Medical Plaza of Arma to stay open

ARMA -- Mercy Health System's medical clinic in Arma is staying open thanks to a lot of community support.

In response to overwhelming feedback and comments received from the community, the Medical Plaza of Arma will continue to provide primary care services two days a week at the clinic, located at 601 E. Washington, Mercy officials announced last week.

The clinic was initially supposed to close Feb. 6 as part of cost-containment measures -- including staff reductions and modifications to services -- that company officials announced in January.

"Originally, (Mercy) administration had decided that because of challenges in the economy and the drop in volume (at the clinic), that they would either close the clinic or use the petition that had 250 to 300 signatures on it," Mercy Physician Group Director Annamarie Katosh said.

After the January announcement, Mercy Health Systems of Kansas, Inc. CEO John Woodrich and the rest of his administrative team reviewed a petition started by Franklin resident Marion Kobak, who said she was upset and disappointed when she learned the clinic would close, and contacted several other people who would be affected by the closing.

Kobak's efforts to keep the clinic open paid off; nearly 300 people signed the petition and Mercy administrators eventually chose to keep the clinic open two days a week.

Now, the clinic will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and Friday, rather than operating daily.

Katosh said there was an "overwhelming" response from the community after Mercy administrators decided to close the clinic and later sent letters to about 2,000 patients to notify them of the closing. Feedback from citizens, along with the petition, were the main reasons why administration unanimously chose to keep the clinic in operation, Katosh said.

"We sent letters in early January, and once they hit the community, people started calling," she said. "We wanted to figure out how to make it work. We're excited for it (clinic)."

Mercy officials said the goal is to treat at least 25 patients per day at the clinic in order to cover its operating costs. In addition, an OBGYN clinic staffed by obstetrician Larry Seals will provide women's healthcare services every Thursday starting March 12.

The primary care clinic is currently staffed by three mid-level providers, Katosh said.

"We are pleased to have the support of the community as we continue to provide healthcare to our patients in the Arma area," she said. "The clinic staff remains dedicated to caring for the families in Arma and Southeast Kansas."

Katosh said that currently, the future looks bright for the clinic as patient count has grown gradually since the announcement that the clinic would remain open.

"We saw 23 patients on Friday (Feb. 27)," she said. "My hope is that the volume continues to grow and we'll have to be open a third day."

The Medical Plaza of Arma provides primary care services with an emphasis on preventative medicine. Other services include well child checks and immunizations, acute care, and chronic disease management for diabetes and hypertension. The clinic also provides onsite laboratory services, EKG's and other services.

For more information, call (620) 347-4033.ꆱ