Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

Here are today’s updates:

• Geary County Update
• Country Stampede: Helping Children’s Miracle Network
• Current Status at Stormont Vail Health

Geary County Update

Since the April announcement about efforts by Stormont Vail Health and Geary Community Hospital to enhance health care access and delivery in the region, all parties continue to work toward a contract.

In addition to Stormont Vail, parties are the Geary Community Hospital’s Board of Trustees and Geary County, which owns and operates the hospital and clinic. Those entities agreed to a confidential non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) and to work toward a contract that could result in Stormont Vail providing hospital and clinic services in Junction City and Geary County.

Under the LOI, Stormont Vail leadership is now undergoing a “due diligence” process to gain a full understanding of the Geary County health operations. This has included visits by Stormont Vail providers and team members to the Junction City facility, meeting with the hospital and clinic providers and staff to learn about their healthcare system, and review of services and programs.

If a contract is signed, Geary County would own the hospital building and lease it to Stormont Vail. Contract closing would be subject to certain conditions being met, including all required licenses, permits and governmental approvals.

In addition to the parties working toward the contract, a Geary Community Hospital Transition Task Force has been actively developing strategies and a collective vision for the region. This includes an effort to raise funds needed to maintain operations of the hospital and clinic until a contract can be closed, likely at the end of 2022.

Stormont Vail Health has a strong tradition of working to provide care as close to home as possible to benefit patients and families. The organization has a network of primary care clinics in small towns and cities in the eastern Kansas, as well as outreach clinics for a number of specialty medicine providers. The organization utilizes a robust electronic medical system to enhance communication between providers and patients.  Stormont Vail’s hospital in Topeka, providing a high level of acute and intensive care, cares for patients from across the region, but consults daily with smaller Kansas hospitals to help keep patients near their hometowns, if the appropriate level of care is available.

As the Stormont Vail system grows primary care and specialty medicine programs in Manhattan through the construction of a new multi-story Manhattan campus, there is synergy in getting to know our peers at Geary Community Hospital. With the Geary and Stormont Vail teams working together, we hope to create plans and programs to sustain and grow greater healthcare access for those who live and work in the area, keeping care close to home.

Country Stampede: Helping Children’s Miracle Network

Country Stampede is coming to Topeka July 14-16. You can get great discounts on a fantastic weekend of music all while helping the children Stormont Vail serves.  Country Stampede is offering everyone who uses the codes below special discounted tickets. They will also they will make a donation of $10-$30 per ticket to Children’s Miracle Network at Stormont Vail every time those codes are used. Be sure to share the codes with your family and friends and on social media.

Visit Country Stampede | Topeka, Kansas | Music Festival to get your tickets. Offer ends July 1, 2022.

Once you enter the code, the original price of the ticket will change to the discounted cost.

Current Status at Stormont Vail Health

• 4 inpatients are COVID-19 positive. This compares to 2 inpatients last Tuesday.
• 13 COVID-19 positive patients in the outpatient Enhanced Primary Care program. This compares to 11 last week.
• 16.0% of people tested for COVID-19 at Stormont Vail facilities the past seven days were positive. This compares to 12.0% last week.
• 104,598 vaccinations (included boosters) administered. This compares to 104,404 last week.
• To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment:
  • Use online scheduling assistant at stormontvail.org/covid19/vaccine
  • Call (785) 270-4786.

Call (785) 270-4786.

We together,
Dr. Kenagy