Entities pull together to find health care solutions after Mercy’s closure

City and county officials are joining forces to address the future of local healthcare.

On Oct. 4, two days after Mercy Hospital Fort Scott officials announced the hospital would be closing its doors by Dec. 31, city and county officials announced a process had begun to form a task force that will research and identify potential health care solutions after the hospital’s closure. The first Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott opened in 1886.

“City and county officials continue to meet to strategize a collaborative approach to the future of healthcare in Bourbon County,” an Oct. 4 news release said. “Officials remain optimistic about the quality of life, access to healthcare, and continued economic growth.”

After the announcement, city and county officials also began talking about plans to find health care solutions, such as options for replacement of the ambulance service.

Fort Scott Director of Community Development Robert Uhler will lead the task force, which is to eventually be comprised of representatives of the city, county, Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, USD 234, USD 235, Fort Scott Community College, area businesses, Bourbon County Economic Development Council, Inc., and the financial community.

Uhler told the Tribune Tuesday a “small, working group” consisting of city and county officials, as well as members of the Mercy Health Foundation board are working on the issue and have sent out invitations to other area entities to create a larger group.

“The goal is forming a larger group with all those entities,” he said.

Uhler said the smaller group is currently on a “fact-finding mission” and wants to begin a “community conversations about what health care will look like as we move forward.”

During the Tuesday meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission, Uhler talked briefly about the history of Mercy Hospital, and how its location and services have changed over the years.

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