From left: Darrell Spencer, Army; Stephen Dean. Army; Myra Jowers. Air Force, all vets themselves will be shuttle drivers. Not pictured Carl Jowers.
The Fort Scott to Topeka VA shuttle service will have its inaugural run to the Topeka VA Medical Center on Tuesday, February 5, 2019.
Many thanks to Patricia Neeland, Social Worker at the Fort Scott VA Medical Clinic and local Veterans Stephen Dean, Carl Jowers, Myra Jowers and Darrell Spencer for working together to make the Fort Scott – Topeka VA shuttle service a reality.
There is no cost to the veteran to ride the shuttle.
The VA shuttle holds five passengers and riders must preregister for a seat. Seats on the shuttle are open to any area veteran on a first come, first served basis.
At this time, the shuttle is operating only on Tuesdays. As more drivers are cleared by the Topeka VA Medical Center, the shuttle service will expand service to other days.
The shuttle will depart from First Southern Baptist Church parking lot (on South Main Street, near Pizza Hut) at 6:15 am and will return to Fort Scott after the last rider has completed their appointment in Topeka.
The rider must be at the designated departure point by 6:10 am or risk losing their seat to a standby.
The shuttle does not accommodate wheelchairs or pets. Only certified service dogs are permitted on the shuttle. Oxygen tanks are not permitted on the shuttle. Oxygen concentrators are allowed.
Family members may not ride with the veteran on the shuttle. Those veterans who need a caregiver to accompany them must have a signed note from their doctor attesting that the veteran requires a caregiver to accompany them to and from their appointment.
To register for a shuttle seat, the veteran must
·Have an appointment at the Topeka VA Medical Center between 9 am and 1 pm for the day they schedule their shuttle seat.
·Call 785-925-0261 to schedule their seat. All seat reservations must be scheduled by 5 pm, the day prior to their appointment in Topeka.
From left: David Shank, Janet Smith, Denny Gillard, Sarah Moore, and Hugo Dahlstrom.
I Am Rehab LLC is the new business that replaces Mercy Hospital’s Health for Life at 405 Woodland Blvd as of Jan. 1.
Hugo Dahlstrom is the occupational therapist. David Shank, Denny Gillard, and Janet Smith are the physical therapists. Sarah Moore is the office assistant.
I Am Rehab owners are Gillard, Shank, and Dahlstrom.
The rehab and fitness center is located on the lower level, north side of Mercy Hospital which will transition to Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas on Jan. 31.
“The fitness center is up and running,” Dahlstrom said. “People are coming in for occupational and physical therapy.”
The fitness center portion is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the purchase of an individual membership of $30 per month for individuals and $40 per month for families, he said.
To get an access key to the center, one needs to come to the office between 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Rich Wallace will continue to provide personal training, but is not employed by I Am Rehab LLC, Dahlstrom said.
“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 [email protected] 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.
The Fort Scott Presbyterian Village team, with Ginger Nance, center, are surrounded by members of the Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America board of trustees, senior leadership and regional support team following the presentation of the PMMA Emerald Award. This is Fort Scott’s first Emerald Award.
WICHITA, Kan. — Fort Scott Presbyterian Village was recognized with an Emerald Award from Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America for reaching goals in fiscal year 2018, July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
The recognition came through PMMA’s Emerald Awards Program, designed to encourage its 17 locations and two hospices to achieve high levels of resident and employee satisfaction, meet financial goals, build philanthropic support for the organization’s mission and meet marketing goals. There are 11 areas measured for the Emerald Awards.
To receive an emerald, a community has to meet its goals in all 11 areas. Team members from the community attended PMMA’s annual Emerald Award Banquet Dec. 6 at the Broadview Hotel in Wichita to accept the award.
“We are pleased to present Fort Scott Presbyterian Village with its first Emerald Award. This recognition is a visible sign of the Fort Scott team’s commitment to the mission of PMMA of providing quality senior services guided by Christian values,” said Bruce Shogren, chief executive officer for PMMA.
Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America has been providing quality senior services guided by Christian values in Kansas and Missouri for nearly 70 years.
For more information about Fort Scott Presbyterian Village, contact Marketing Director Becky Kellum at 620-223-5550 or [email protected].
Fort Scott Presbyterian Village has been offering independent and assisted living apartments for seniors from southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri since 1994. Learn more at FortScottPresbyterianVillage.org. It is a member of the nonprofit Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America network of 17 communities and 2 hospices in Kansas and Missouri. Learn more about PMMA at PresbyterianManors.org.
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.
From left to right: Hugo Dahlstrom, Occupational Therapist; David Shank, Physical Therapist; Denny Gillard, Physical Therapist. Not pictured: Janet Smith, Physical Therapist, and Sarah Moore, Office Assistant.
Mercy Therapy Services will get a new name Dec. 31, 2018, when Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closes.
“I Am Rehab LLC is the official name of our business,” Hugo Dahlstrom, occupational therapist, said. “I Am Rehab & Fitness will be on our logo and signage. It is comprised of David Shank, Denny Gillard, and I.”
“We have not signed a lease agreement yet so we do not have an official start date, but we plan to be open immediately after Mercy closes on January 1,” Dahlstrom said.
“We will continue to provide physical therapy, occupational therapy, fitness center memberships, personal training, and pre-work screens,” he said.
The fitness center will still be available to the community.
“We will offer memberships at the same rates as Health For Life,” Dahlstrom said.
A photo of the Mercy Home Health and Hospice which is transitioning to Integrity Home Care and Hospice. Back Row: Kathy Stienbarger: RN, Rebecca Davied: Home Health and Hospice Director, LaShawn Noel: MSW, Dr Maxwell Self: Medical Director, Kyli Gates: RN Manager, Kerry Wunderly: RN, Joanna Gauthier: Accounts Coordinator. Middle Row: Albert Sacbibit: PT, Ashley Shelton: RN, Kelli Jones: RN, Chris Comstock: Admin Assistant, Trista Smith: Aide, David Goodyear: RN, Dreia Judson: Aide, Hugo Dahlstrom: OT. Front Row: Darcy Bukowski: RN, Tabitha Stults: Community Relations, Cindy Remlinger: Aide. Absent From Picture: Melissa George: Chaplin, Sandy Smith: Admin Assistant, Alice Helton: RN, Bob Meredith: PT, Brenda Baily: RN, Holly Schnichels: RN, Tori Stewart: COTA, Deanna Warner: RN, Shannon Nash: RN, Bill Rice: PT.
Mercy Home Health and Hospice hosted the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce weekly coffee on Nov. 29.
Tabitha Stults, community relations with MHHH, spoke to the attendees at the coffee.
Stults said the Memorial Patio in Riverside Park, which was begun October 2017 was finished this month.
The area is in memory of those people served by hospice since 2012, when Mercy began its hospice service to the community.
Becky Davied, director of Mercy’s home health said that the home health department was started in 1974.
Mercy Home Health and Hospice will have a name change to Integrity Home Care + Hospice following the closure of Mercy Hospital on Dec. 31, 2018. Integrity is based in Springfield, MO.
Integrity’s Machelle Gillhous will assume the title of director of community engagement, following the merger.
“She won’t be in Fort Scott,” Stults said. “She is the director of community engagement for all of Integrity, she will be my direct supervisor.”
Between Jan.1 and March when Integrity takes over, the staff will remain as Mercy employees as they go through the merger, Stults, said.
“We will have the same staff and continue to provide the same services,” Davied said.
” We will continue to provide all of our traditional services that we do now,” Stults said.
Mercy Home Health and Hospice is located at 902 S. Horton in the Mercy Medical Plaza. The phone number is 620-223-8090.
The services provided are:
For Home Health:
Skilled Nursing: Wound Care, IV Therapy, Disease Management, Palliative Care, Medication Management, Blood Draws, Infant and Pediatric Care, Patient and Family Education, 24 Hour on-call services.
Physical Therapy: Assessment, Evaluate, and Treatment
Occupational Therapy: Assessment, Evaluate, and treatment.
Home Health Aide Services: Bathing, hair care, skin care.
Social Work Services: short-term counseling and community resource education.
Chaplain Services: Spiritual support and resource education.
For Hospice:
Skilled Nursing: 24/7 on-call skilled nursing services, comfort care, pain management, patient and family education, durable medical equipment coordination, medication management Services are available where ever the patient lives: a home or apartment, nursing home, assisted living facility, Independent care facility or hospital
Social Work Services: short-term counseling and community resource education.
Volunteer Services: Volunteers to read and visit with patients or allow caregivers a break.
Chaplain Services: Spiritual support and resource education
Bereavement Services: Family and caregiver support for 1 year following the loss of a loved one.
Home Health Aid Services: Bathing, hair care, skin care, light housekeeping, patient and family support.
Mercy Hospital Fort Scott announced Oct. 1 that it would close on Dec. 31, 2018.
The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Pittsburg, will then assume operations for the main clinic and convenient care at the former Mercy Hospital site.
Krista Postai, CEO of Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas answered the following questions from fortscott.biz
What is in concrete at this point?
“Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas will assume operations of the Mercy clinics in Pleasanton and Arma on January 1.
We will also transition the Mound City Clinic, now under the management of Olathe Health System, on January 1.
CHC/SEK will assume operations for Mercy’s Convenient Care and their main clinic in the hospital on February 1.
Hours of operation for all these sites will remain the same.”
Who will be the administration team that will be on site on Jan. 1 at Mercy Fort Scott?
“Administrative offices for CHC/SEK are based in Pittsburg where we originally started.
All of our clinics – and we currently have 11 through southeast Kansas serving 50,000 patients – have a local practice manager on site that oversees daily operations. We have hired one for the Bourbon County Clinics and one for the Linn County clinics.
So “administration” for us is defined as these six people – CEO Krista Postai, Senior Vice President Jason Wesco, CFO Douglas Stuckey, Chief Clinical Officer Linda Bean, VP/Human Resources Megan Fry and General Counsel Daniel Creitz – and they work out of a System Office at 3015 N. Michigan.
We also have management staff including a Director of School Health, Director of Operations, Pharmacy Director, Dental Director, Director of Behavioral Health, IT Director, Billing Director, etc. who provide support for all of our clinics and staff…they are located at various sites throughout the area and travel from clinic to clinic to oversee programs.”
“Amy Budy will be our Practice Manager.”
Which doctors have signed on to stay at this point?
“I’ve attached the picture we took yesterday of the staff at the main clinic in Ft. Scott who we will employ beginning Feb. 1.
This includes the physicians we have hired – Dr. Burke, Dr. Seals, Dr. Self and Dr. Gugnani. We have also hired Dr. Allen from Mound City who will cover both Mound City and Pleasanton clinics. We do not anticipate hiring any additional physicians.”
Dr. Burke, Dr. Seals, APRN Amanda Stice, Dr. Self, APRN Kristine O’Dell, APRN Pam Moyers, Dr. Gugnani and APRN Mary Beth Newkirk. Kristine O’Dell is working in Convenient Care; the others at the main clinic in Fort Scott. Not pictured are APRN Bobbi Jo Thornton, and APRN Emily Bolinger who will be working at Convenient Care.
What services will you provide?
“We will continue to provide the services that have been offered by the clinics in the past.
Convenient Care will change its name to Walk-In Care – the hours and services will be the same.
At the main clinic, the same services will also be offered – primary medical care including obstetrics, lab, x-ray, immunizations, etc.
For most people, the only change they will notice will be the name on the building.
We also plan to continue to offer mammograms and provide space for specialists including the Cancer Center of Kansas.
We will also assume operations of the retail pharmacy next to the hospital clinic.
Once we make the transition, we’ll start looking at the addition of other services including behavioral health, addiction treatment and, eventually, dental care as we offer at many of our other clinics.
In the meantime, anyone needing these services will be referred to the closest clinic and, if needed, transportation provided.”
You said services fees will be income-based?
“All of our services are provided regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. We accept Medicare, Medicaid and all private insurances.
For those with incomes at 200% or below the federal poverty level, services are discounted. For example, a family of four with an annual income of $25,100 or below would pay $15 for a medical visit including lab and x-ray.
Special financial assistance paperwork must be completed annually and documentation of income provided and those with/or without insurance may apply.
For those with insurance, the discount is applied to the amount they owe after insurance pays. Also, for those on Medicare, the deductible is waived per federal requirements. For the financial assistance forms, go to our web page…www.chcsek.org
