3 days Ago By By Amanda Davis [email protected]
The Emporia City Commission has approved the annexation of land east of Road G and South of West 18th Ave. into city limits for the purpose of building a new Stormont Vail Health Center facility. The decision comes after 14 months of deliberation and mediation between Stormont Vail and Newman Regional Health Center.
Standing room only was available in the Municipal Court during the commission's deliberation. During time for public comments, 14 community members, including board members and staff from Newman Regional, took to the stand to address concerns with the annexed property. Many were passionate in their deliveries, citing potential increases in property taxes, financial instability for Newman Regional, and switching out community care for corporate care as reasons to avoid the proposition.
Dr. Alana Longwell, a Hospitalist with Newman Regional, said that, “The facility will have minimal positive impact on the economy. Instead, this annexation will have a negative impact, straining existing resources such as streets and water.
” Dr. Christina Faulkner, a former Stormont Vail OB-GYN, recently moved to Newman Regional Health. Faulkner expressed her dissatisfaction with Stormont Vail by stating, “They’ve become very corporate.
They don’t listen to what the physicians say. They have no interest in what it takes for physicians to stay in a rural community.” Dr.
Cathy Pimple, CEO of Newman Regional, quoted a question asked by City Commissioner Jamie Sauder in an email sent in August. Pimple said, “What is the best long term solution for healthcare in the Emporia area? We know it is not to let Stormont Vail Health go build an ambulatory surgery center, and do whatever they want.” The city commission passed the ordinance in a vote of 4-1, with Mayor Erren Harter counting as the only dissenting vote.
Harter explained that this annexation wasn’t an end of discussion surrounding the healthcare needs of Emporia residents, but merely a step forward in the process. Harter said, “My nay vote was a hope that there might be other nay votes in order to table it. It was not a nay vote in the legality of the annexation.
” Tyler Curtis, City Commissioner, claimed that his decision to vote yes on the annexation does not undermine his support for other local healthcare providers. Curtis stated, “I want all our local health care providers to be successful. At the same time, I’m not able to justify my desire to have these entities succeed while restraining another health care partner’s interest in expanding our health care offerings.
" Susan Brinkman, City Commissioner, thanked the public for expressing their concerns at the session. Brinkman saw the annexation not as a case of hospital versus hospital but as a case of approving annexation of a piece of property. Brinkman stated, “This was absolutely a matter of city business regarding annexation and did not have anything to do with what would eventually be attached to that parcel.
That would be as if I had a crystal ball and was second-guessing what a developer might do with a piece of property.” The sentiment that this was simply a matter of city business was echoed by other members of the city commission. Harter stated that, “In the end, the real discussion is not, ‘Who provides the healthcare?’ It’s ‘Is the healthcare being provided? “ Many public comments argued for the delaying of annexation so that more public meetings and discussions could take place.
Curtis sympathized with the public's frustration but was hesitant about the efficiency of more public meetings. He said, “I think it would be very helpful if there is new information to present and new information to be considered. Regurgitating the same arguments and the same concerns at this point is probably redundant.
” Pimple felt blindsided by the City commission’s decision to annex the land on Wednesday. Pimple claims that in a private meeting on Sept. 17 between Stormont, Newman, Emporia City Commission, and Lyon County Commission, the four entities reached a verbal agreement to delay voting on annexation until a Dec.
18 meeting. A joint agreement was drafted but it was not finalized by any party. Brinkman claimed that during the meeting, the Emporia city manager drafted up a formal statement, but that it was not agreed upon by any entity involved.
Brinkman said, “I believe Newman also took some steps that were counter to what was discussed in that meeting, but again, there was no agreement following the meeting.” Brinkman did not disclose the steps discussed by Newman in the meeting. Esther Knobloch, Executive Director of Quality and Safety at Newman Regional, said that the City Commission was only approaching this from the perspective of an executive action.
She said, “It would seem that they are approaching it from one angle, when there’s multiple angles that need to be considered to make a wise decision. In an official statement released by Stormont Vail, the healthcare provider thanked the city for passing the ordinance annexation and claimed that the passage complied with typical state business practices. Stormont Vail stated, “the annexation of the property is a next step in a process to provide new space for our team and enhanced care for our patients in Emporia and the region.
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