Larned to hold town hall meeting regarding hospital

Last Update: 6/29 6:12 pm

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PAWNEE COUNTY, Kansas – Pawnee County residents are making every effort to stop St. Joseph Memorial Hospital from closing. Last month Catholic Health Initiatives announced it would close the hospital in September, but the County Health Organization wants to buy the hospital or find a new owner.

When the announcement was made that the hospital would close, Larned leaders were surprised and disappointed.

“Everyone knows that it is a struggle to keep that local access, but we believe very strongly that this community can support a hospital,” said Mary Beth Herrmann, with the Pawnee Co. Community Health Organization.

And for the safety and health of the community, the city’s determined to not let the hospital just shut down. So, it’s doing what it can to look at ways to keep the current facility or bring a new medical center to town. The city and county may even step in to offer financial help to make that happen.

“There are some alternatives that we've looked at and that is one of them,” said Larned Mayor Bob Pivonka.

And a top priority for Larned is to keep the hospital’s critical access license.

“Without the licensing, a rural hospital cannot be financially viable,” said Don Gaeddert, Larned city manager. “So it's critical that we're able to maintain that license for this community.”

But the city says Catholic Health Initiatives isn’t willing to give up the license or sell the hospital.

“I know in other CHI markets, we have had other Catholic or faith-based sponsoring organizations orders take and transfer hospitals to the same similar ministry,” said Sharon Lind, CEO of Central Kansas Medical Center.

So what will ultimately happen to St. Joseph Hospital remains unclear. But one thing is for sure – the community’s input will be a big part of the solution. Residents are encouraged to share their input at a tow hall meeting Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Larned Community Center.

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