Following Shauna Kern?s announcement, that as a doctor of osteopathic medicine, she would be leaving the Hillsboro Clinic, the search for a new doctor began right away, according to hospital officials.
Kern was the only physician at the clinic, but Marion Regier, chief executive officer at Hillsboro Community Hospital, said plans are in place to recruit another full-time doctor.
?If a full-time physician is not in place by the time Dr. Kern leaves,? she said, ?we do have a commitment from a physician who will spend a limited amount of time in the clinic seeing patients as well as supervising Laurie Methvin, nurse practitioner.?
In addition, Regier said the hospital is also working on hiring another nurse practitioner or physician?s assistant.
In the near future, the plan for the clinic is to have two doctors and two mid-level providers to include a physician?s assistant or nurse practitioner.
?We look forward to July of 2015 when Dr. Alisa (Jost) Schmidt will be joining us,? she said, ?following the completion of her residency at Smoky Hills Family Medicine Residency in Salina.?
Clinic services
According to Regier, the Hillsboro Clinic provides health care to patients of all ages for both chronic and acute conditions.
?We participate in the ?Vaccines for Children? program and contract with all the major insurance companies, including the three KanCare health plans,? she said.
?The clinic also utilizes the lab and radiology services of the hospital.?
HCH is designated by CMS (Medicare) as a Critical Access Hospital, she said.
?As a CAH, we cannot have more than 25 beds,? Regier explained. ?Our average length of stay for inpatients, not including swing bed patients, cannot exceed an average of 96 hours, and we must provide 24 hour emergency care.?
Most patients can be cared for in Hillsboro at the facility, she said, but there are some who are stabilized in the emergency room and then transferred to larger hospitals for surgical, orthopedic or cardiac care.
?We work closely with our specialty physicians for convenient follow up care right here in Hillsboro,? Regier added.
Emergency room
In recent weeks, changes have been made to staffing in the emergency room, she said.
?Susan Steinfeldt, (an advanced practice registered nurse), joined our staff to provide emergency room care each night from Monday through Thursday,? Regier said.
Daytime emergency room care is provided by the clinic providers.
?We continue to contract with the University of Kansas Medical Center for coverage of our emergency room from Friday night until Monday morning.?
Health care outlook
Regier said there has been steady growth in both the clinic and hospital services this year.
?It is our privilege to provide health care services to our community and look forward to continuing those services for many years to come.?
Patients, she said, aren?t just a number or a name, but instead are neighbors, friends and family.
?They are part of the wonderful community we serve,? she said. ?We are all working together to care for your health with quality and compassion.?
For more information, call HCH at 620-947-3114 or stop by the facility at 701 S. Main St.
