Talk continues on Larned hospital's fate

An offer to transfer facility made; no counteroffer received

By DALE HOGG

The 45-day stay in the lawsuit over the closure of St. Joseph Memorial Hospital in Larned expired Friday and, as far as Larned residents know, not much has happened.

“I sense some frustration bubbling up over there,” said Sharon Lind, chief executive officer of St. Joseph and its parent facility Central Kansas Medical Center in Great Bend. She wishes she could disclose more, but both parties (CKMC and the Pawnee County Community Health Organization) have a confidentiality agreement.

“We are in negotiations,” Lind said. At the table are representatives of CKMC, Catholic Health Initiatives (CKMC’s Denver-based parent company), Larned and Pawnee County, and the PCCHO, a non-governmental not-for-profit group.

“The leaders of Central Kansas Medical Center and St. Joseph Memorial Hospital have worked diligently to negotiate the transfer of the SJMH critical access hospital assets,” she said. “To date, we’ve made an offer but have not received a counteroffer.”

On June 10, CKMC’s board voted to close the Larned facility as of Sept. 30 due to continued financial losses. This would mean, unless transferred, the hospital’s critical access designation would lapse.

Basically, a CAH is reimbursed by Medicare at 101 percent in exchange for limiting its size and patient stays, and maintaining an emergency room and relationship with a larger hospital. The program was born in the 1990s to save rural hospitals but due to cost, it is unlikely there will be any new CAH designations granted.

On Aug. 24, Attorney General Steve Six joined with the grassroots PCHO in suing SJMH and CKMC.

A Pawnee County District Court judge let stand Sept. 4 a temporary restraining order delaying the Sept. 30 closure of St. Joseph. The order sought by Six was part of the suit aimed at preserving SJMH’s Critical Access Hospital status.

The stay was granted Sept. 13 when the PCCHO agreed to put its suit on hold and CKMC agreed to postpone indefinitely closing St. Joseph.

“St. Joseph Memorial Hospital is open in compliance with the recent court order,” Lind said. “We are working with their attorneys to continue the stay.” The emergency room, labs, X-ray and support services remain operational.

There has been talk in Larned about using the former Harvest Inn as a clinic and moving in trailers to utilize as medical facilities. There is also the chance that Hays Medical Center may operate a satellite facility. “I encourage Larned residents to talk to their city and county leaders,” Lind said.

Hays Medical Center is not a party to the negotiations, but Lind said they may play a role in the Larned health-care picture.

During the course of the discussions, Lind said they had to do some educating on hospital transfers, licensing and maintenance. “They didn’t have a clear understanding of what it takes.”

In Larned, all questions about the status of the case were deferred to Mary Beth Herrmann, administrator of the Pawnee County Health Department and PCHO member. However, she was out of her office Friday. The Tribune asked those it spoke with to have Herrmann call the paper to comment, but no calls were received.