Officials: Sale of I-70 Medical Center in Sweet Springs will be beneficial

SWEET SPRINGS —  I-70 Medical Center officials say the pending sale of the hospital will benefit workers and patients, but not everyone in the city is convinced.

Some 200 people turned out to a town hall meeting here Thursday night to raise questions about the sale, announced earlier this month.
James Noble serves as the medical lab director, marketing director, technology director and spokesman for the hospital. He told the crowd the sale was necessary.

“The sale will not only benefit the staff, but we will be able to offer more services,” Noble said. “It is good medicine for the hospital and the community.”

The hospital board last week voted to approve the sale to Hospital Management Consulting/Critical Access Hospitals.

Dan Merrick, former mayor of Sweet Springs, apologized to the audience, saying, “I apologize to everyone for saying that this was a community hospital and it would be ran that way.”

The hospital opened in November 2005 as a 15-bed general acute care nonprofit facility. The sale would make the hospital a for-profit entity.

Ronald Hinton is a dentist in Sweet Springs and holds a seat on the hospital’s financial committee.

“In my opinion, there is no need to sell,” Hinton said. “The hospital is a viable entity.”

The hospital is designated by Medicare as a critical access hospital.

A CAH must be in a rural area, must be more than a 35-mile drive from any other hospital and cannot have any more than 25 inpatient beds. The annual average length of stay is 96 hours per patient. The hospital must comply with all CAH conditions of participation, including 24-hour emergency care seven days a week.

Bob Schnieders, of Barton Hall and Schnieders law firm in Oak Grove, represents the hospital. He said original plans for the hospital did not include the cost of clinics and employees.

“Without an influx of cash, it will be difficult for the hospital to stay open.” Schnieders said.

He explained that the proposal by HMC/CAH would offer all employees their jobs, and it would operate as a community hospital. The proposal also requires HMC/CAH to build a doctors’ office and clinics in Concordia and Alma within the next 12 to 18 months. HMC/CAH would provide a $250,00 scholarship fund for future medical professionals.

The meeting lasted longer than two hours, with scores of people using the chance to question the deal.

 Schnieders expects the sale to be final sometime next week.

“In the end, we all want the hospital to be here,” Merrick said.