the property goes into exempt status for ten years. Quick described the city as the lead on the bond arrangement.
Wyatt said the approval that mattered came from the city commission, because the city is the entity abating the taxes locally. The state’s remaining role, as she described it, is a document that “has to be acknowledged at the state level.”
Quick also sent FortScott.biz pages from the state Division of Property Valuation’s guide to these exemptions, which fills in the steps between the city’s vote and a smaller tax bill. After the bonds are issued, the applicant files an exemption application, called the IRBX form, with the county appraiser, who forwards it with comments to the Board of Tax Appeals. The exemption is deemed approved unless the board schedules a hearing within 30 days of receiving all the information. The break is not automatic once granted. The owner must file a claim with the county appraiser by March 1 each year of the ten; miss the filing, and the property goes back on the tax roll. Those filings square with what the city describes. Under the lease, keeping the exemption in place is tied to the building operating as a dialysis center.
At Joplin Nephrology Consultants, practice manager Heather said there are “no updates as of right now” on the Fort Scott clinic, which she described as Dr. Nadine’s project, and confirmed the reopening is still in the plans.
What the building looks like now
2526 S. Main on the afternoon of July 25, 2026. FortScott.biz photo.The covered patient drop-off at the entrance. There is no signage on the building. FortScott.biz photo, July 25, 2026.
The lot was empty on the afternoon of July 25. There is no signage on the building or at the street, the blinds are drawn, and the covered patient drop-off, the giveaway that the place was built as a clinic, sits unused.
Fort Scott has been losing health care since 2018. Mercy announced that October that it would close the hospital it had run in town since 1886 (FortScott.biz, Oct. 3, 2018). The dialysis center closed the following September. Fresenius did not publicly give a reason for the closure. “I have talked to Fresenius,” then-City Manager Dave Martin said at the time. “They haven’t made money to the point of, they can’t stay open” (FortScott.biz, Aug. 30, 2019). Ascension Via Christi closed the emergency department in December 2023 (FortScott.biz, Dec. 18, 2023). Freeman has been working toward a hospital and emergency department here (FortScott.biz, Jan. 8, 2025).
The building has been empty since Fresenius Medical Care closed it on Sept. 30, 2019. As late as May 2023, its owner at the time said it was still looking for a tenant (FortScott.biz, May 2, 2023).
If the project comes together, that vacancy — and the three-times-a-week drives to Pittsburg or Chanute — would end.
