KANSAS CITY, Kan. – U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister announced Friday that Coffey Health System has agreed to pay the U.S. government $250,000 to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act.

Coffey Health System (“CHS”) operates a twenty-five bed critical access hospital located in Burlington, Kan. The United States alleged that Coffey Health System falsely attested that it conducted and/or reviewed security risk analyses in accordance with requirements under a federal incentive program for the reporting periods of 2012 and 2013.

The government contended that the hospital submitted false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid Programs pursuant the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 established the program to encourage healthcare providers to adopt and demonstrate their “meaningful use” of EHR technology. Under the program, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers incentive payments to healthcare providers that adopt certified EHR technology and meet certain requirements relating to their use of the technology. To obtain the payments, providers must attest that they satisfy applicable HHS-adopted criteria, including measures for analyzing and addressing security risks to electronic health records.

“Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries expect that providers ensure the accuracy and security of their electronic health records,” said United States Attorney Stephen McAllister. “This office remains committed to protecting the federal health programs and to hold accountable those whose conduct results in improper payments.”

Steve Hanson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Kansas City Region, stated, “Providers who fail to properly ensure the security of electronic health records must be held accountable.”

The settlement announced today resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed by Bashar Awad and Cynthia McKerrigan, in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action; Awad and McKerrigan will receive approximately $50,000.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Fleenor.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after an altercation with police.

On Thursday afternoon, police were dispatched to Dollar General, 654 S. Broadway in Salina for a trespassing complaint, according to a media release.

Officers were informed that Thadd Marshall, 33, had been on Dollar General property after previously being instructed to not return.

Officers located Marshall across the street from Dollar General in the 600 block of South Broadway. Marshall verbally threatened and displayed a knife to the first officer to arrive on scene. This officer called for backup and ordered Marshall to drop the knife.

Although Marshall was given numerous commands to drop the knife, he moved towards an officer with the knife still in his hand. Another officer on scene fired three less-lethal projectiles at Marshall. Following the third round, Marshall dropped the knife and was taken into custody.

Marshall was transported to Salina Regional Health Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

After being medically cleared, Marshall was transported to the Saline County Jail and booked on requested charges of Aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer,Criminal threat, Criminal use of a weapon,Felony obstruction, Criminal trespass, according to the release.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says she felt “incredibly overwhelmed” after seeing the devastation left by an EF-4 tornado from a flight tour of the Tuesday storm’s path in eastern Kansas.

Governor Laura Kelly visited Douglas County today touring tornado-damaged areas and meeting with homeowners in those areas. She then met with members of the media before touring the Emergency Operations Center. pic.twitter.com/heqsOeFDMq

— Douglas Co. EM (@dgcoem) May 30, 2019

Kelly also viewed tornado damage from the ground Thursday. Kelly said the fact that there were no fatalities was amazing.

The tornado touched down south of Lawrence about 6:15 Tuesday and continued northeast for more than 31 miles before lifting in Leavenworth County. Douglas County officials said the storm injured 17 people, three of them seriously, and damaged more than 60 homes.

The tornado at its peak had wind speeds of 170 mph and was a mile wide.

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s (KDWPT) has announced that anglers can fish without a Kansas fishing license at public waters on June 1 and 2, thanks to “Free Fishing Days.”

Each year, KDWPT designates one weekend when everyone can fish without a Kansas fishing license. All you need is a pole and a place to go! Free Fishing Days celebrates National Fishing and Boating Week – a week dedicated to recognizing the importance of recreational boating and fishing.

Don’t let stories of flooding at some lakes and state parks derail your fishing plans. There are still many great opportunities to fish at lakes large and small. Many more Kansas state parks are open for business than are closed. Fisheries biologists report that high water gives fish more habitat to exploit, so fishing may be better when the water is higher. As always, exercise caution around high water and respect barricades.

If your favorite fishing hole is inaccessible, look to state fishing lakes and city and county lakes. KDWPT stocks many community lakes through its Community Fisheries Assistance Program (CFAP). More than 90 percent of the community lakes in Kansas are enrolled in the program and do not require any additional fishing licenses. A few community lakes not in the CFAP program require local fees to fish from the shore or a boat. A list of CFAP lakes is available in the 2019 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary and the 2019 Kansas Fishing Atlas.

If you’ll be taking part in Free Fishing Days, here are some tips to help you plan your weekend outing:

• Visit ksoutdoors.com and click “Fishing,” then “Where to Fish” to find a public fishing spot near you, including CFAP lakes.
• You can consult the 2019 Fishing Forecast at ksoutdoors.com/Fishing/Fishing-Forecast to locate waters ranked highest for a given species.
• For a list of state park conditions, check out ksoutdoors.com and click “State Parks,” then “State Park Alerts” or call the park office.
• While license requirements are waived for the weekend, anglers must still abide by all other regulations such as length and creel limits, equipment requirements, and more. To find regulation information, grab a copy of the 2019 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary at a license vendor near you. The summary also lists every state fishing lake, community lake and reservoir, and designates those considered “family friendly,” which means they have easy access to the water, flush restrooms, security patrols and lighting, and no alcohol is allowed.

Go fishing on June 1 and 2; the only thing it will cost you is your free time.

— KDWPT

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Floodwaters have seriously eroded the back side of a watershed dam south of Sabetha, leaving it vulnerable to failure.

Kansas state officials are closely watching the dam.

Water Structures Program Manager Terry Medley with the state Division of Water Resources says his team began monitoring the dam Tuesday. He visited the dam site last night. His dam safety team leader is on site today.

“There has been a little bit more erosion on the dam,” Medley tells St. Joseph Post. “The water level in the reservoir has dropped about a foot-and-a-half.”

Medley disputes an earlier report that claimed failure of the dam was imminent. He describes the damage to the dam as serious, but adds its failure is not imminent.

County officials closed two nearby roads, County Road 220 and County Road 250, as a precautionary measure.

“We’re just continuing to monitor the situation,” Medley says. “We don’t believe that anybody is in danger at this point and we don’t believe any serious infrastructure damage would occur if the dam failed.”

The Kansas Division of Water Resources is in communication with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

Medley says it is unlikely that if the dam failed, flash flooding would reach Highway 36 in northeast Kansas, also as reported earlier.

Medley says the dam is under close observation.

“It has not breached,” Medley says. “We are still continuing to monitor the situation. There was a little bit more erosion overnight, but nothing that wasn’t expected from our division and our dam safety team. And, the damage that would occur if it did fail would be limited to agricultural farm ground.”

Still, the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for south of Sabetha down the Delaware River which could affect east-central Nemaha County, southwestern Brown County, and northeastern Jackson County.

 

 

 

 

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By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A dam south of Sabetha, Kansas is expected to fail this afternoon, sending floodwaters downstream on the Delaware River.

The National Weather Service in Topeka has issued a flash flood warning for southwestern Brown County, east-central Nemaha County, and northeastern Jackson County.

At 2:30 this afternoon, emergency management officials reported the failure of the dam a mile south of Sabehta was imminent.

If the dam indeed fails, flash flooding is expected to overrun U.S. Highway 36 in northeastern Kansas. The Kickapoo Indian Reservation and Golden Eagle Casino are also threatened. The National Weather Service says water could rise to near 13.8 feet at U.S. Highway 36 about an hour after the dam fails. Water could rise to just over 11 feet at U.S. Highway 75 three-and-a-half hours after the failure.

Recent rainy weather has forced the temporary closure of Coronado Heights Park. From the Smoky Valley Historical Association – Kansas Facebook page:

 

 

 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating the shooting of a 12-year-old boy who was riding four-wheelers with an adult relative Thursday evening.

The boy was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in stable condition Thursday night.

Police Officer Thomas Tomasic said the boy was shot in the stomach and the adult was grazed by a bullet.

Manhattan, Kan.— Due to severe flooding and uncertainty of the safety of event grounds, Country Stampede officials have announced an alternative location for the 2019 music festival, according to a media release on the festival web site.

The festival set for June 20-22 will be held at the Heartland Motorsports Parklocated at 7530 SW Topeka Blvd, Topeka, Kansas.

“Safety is our main concern. The severe weather prompted us to partner with the good folks over at Heartland Motorsports in Topeka, just 45 minutes away to insure all of our concert goers will be out of harms way.

We are maintaining the integrity of what we currently have in place to our new location,” says Wayne Rouse, president of Country Stampede.
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For any other questions, email [email protected] or call 800.795.8091.