Bourbon County, Fort Scott, Health Care

Coping With No Mercy Hospital

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Sarah Jane Tribble, a writer for Kaiser Health News, posted another of her series of features on the closing of Mercy Hospital Fort Scott one year ago.

The following is an excerpt:

“A year ago, after Mercy gave a 90-day notice that it would close, City Manager Dave Martin said the betrayal felt by city leaders led to lawyers and calls with other health care systems about taking over the facility. Now, Martin has realized ‘we will not have ― or do we need ― a hospital.'”

For the full feature click below:

: No Mercy: What Happens When A Rural Hospital Closes?

Fort Scott National Historic Site, Government, Jobs

FSNHS New Park Ranger: Laura Abbott

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Laura Abbott, 36, started at  Fort Scott National Historic Site on September 20, 2019.
Her hometown is Lake Crystal, MN.
Abbott began her career because it was an opportunity to showcase history.
“When I finished college, with a degree in history, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life,” she said. “I randomly came across an opportunity to intern for the National Park Service in California, and because I had nothing else to do, I took it. As someone who hadn’t visited parks growing up, I wasn’t very familiar with the NPS, but once I realized that I would be able to use my love of history every day, I was hooked. It’s been such an incredible privilege to work for the NPS and share my passion with visitors.”
“My title is park ranger,” she said. ” My responsibilities include conducting interpretive programs and historic weapons demonstrations at the fort and working as the volunteer coordinator.”
Abbott’s first job with the National Park Service was in 2008 when she worked as an unpaid military history intern in San Francisco.
“In 2010, when I moved to Washington, D.C. to attend graduate school, I got a job as a park guide on the National Mall and have worked for the NPS ever since,” she said.
” I have worked at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, and the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C.,” she said.
Fort Scott National Historic Site is unique, Abbott believes.
“I think what’s most unique about the park is that the story it tells really can’t be found anywhere else in the NPS,” she said. ” It’s a story that is not very familiar to many people. The Mexican War and Bleeding Kansas are usually footnotes in history, so to have a park where these events actually occurred is pretty special.”
FSNHS park visitor center, park store, and historic structures will be open daily from 8:30 am–4:30 pm through March 31, 2020, it’s winter hours.
Check out FSNHS website
Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, Fort Scott, Health Care

Dr. Grant Hartman, DC, Joins CHC/SEK

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Fort Scott native Dr. Grant Hartman has joined the staff of Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas in Pittsburg and will be seeing patients starting in January.

 

He will see patients in Pittsburg on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and Wednesdays in CHC/SEK’s Fort Scott clinic at 401 Woodland Hills Blvd.

Appointments can be scheduled by calling 620.240.5679.

 

Dr. Hartman is a graduate of Pittsburg State University with a BS in biology, and Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, MO.

He has owned and operated Hartman Spine & Joint in Fort Scott since August 2015.

 

“I’m thrilled to be joining the team at CHC/SEK,” Dr. Hartman said in a press release. “I’m inspired by their mission to provide care to all, and their total, holistic approach to health care. Chiropractic medicine provides extensive pain management solutions equipping patients to achieve better health through wellness and it’s very exciting to see CHC/SEK recognize that medications are not always the answer to a patient’s pain. Working in conjunction with the primary care doctors to treat patients with acute and chronic pain will be one of my focuses there.”

 

The Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas Clinic, 401 Woodland Hills, just off Hwy. 69 south of Fort Scott.

 

He will be working within CHC/SEK’s Wellness Department, which also employs a full-time physical therapist, wellness coordinator, and a wellness services assistant, according to the press release. Personalized treatment and exercise programs are designed around each patient’s physical deficiencies or needs, and patients are encouraged to develop goals based on their unique personal requirements.

 

 

Opinion

Such a Strange Way to Save the World by Pastor Jimmy Tucker

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The Bottom Line

 

 

Our third granddaughter, Vivienne, will celebrate her first Christmas this year. When a newborn baby joins the family, it’s a wonderful celebration. When you think of Jesus’ immaculate conception and birth, it was a rather strange way for Him to arrive on earth. We can’t understand how a virgin could conceive and give birth to the Son of God. It was a miracle…and we just believe it.

Jesus came to earth as a baby, grew up to be a man, lived a holy life, and gave His life to save the world from the penalty of sin. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The incarnation of Jesus is defined as “the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ.” This was God’s plan from the beginning.

God provided the solution to our problems through Jesus. The whole world had a sin problem and Jesus was the only One who was qualified to solve it. The only hope for mankind was to make peace with God, so Jesus provided the bridge as man’s Mediator to God. Jesus was equal with God on one hand and identified with mankind on the other.

God took Christ from the holy Trinity in Heaven and placed Him in the womb of a virgin. This is the miracle of what we now call Christmas. When we couldn’t get up to God‘s holiness on our own, He sent Jesus down to our level to bridge the gap. What an awesome, loving, and powerful plan! This Bridge has proven trustworthy and faithful to thousands of witnesses over all these years. Jesus came so that we might be forgiven and eternally reconciled with God the Father. Jesus became human so that we could become holy like Him. He did his part — are you doing yours? Do you believe in Jesus? Are you allowing Him to help you be holy?

Jesus has many wonderful names with significant meanings in the Bible. Before exchanging Christmas gifts, you might consider a new family tradition of reading some of the following scriptures regarding His Name: Exodus 3:14, Psalm 9:10, Psalm 59:16,17, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6,7, Isaiah 44:6, Mark 1:24, Luke 1:31,35, Luke 2:11, Luke 19:34,38, John 1:1,29,41, John 4:42, Acts 10:36, Romans 1:4, 1 Corinthians 2:8, Revelation 5:5, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:16, Revelation 22:13,16.

Philippians 2:9 NKJV: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name.” His name shall be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” After His death and resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven but sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. He’s here, so will you let Him save you from your sins? He will unite with your spirit and live inside you if you’ll invite Him in.

The Bottom Line: God’s plan to save the world might seem strange, but it was perfect. Don’t you just love it when His plan comes together!

Pastor Jimmy Tucker

(620) 223-1483

Diamond Community Church

2591 Jayhawk Road

10:45 a.m. Worship

Obituary

Obituary of John Renard

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John Arthur Renard, age 81, resident of Ft. Scott, KS, died Friday, December 20, 2019, at his home. He was born July 22, 1938, in Ellsworth, KS, the son of Carl E. and Myrtle E. Hundley Renard.

He married Judith Ann Hammons on May 17, 1964, in Mapleton, KS. Following high school, John served in the U. S. Navy.

He worked for Smoky Hill Electrical CO-OP in Ellsworth, KS. They moved to Newton, KS, for about a year before taking the job in Fort Scott in 1969. He worked for KG&E as a lineman and equipment operator until his retirement in 1992.

In 1979, John opened his shoe repair shop, Main Street Shoe Repair, inside Calico Cottage. The shop later moved to the most recent location at the back of Country Cupboard, 12 N. Main St. He enjoyed working in his shop, watching Kansas State football on television, checking boxes of Judy’s to-do lists, attending children’s and grandchildren’s events and attending family reunions.

John was a member of the First Christian Church and later attended the First United Methodist Church. He will be remembered as an awesome husband, dad, and grandfather.

Survivors include his wife Judy; three sons, Jim Renard and wife Melissa, Dallas, TX, Ron Renard wife Geila, Marshall, MO, and Dave Renard, Mapleton, KS; a daughter DeeAnne Miller and husband Kevin, Ft. Scott, KS; two sisters, Eunice Smith, Summerville, SC, and Mary Knottgen, Topeka, KS; four grandchildren, Kellen Renard, Kevin Miller, Jr., Sara “Todorovic.”  and Patrick Coman; three great -grandchildren, Vance Salazar, Lyric Coman and Violet Coman; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by two brothers, Leroy and Kenny Renard; five sisters, Velma Schwerdtfeger, Billie Harold, Rita George, Linda Boese, and infant sister Alma Renard.

There was cremation.

Rev. Reed Hartford will conduct memorial services at 11:00 AM Friday, December 27th, at the Cheney Witt Chapel.

The family will receive friends from 10:00 AM until service time at the funeral home.

Memorials are suggested to the Bourbon County Fair and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Chapel, PO Box 347, 201 S. Main, Ft. Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guestbook at cheneywitt.com.

Opinion

Don’t Be A Chreaster by Pastor James Collins

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“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

One of my all-time favorite Christmas presents was a Rubik’s Cube. My folks gave it to me for Christmas when I was in the first grade. Momma ordered the Rubik’s Cube. She didn’t order it online. There was no such thing as “online” when I was a kid. Momma ordered the Rubik’s Cube from the Sears and Roebuck catalog.

Today, with all the technology and video games available to them, a kid would not want something like a Rubik’s Cube. But when I was a little boy, everybody wanted one for Christmas. I was so excited on Christmas morning when I opened that gift. I spent most of the Christmas break learning to work the Rubik’s Cube.

When school started back, I took my Rubik’s Cube to show off to all my friends. At my school, we had a bully. His name was Big Jamie. Big Jamie should have been in the third grade, but he was held back. Being “held back” is a nice way of saying he failed. Big Jamie failed the first grade twice. So, he was two or three years older than the rest of us, and he used to push us around.

I was out on the playground with my Rubik’s Cube when Big Jamie snatched it out of my hand. Someone told me that a bully was just a lot of hot air and bluff. If you stand up to him, he will get scared of you and run. Then you won’t have anymore trouble out of him. That was the worst advice I ever had. I said, “Give me that back or you are going to get it.” Big Jamie hit me in the face. The blow knocked me down. Big Jamie stood over me with my Rubik’s Cube in his hand and laughed.

I heard a voice say, “Give it back to him and leave him alone.” I turned and saw my friend, Joe Ray, standing in front of Big Jamie with his fists raised. The next thing I knew, they were fighting. Joe Ray whipped Big Jamie and handed me my Rubik’s Cube. For the rest of my school years, if I stayed around Joe Ray, I never had to worry about that bully bothering me.

If you try to whip the devil on your own, he will beat you every time. Jesus defeated Satan at Calvary and gave power and authority to His church. You need other people in the church to help you fight your spiritual battles.

Some of you reading this today, will go to church this week for Christmas services. For many of you, this will be the first time since Easter that you have been to church. Some of you only go to church twice a year. If that is you, I use the term “chreasters” to describe you because you only show up for church on Christmas and Easter. When I call you a chreaster, it is not my intent to discourage you from going to church this week. I want you to go. But I also hope that you go next week, and the next week, and so on. I hope that you will find and become a part of a local Bible believing church.

The point is: You need a church family, so you don’t face the trials of life alone. Helping each other can strengthen us, but self-reliance makes for weakness. Christianity is not a choose-your-own-path religion. God says you need to go to church more than twice a year.

Don’t be a chreaster.

James Collins is the pastor of Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. You are invited to their community breakfast tomorrow at 9:45 am, followed by their Christmas Sunday service. You are invited back the following Sunday, and the next, and the next. For more information visit the website fortscottfsbc.com.

Bourbon County Local News