Rethuged: What happens when a city's hospital closes 'without warning' during a pandemic
What happens when a city's hospital closes 'without warning' during a pandemicGroup of doctors and nurses in Kansas city of Wellington are improvising ways to battle the coming pandemic with little guidance and not much equipment
Chris McGreal in Wellington, Kansas
Tue 31 Mar 2020 06.00 EDT
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/what-happens-when-a-citys-hospital-closes-without-warning-during-a-pandemic
Snips:
“We lost our hospital abruptly and without warning,” said Dr Lacie Gregory, a family practitioner in Wellington. “Even as the healthcare providers here in town, we did not hear that it was closing until it was a done deal. We received a text message from the director of nursing saying as of now there’s no hospital. So really, really unfortunate timing.”
That has left Gregory and a small group of other doctors and nurse practitioners at the city’s Family Care Center at the forefront of preparing for the coming pandemic with little guidance and not much equipment.
The physicians had assumed the 63-bed Sumner community hospital’s emergency department would deal with people contracting coronavirus while they went on treating more routine conditions of cuts, broken bones and high blood pressure, and that the two would remain safely at a distance. But now the Family Care Center is the first line of defence for the city of 8,000 people.
It would appear the hospital's owners simply decided to cut and run before the hard impacts of COVID-19 hit, during which they would have struggled to stay open without substantial state or federal help. Now, the load will be thrown entirely onto a small community clinic and many more people will die.
This folks, is capitalism's beloved version of private-run healthcare at its worst. Also be sure to read the comments from officials in an adjoining country to raise your fury level to 10.
KY...........
= new reply since forum marked as read
Wellington and Sumner County are only 20-30 miles outside Wichita. I have no knowledge of Kansas law in the matter but if things get really bad in Wichita, they may have to commandeer this one for overflow or to treat normal medical cases.
We also have to remember Kansas, like Kentucky, has a heavy-weighted Republican legislature but with a Democratic Governor. I would guess their politicians would resist state takeover, or at least until the infections are very bad.
COVID-19 case confirmed in Sumner County, Public health director issues emergency order
See: https://www.wellingtondailynews.com/news/20200326/covid-19-case-confirmed-in-sumner-county-public-health-director-issues-emergency-order
The Sumner County Health Dept. received official confirmation late Wednesday night of a positive COVID-19 case in Sumner County. The patient is a man in his 60s who resides in the northern part of the county. He is currently hospitalized in Sedgwick County. The county health department has started a disease investigation and is locating contacts of the patient.
From reading the article, it appears Kansas exempts a high percentage of businesses in the state from shut-down rules.
It just occurred to me that there's an item that plagues even these relatively rural western states: they all have interstates running through them which can bring the virus to their doorstep every single day.
KY...........
Looking over their web page (below), you would think everything is perfectly normal. No notice of closure at all.
HOWEVER, their Facebook page does clearly indicate they are closed:
Link: https://www.facebook.com/Sumner-Community-Hospital-56599231724/
----------------------------------
Sumner Community Hospital
See: https://www.sumnerhospital.com/?sub=Home
Sumner Community Hospital's deep roots in Wellington, Kansas, stretch back to 1910, with the establishment of St. Luke's Hospital, operated by the Episcopal Church.
St. Luke's had its own nursing school and living quarters for its nursing students, and took care of its Wellington neighbors. In 1920, management of the hospital was taken over by non-profit groups and local citizens; then, in 1925, management was assumed by a Board of Trustees elected by the people of Wellington. At that time, St Luke's became a municipal hospital, and a new and larger facility was built on the site to replace the original medical center.
In 1994, St. Luke's merged with another area hospital, Wellington Hospital, to become Sumner Community Hospital. At that time, it was agreed that a larger medical office building was needed to accommodate the needs of the new doctors who became part of SRMC following the merger. The new office space was built in 1995.
Sumner Community Hospital Today
Sumner Regional Medical Center is now Sumner Community Hospital. Sumner Community Hospital is a 63 bed hospital located in South Central Kansas, offering advanced imaging capabilities, general surgery, laboratory services, geriatric behavioral health, residential care, short-term rehab, and variety of other inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
On behalf of our physicians and staff, we thank you for choosing Sumner Community Hospital as your healthcare provider. Here at Sumner Community Hospital we pride ourselves in providing you with the highest level of care and exceptional service.
Our physicians & hospital staff are the best trained and highest quality in the area and we look forward to being your healthcare provider of choice.
We hope our hospital website will introduce you to our facility and our services. Sumner Community Hospital's commitment to excellence ensures that individuals who live and work in our community never need to travel far to obtain superior healthcare services. In cooperation with our physicians & staff, we are here for you.
Sincerely Yours,
Cindy West, BSN, RN, CEN
KY.........
n/t..........
to keep regular patients separated from COVID-19 patients. As explained above, this facility is about 30-mi. from Wichita so it would seem to be a great backup facility for this area.
It makes me suspect this may be what the owners have in mind: making a quick sale at a huge profit (essentially a bribe) and cut and run.
Like you, I have no knowledge of Kansas and Federal laws under this situation.....
"We had a $400,000 loss in January," Davis told KAKE News. "You might make payroll, but then you don't pay the 401K, or you can't pay P.T.O. [Paid Time Off] or what you call employee obligations. We could see that looming."
Davis also said the company gave notices required by Kansas regulatory agencies on Wednesday, but employees and hospital patients were still surprised by the locked doors Friday.
Local doctors in Wellington say they "emphatically disagree" with the notion doctors were sending patients to Wichita for insurance or Medicaid reasons.
"That's absolutely false," said Family Doctor Steve Hawks. "Some patients were transferred to Wichita, but those were only patients we felt needed the level of care Wichita could provide."
http://www.kake.com/story/41894883/wellington-hospital-managers-blame-doctors-for-hospital-closing-doctors-disagree
More at link, including comments from the mayor of Wellington who doesn't seem to give one shit about the hospital or the people who live in Wellington. Mayor seems more worried about 'toxic' language being used to describe the situation.
Darn near sounds like the folks in that area were a bit too healthy for a spell (zero admissions).....
Either that or the hospital was charging too much so people were fleeing to other hospitals to cut their costs.
I recall going to a local hospital here for a test procedure a few years back and the lady at check-in demanded a sizable check right on the spot, even though I had good insurance. Many folks would just walk back out the door.
These stories usually involve far more than meets the eye. There could also be things like complications with using Medicaid or Medicare at that hospital, or Trump's people could be screwing up their Medicare payments.
KY............
Have a good one.
