Editor’s Note: The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department incorrectly reported an infant in the crash was in critical condition.
One of the vehicle involved in Wednesday crash-photo courtesy KWCH
SEDGWICK COUNTY — One person among 9 injured in an accident just after 7a.m. Wednesday in Sedgwick County remains hospitalized in critical condition.
A Toyota Corolla driven by a 14-year-old Morgan Tobias was southbound on 135th Street West when an eastbound Ford Expedition driven by a 21-year-old Motia Wesley on 71st Street South failed to stop at the stop sign, according to Sedgwick County Lt. Tim Myers. The Ford struck the Toyota.
In addition to the teen driver, the Toyota had 3 other occupants including a 39-year-old Kimberly Tobias a 17-year-old Didrik Ytrehus and 12-year-old Caleb Tobias.
An ambulance transported the 12-year-old to Wesley Hospital with critical injuries, according to Myers. The other occupants of the Toyota, the Wesly and passengers in the Ford including 14-year-old Alex Luben, 12-year-old Caydence Luben a 5-year-old Emma King and a 2-year-old Calvin Hughes were transported by ambulance to St. Francis.
Caleb Tobias was still in critical condition Thursday afternoon, according to Myers.
At this time the accident is still under investigation, but preliminary results show the driver of the Ford became distracted and did not stop at the stop sign, according to Myers.
Don Albin, age 89, of rural Utica, Kansas, passed away Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at St. Francis Hospital, Wichita, Kansas. He was born Donald Lee Albin, May 18, 1929, in Gove County, Kansas to Ernest L. and Myrtle Hester (Goss) Albin.
He attended Gove County East Lonestar District #19 through 8th grade, then went on to graduate from Trego Community High School. On May 2, 1948, he was united in marriage to Francis Arlene Flagler in Trego, Kansas. To this union, two sons and two daughters were born. After the death of his first wife in March 18, 1991, Don later married Dorothy Pearl Richert on May 15, 1994, in Meno, Oklahoma. They enjoyed twenty-four years of marriage together.
Don was a farmer and rancher. His passions were equally divided between his faith, his farm and his family. He loved to tell people about Jesus, care for the land God created, and be with his family. He also enjoyed helping people, he was a neighbor to people all over Gove County and a generous supporter of missions and students all around the world.
Survivors include two sons, Tom and wife Maryle Hargitt Albin of Nashville, TN; Doug and wife Laurie of WaKeeney, Kansas; and a daughter, Eloise Albin Hall and husband Mark of Newton, Kansas; and stepchildren Steve Richert and wife Jeanne, Mike Richert and wife Diana, Deb Richert Regier and husband John, Robin Richert Souter and husband Randy, and Jim Richert and wife Joy.
Don had 28 grandchildren, Rebekah (Beka) Albin Tischker and husband Ben; April Albin Graves and husband Kyle; Heather Albin Marvin and husband Robert; Ryan Hall and wife Katie; Michelle Hall; Lauren Albin Anderson and husband Austin; Julia Albin Hopkins and husband Jacob (Jake); Jacqueline Winslow (Jackie) and husband Luke; Leslie Black; Melissa Richert Prochaska and husband Scott; Jessica Richert Oswald and husband Brooks; Elisabeth Richert; Jennifer Richert Gatlin and husband Jason; Nathaniel Richert; Michael Richert and wife Jenny; Jesse Richert; Josh Richert and wife Eva; Emily Regier; Maggie Regier Baker and husband Kory; Jake Regier and wife Kelsey; Libby Regier Brooks and husband Scott; J Walsh and wife Jessica; Matt McGuire and wife Annie; Megan Souter; Madison Souter; Ross Richert and wife Kayla; Brad Richert and wife Courtney; and Kelsey Richert.
He leaves behind 35 great-grandchildren: Charlotte (Charlie) Tischker, Wyatt Graves, Levi Graves, Colton Graves, Ellie Marvin, Hadley Marvin, Sylvie Marvin, Anya Hall, Jack Hall, Leah Hopkins, Samuel (Sam) Hopkins, Ashton Anderson, Nikoli Prochaska, Percy Prochaska, Kaleigh Prochaska, Evelyn Gatlin, Eleora Gatlin, Natalie Richert, Ella Doeksen, Ava Doeksen, Jonathan Doeksen, Jo Jo Doeksen, Eli Baker, Anna Baker, Nora Baker, Kody McCrady, Toby Walsh, Riley Walsh, Legend McGuire, Legaci McGuire, Levi Richert, Cameron Richert, Henry Richert, Annabelle Richert, and Evelyn Richert.
Don also leaves behind a sister, Lois Riggs of Cottage Grove, Oregon.
He was preceded in death by his parents, E.L. and Myrtle Hester (Goss) Albin; two infant siblings; brothers Glen, Lester, Marvin, Roy, Ralph, Harold and Gene; and sisters Elsie Roberts, Rachel Johnson, and Pearl Ward; a daughter, Colleen Albin Hall; and his first wife Francis Arlene Flagler Albin.
Visitation will be Saturday morning from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. at the Quinter Church of the Brethren prior to the service.
Funeral service will be 11:00 a.m., Saturday, March 9, 2019, at the Quinter Church of the Brethren. Burial will be in the Baker Township Cemetery, Quinter. The funeral dinner will be at the Quinter, United Methodist Church at 12:30 p.m.
Memorial contributions are suggested to Reaching Hands Ministry, Quinter, Kansas. Donations to the fund may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67752.
Alan Wamser, IT manager, was recently awarded HaysMed’s quarterly Associate Spirit Award.
The Associate Spirit Award recognizes an outstanding Associate who has gone above and beyond their daily job duties to care for a patient, visitor or associate at HaysMed, part of The University of Kansas Health System.
Wamser went above and beyond when the HaysMed Foundation needed to move existing data from an old database to a new cloud-based solution. On his own personal time, he wrote a program that pulled the nearly 2000 files from the old database, assigned them to the correct donor record and pulled them into a format that could be used to import into the new database.
The solution saved the foundation countless hours of manual labor moving information from one database to another with the added benefit of eliminating any errors in aligning the data.
Wamser was awarded the traveling “Associate Spirit Stick,” $50 in chamber checks, and his own Associate Spirit Award parking spot for 90 days.
WASHINGTON (AP) —Hog farmer Howard Hill is feeling the pinch from President Donald Trump’s get-tough trade policies — his pigs are selling for less than it costs to raise them. It’s a hit that Hill is willing to take for now, but his understanding also comes with a caution flag for the president.
Former Kansas congressman and current U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed farmers this week in Iowa- photo courtesy U.S. Office of Secretary of State
“We have patience, but we don’t have unlimited patience,” says Hill, who raises about 7,000 hogs a year near the central Iowa town of Cambridge.
The president’s willingness to pick trade fights with multiple trading partners at once has set off volleys of retaliatory tariffs, driving down the price of pork, corn and soybeans in political bellwether Iowa and elsewhere, and contributing to a 12 percent drop in net farm income nationally last year.
At issue are trade talks with China over intellectual property theft and a new U.S. deal with Canada and Mexico to replace NAFTA that is awaiting congressional approval. Those efforts could take months to complete. So scores of farm and business groups are pressing for quicker relief, a stopgap step to help them out until the more comprehensive trade agreements are resolved. They’re urging the administration to remove Canada and Mexico from the list of nations hit with a 25 percent tariff on steel shipped to the U.S. and a 10 percent tariff placed on aluminum. Their hope is that action would give the U.S. neighbors cause to remove retaliatory tariffs they placed on U.S. goods, such as a 20 percent levy Mexico placed on U.S.-produced hams.
So far, the administration hasn’t bit on that idea, but it dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Iowa this week to assure farmers that help is on the way.
For now, Trump is walking a political tightrope: Going to bat for steel and aluminum makers has endeared him to many voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where steel production is a matter of economic pride and legacy, but it could end up hurting him in ag-heavy states like Iowa and Wisconsin that backed him in 2016.
In Iowa, which casts the first votes of the presidential campaign season, state Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kauffmann said he’s surprised by how patient farmers have been with Trump. The Trump Agriculture Department did approve up to $12 billion in assistance to help compensate farmers caught up in the tariff battle.
“They all say it’s hurting,” Kauffman said of the trade disputes. “They’re all saying the stopgap relief was definitely not a cure-all, but they all understand what the president is trying to accomplish. It’s quite an interesting phenomenon.”
But the defeat of two Republican House lawmakers in last year’s midterm elections hints at some of the anxiety in farm country.
State Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said the political climate in the state has changed since Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 9 percentage points in 2016, in part because of trade.
“These tariffs are kind of a slow burn. People are getting more and more frustrated,” Price said. “It’s one of the reasons Donald Trump is going to lose Iowa in 2020.”
Some of the Democratic candidates for president are starting to differentiate themselves from Trump on trade when talking to Iowa voters. Sen. Kamala Harris of California has criticized the president’s “go it alone” attitude. Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland says “we’re not going to succeed in the global economy by enacting protectionist policies.”
Still, some Democrats could have trouble seizing on the issue. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont spent much of the 2016 campaign railing against the very trade deals that Trump denigrated, calling them “disastrous” for blue-collar workers.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is among the lawmakers urging the Trump administration to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs on products brought in from Canada and Mexico. He said it’s a first step to getting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement through Congress. He also said it would improve the financial picture for farmers.
“Unfortunately we’re starting to see more and more warning signs that farmers are running out of leeway with their bankers and landlords,” Grassley said.
Pompeo sought to calm some of those nerves Monday even as he warned that Chinese theft of technology affects agriculture, too.
“The good news is this — help is on the way,” Pompeo said. “American producers and Chinese consumers will both be better off. The outcome of President Trump’s trade negotiations currently under way will pay dividends for people in each of our two countries.”
Hill said he was encouraged by Pompeo’s remarks.
“I think people recognize, particularly with China, they have not been playing by the rules for a long time,” Hill said. “I think producers are supportive of trying to correct these issues. On the other hand, we don’t want it to go on forever.”
The American Farm Bureau Federation reports that Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies in the U.S. went down in 2018 compared with prior-year levels. But it also noted that farm debt is at a record high, and that lending standards are tighter and the cost of credit is rising.
“Certainly many farmers have liquidated assets to discharge debt. How much longer can many others endure remains a question,” the farm group said.
Edna Eileen Straub, 74, of Russell, Kansas, died on March 06, 2019, at her home in Russell, Kansas.
A memorial service to celebrate Eileen’s life will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, March 14, 2019, at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary in Russell, Kansas, with Pastor Ezekiel Koech officiating. Cremation will take place prior to services.
Memorials may be sent for Hays Hospice and Hope Lodge of Kansas City and can be sent in care of the mortuary.
Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell, Kansas, is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.
The third-ranked Fort Hays State women’s basketball team opens the postseason in the MIAA Championship quarterfinals against Missouri Western Thursday evening (March 7) inside historic Municipal Auditorium. First tip in Kansas City, Mo. is set for 6 p.m.
It will be the second meeting of the season between the No. 1 Tigers (27-1) and the ninth-seeded Griffons (14-15). Fort Hays State led wire-to-wire in a 67-50 home victory over MWSU earlier this season (1/24/19). It will be the first matchup between the Tigers and Griffons in the MIAA Championship.
Fort Hays State holds a 27-22 lead in the all-time series against Missouri Western, including a two-game winning streak and an 11-5 mark under Tony Hobson. Missouri Western won both previous neutral site matchups.
This is the 10th time the Tigers have qualified for the MIAA Championship and the eighth year in a row the team has booked a trip to KC in early March. Fort Hays State is 10-9 overall in the league tournament, including a 7-9 mark in Kansas City. The Tigers are 5-4 all-time in the quarterfinals, 2-1 as the No. 1 seed and 1-1 against No. 9 seeds.
The Tigers head into the postseason on a 12-game winning streak, their second double-digit win streak this season. It is just the second time the Tigers have multiple non-consecutive double-digit win streaks in program history (1990-91).
Saturday’s win was Fort Hays State’s 100th victory over the last four years, making Tatyana Legette and Carly Heim the first players in program history to win 100 or more games in their career.
Both the Tigers and Griffons had a player listed on the first team All-MIAA roster, with Legette earning MIAA Player of the Year honors and MWSU’s Katrina Roenfeldt earning a spot on the first team.
Missouri Western opened the postseason with a 55-47 win over Nebraska-Kearney Wednesday to move to 14-15 overall. The Griffons rank 12th in the league with an average of 64.3 points per game. Katrina Roenfeldt, a first team All-MIAA performer, leads the team and ranks third in the league with 16.5 points per game while pacing the Griffons with 5.1 rebounds every game. The Griffons are now 3-0 in neutral site games this season.
The winner of Thursday’s contest will advance to the semifinals on Saturday (March 9) against the winner of No. 4 Washburn and No. 6 Emporia State. First tip in that contest is also slated for 6 p.m.
Fort Hays State, the No. 4 seed in the MIAA Tournament, will face No. 5 seed Lincoln in the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday (Mar. 8) at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. Tipoff is at 12 pm. FHSU enters at 18-10 overall, while Lincoln is 17-11 overall.
The Tigers enter the MIAA Tournament winners of their last two after defeating Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State at home last week. FHSU finished alone in fourth place in the MIAA at 12-7, while Lincoln was alone in fifth at 10-9. FHSU won its only regular season meeting with Lincoln this year, a 72-63 decision in Hays on February 16.
Fort Hays State is 11-11 all-time in the MIAA Tournament. Last year the Tigers went 2-1 in the tournament, winning an opening round game over Lindenwood then a thrilling overtime quarterfinal contest against Missouri Southern before falling in the semifinals to Washburn. FHSU owns a 7-4 record in quarterfinal games and this will be the first time the Tigers meet Lincoln in the MIAA Tournament.
Brady Werth led the Tigers in the first meeting with Lincoln this year, scoring 22 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Werth just became the 21st member of the 1,000-point club at FHSU in the regular season finale win over Pittsburg State. He received All-MIAA First Team honors earlier this week and enters the tournament averaging 16.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
Marcus Cooper and Kyler Kinnamon also received All-MIAA honors earlier in the week, both honorable mentions. Cooper is the only other Tiger averaging double figures in scoring at 12 points per game, while Kinnamon leads the team in assists, dishing out 4.4 per game.
Lincoln’s regular starting five all averages double figures in scoring for the season, led by Terrance Smith at 16.5 points per game. Grant Olsson, who averages 10.6 per game, led the Blue Tigers in Hays earlier this year with 24 points.
Marjorie B. Niewald, 93, passed away March 6, 2019 at The University of Kansas Health System, Pawnee Valley Campus, Larned.
She was born January 8, 1926 in Bazine, KS, the daughter of George and Mattie Seuser Wagner. A longtime area resident, she was a bookkeeper at the La Crosse COOP.
She was a member of the Larned United Methodist Church, United Methodist Women, Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Auxiliary and the Bison American Legion Auxiliary
On July 21, 1949, she married John Niewald at Bison. He died January 24, 1991.
Survivors include: grandchildren, Mat Thompson (Kayla Reisner), Larned and Kelsi Thompson (Cody Elliott), Great Bend; four great grandchildren, Tucker Thompson and Spurgeon Thompson, both of Larned, Camden Elliott and Emma Elliott, both of Great Bend; step grandson, Alex Fulls, Kinsley and a niece, Jo Ann Edwards, Russiaville, Indiania.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents and two daughters, Debbie Niewald and Peggy Niewald Thompson.
Funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 14, 2019 at Beckwith Mortuary, Larned, with Rev. Bethann Black presiding. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, 2019, at Beckwith Mortuary. Burial will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 14, 2019 at Lone Star Cemetery, Bison, KS.
Memorials may be given to the Larned United Methodist Church or Larned Fire Department in care of Beckwith Mortuary, Box 477 Larned, KS 67550.
Scott Cason, currently the chief marketing officer at Texas A&M University-Commerce, was announced today by Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason as the new chief communications officer for the university.
President Mason said Cason would take up his post at the end of this month.
“I am immensely grateful to President Mason and the university community for this opportunity,” Cason said. “I look forward to the important work of advancing the Fort Hays brand, communicating the immense value of the student experiences we offer, and working with our alumni and friends to strengthen their ties to this great university.”
Cason will be tasked with leading the transformation of the Office of University Relations and Marketing into a more strategically focused agency responsible for all aspects of university communications and marketing.
“I am pleased to appoint such an innovative and strategic leader,” said President Mason.
“Scott’s breadth and depth of experience, along with his creative leadership style, make him uniquely qualified to lead efforts to further our strategic communications and marketing initiatives in ways that are progressive, proactive, and innovative. His skill set will amplify our efforts to tell Fort Hays State University’s compelling story,” she said.
Cason’s career began in the U.S. Navy as an officer and helicopter pilot. He later led a team of Navy recruiters in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia.
He changed careers in 1993 to become a public school teacher before beginning what he calls his third career – higher education marketing – in 1999.
Since then, he has worked at large and small public and private institutions, in the corporate sector, and as a marketing and enrollment consultant in higher education.
He has been at Texas A&M-Commerce since 2016.
Cason holds a B.S. in marketing from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and an M.A. in teaching from Otterbein University, Westerville, Ohio.
The City of Hays is looking for career-minded individuals who want to serve their community by protecting its citizens as Police Officers. The work schedule includes 12-hour shifts which provides for 3 days off each week including every other weekend off. Some weekends and holidays required. Applications are also being taken for part time positions. Hours & pay will vary from the full time position.
REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must be a U.S. Citizen & at least 21 years of age within 6 months of application. No felony or domestic violence convictions permitted. Valid driver’s license & High School Diploma or GED required. Law Enforcement Certification, College Degree & Military Experience preferred but not required.
Paid on-the-job training for the right candidate. All Police Officers are required to live within a 40-mile radius of the City of Hays within 180 days of employment. Job offers contingent on pre-employment tests.
***Tattoos allowed with approval of the Chief of Police.***
COMPENSATIONS & BENEFITS
Salary range begins at $19.00. Guaranteed raises every year along with the opportunity to become a Master Police Officer. Placement depends on experience & certification. The City of Hays offers great benefits. Visitwww.haysusa.com for a full list of the benefits provided.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications will be accepted online at www.haysusa.com until position is filled. Questions about the position may be sent to Human Resources at[email protected] or by calling 785-628-7320.
APTITUDE AND PHYSICAL TEST DATE
The test date is set for March 23rd. Interested applicants must attend a test date after completing their online application in order to continue on in the hiring process. Applicants will receive more information about the testing process after the application is received.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed the five charges remaining against for state senator and current Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell at the request of prosecutors.
Michael O’Donnell-photo Sedgwick Co.
Jurors on Monday found O’Donnell not guilty of 21 countsof wire fraud but deadlocked on two counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren dismissed on Thursday those remaining counts without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled. The government had filed a motion the day earlier seeking the dismissal of those charges.
O’Donnell said Wednesday he’s glad common sense prevailed but he’s sorry the legal action was such an expense for him and taxpayers.
O’Donnell was indicted last year on charges that he misspent $10,500 during campaigns for state senate and the Sedgwick County Commission.
Hays High students competed in regional journalism on Feb. 25 at Fort Hays State University. Hays earned 23 state placements in a variety of journalism categories.
Hays High School qualified 16 students for state after taking 23 awards in 19 events at the regional journalism competition on Feb. 25 at Fort Hays State University.
The annual contest featured schools from throughout Kansas ranging from 1A-6A. Although Hays students competed at Fort Hays, they were in fact competing against other 5A/6A schools from the “Ad Astra Regional.” It was one of six 5A/6A contests that took place.
Schools competing for state qualifications with Hays were Maize, Wichita Northwest, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Pittsburg, Andover Central, Wichita South and Derby.
In order to qualify for state, students had to place first, second or third in any event or receive an honorable mention. Up to three honorable mentions were awarded in each category.
Those who participated in digital entries could place in a variety of categories: Academics Photography, Advertising, Headline Writing and Design, Infographics, News Page Design, Photo Illustration, Sports Photography, Student Life Photography, Yearbook Layout and Yearbook Theme and Graphics.
This is the first year since 2014 that Hays has competed at the 5A/6A level. During the last four years, Hays competed in the 3A/4A division and enjoyed considerable success, winning three state championships and placing second once.
“The competition gets much tougher in 5A/6A, simply because of the size of the schools and the number of students those schools have to pick from for their journalism programs,” adviser Bill Gasper said. “I’m so pleased with how our students performed in our regional. They worked hard to prepare for the contest and I know they are determined to do well at state. I have great students who are really dedicated and who want to produce award-winning contest entries and publications.”
Hays will travel to Lawrence on May 4 for the state competition, where they will face off against winners from the other five regionals.
Patients reap many benefits from staying close to home to receive medical services.
Yet, some Ellis County patients still travel outside of the county to receive medical treatment.
Hospital officials spoke to Hays Post about the factors that might lead to patients leaving home for treatment and what local providers are doing to try to change perceptions that care is better elsewhere.
HaysMed market share in Ellis County is 80 percent to 85 percent, which is good, according to Ed Herrman, HaysMed CEO.
Herrman
For the hospital’s primary service area, the market share is about 77 percent. This includes Ellis, Russell, Rooks, Rush and Trego counties. The hospital also has a secondary market that extends about 75 miles from Hays and a tertiary market that encompasses most of northwest Kansas and some of southwest Kansas.
Herrman said some patients think they will receive better care in a metro area, but bigger is not always better.
“The care is not better,” he said. “Actually in many cases, from quality outcomes, the care is not as good as we are here. In Leapfrog, we are rated an A. We are rated as high as you can be rated on quality of care in our industry. There are many of those facilities that people are going to in Wichita or another metropolitan area that are not As on Leapfrog’s grading scale.
“That is our focus — quality and the patient.”
Issued twice per year, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade empowers regular people to find a safer hospital in their community by using a A, B, C, D, F grading system.
The hospital has some of the best outcomes in the state on hip and knee surgeries, Herrman said. In orthopedics, HaysMed has a Durable Medical Equipment Accreditation and the DNV-GL Healthcare Hip and Knee Replacement Certification for Center of Excellence. It was the first in the state to obtain this certification. HaysMed also is certified in managing infection risk.
Staying at home for medical care can be better for your health, Herrman said.
“You’re close to home. Any time you don’t have to add the stressors of travel. … If you are going to have surgery, we are always going to hope the outcome is textbook and is just as they said it was going to be, but sometimes it is not that way because other things happen. We have patients and families who find themselves thinking they are going for a routine procedure who are now spending the next three or four days in a city they didn’t plan on staying in,” he said.
Staying close to home also means you are closer to care if you have a complication after a procedure.
“They are typically either in an emergency or some type of crisis, and our surgeons are not the ones who have dealt with the procedure to begin with. That always makes it a little more difficult,” Herrman said.
Staying locally also supports the local facility, he said.
“We always want to give people access to as much as possible, so they don’t have to travel, but when they are not utilizing the resources that are right here for them, it makes it much more difficult to provide all those resources in the future,” he said.
HaysMed has an especially strong oncology department, Herrman said. HaysMed follows the same protocols as the University of Kansas Medical Center and, in some instances, the Mayo Clinic.
“That is not a process of healing that you want try to have to do on the road,” he said. “It is very taxing and it is difficult and painful for those patients who are going through cancer treatment and radiation treatment.”
Herrman said the quickest way for local residents to get the care they need is to come to HaysMed.
“Because if our physicians diagnosis you with something that is not in their practice — it is not something that they do — they still already know the guys and the gals who are out there that do that speciality,” he said. “If we can’t take care of it here, we know who can, and we will set it up for you and make it easy and seamless.”
HaysMed has the advantage of being connected to the University of Kansas Medical System, which allows it to bring in more specialists and connect with specialists in the system in other parts of the state. HaysMed has been affiliated with the University of Kansas system for two years. The hospital still has its own board and manages its own strategic plan.
HaysMed is using its affiliation with the health system to increase access to specialists through telemedicine. Some of these specialties will include psychiatric and neurological evaluations, as well as oncology.
“The University of Kansas Health System is known for its oncology program,” Herrman said. “It is state of the art. It competes with the best in the nation. It gives the opportunity to get those super sub-specialists. They do things that no one else in the state or region does. It gives the ability to hopefully have access to those individuals, so people from western Kansas don’t have to drive to Kansas City to necessarily get that care or second opinion. If they don’t want to do that travel, we can set it up to do it here.”
When Colby lost its oncologist, HaysMed took over the program.
Telemedicine provides access to a limited resources. Medical schools can’t graduate doctors fast enough to replace the Baby Boomer physicians who are retiring in some specialties, Herrman said.
HaysMed was without an ENT for two years, but the University of Kansas Health System helped HaysMed secure a ENT who is at the hospital three out of four weeks a month and an advanced practice provider who works in Hays five days a week. Before that clinic was offered in Hays, patients from northwest Kansas would have had to travel to Salina or Hutchinson for treatment.
Telemedicine also helps manage a finite resources. If a specialist doesn’t have to drive or fly to a remote location, they can spend more time seeing patients.
Herrman said he saw telemedicine expanding with advances in technology.
Twelve-lead ECGs to monitor the heart and an otoscope, which is used to look into your ears, can already be hooked up to smart phones. He said he sees a time in the future when families will have some of theses devices at home so they can have telemedicine visits with doctors after hours.
Despite the use of telemedicine, Herrman said the hospital would still like to sign a contract with a neurologist and rheumatologist. There is only one neurologist in all of western Kansas.
Herrman said the hospital is constantly in the recruiting process. Recruiters follow students from pre-med all the way through their residencies.
“We are making sure that we are trying to connect with them early to get them to come back to western Kansas,” he said.
Rural Kansas has assets such as good schools, opportunities to connect in the community and a work/life balance. Yet, Herrman said living and working in western Kansas is not for everyone. The hospital tries to work with physicians and their spouses to make sure Hays is the right fit for their families.
The hospital is also unwilling to compromise on quality candidates, Herrman said.
“That’s why it takes us a little more time for some positions because we are not willing to accept someone that is substandard just to have someone,” he said. “We are selling ourselves short if we do that, and we are selling the community short if we do that. We have a wonderful community, and we have a wonderful facility. We know there is always someone looking for what we have to offer.”
Veach
Shae Veach, vice president of regional operations and marketing, said the affiliation with the University of Kansas Medical System is also helping the hospital recruit physicians. He added HaysMed is well below the national turnover rate for physicians.
“I think it is so much more magnified here because of the size of the community and the size of the medical staff,” Veach said. “One physician might leave, and everyone feels it.”
