Month: April 2017

by Meg Wingerter, Kansas News Service

The owner of St. Francis Health left no doubt it won’t continue to run the Topeka hospital for more than a few months.

The lingering question is whether anyone else will step in to keep it from closing.

Mike Slubowski, president and CEO of SCL Health, said in a news release Tuesday that he hopes to have a clear answer about the hospital’s future by the first week of May. SCL, formerly known as the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, is based in Denver.

Several hundred people participated in a candlelight vigil in support of the hospital on Monday night, and Gov. Sam Brownback told reporters Tuesday that he had met with SCL officials and secured a commitment to keep the hospital open longer. Rumors had swirled that SCL would announce Tuesday that it was closing the hospital.

SCL’s statement laid out a narrow path for the hospital to remain open, however. It offered to donate St. Francis Health to another organization if one stepped up quickly but ruled out a long transition.

“With or without another operator, however, SCL Health will cease operating the hospital this summer,” it said.

Slubowski didn’t use the announcement as a sales pitch, however. He noted the hospital had lost $117 million over five years and said affiliated clinics had lost $31 million in 2016. He also pointed to a declining patient base.

“St. Francis Health is not sustainable in today’s dramatically changing health care environment,” he said in the release. “But that doesn’t diminish the legacy of more than a century of service to this community or prevent another modified role in the future.”

Kansas’ decision not to expand Medicaid also hurt the hospital, SCL said, noting that uncompensated and charity care had doubled from 2012 to 2016.

Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, said Tuesday that she anticipates lawmakers will try to pass another Medicaid expansion bill when they return in May. She expects proponents will include a work requirement for recipients or make similar changes to appeal to Republicans who don’t oppose expansion altogether.

Kelly accused the governor of not doing everything he could to support St. Francis. Brownback vetoed an expansion bill earlier this year, and the House failed to override it.

“The most immediate thing he could do is let Medicaid expansion become a reality,” she said.

Melika Willoughby, Brownback’s spokeswoman, said the governor is working with stakeholders on a solution. She also pointed to an inquiry by Attorney General Derek Schmidt into the foundation supporting St. Francis.

“Medicaid expansion would not address the root problems facing St. Francis. Attorney General Schmidt’s inquiry, launched at Governor Brownback’s request, aims to keep Kansas-based charitable assets in Kansas, better addressing the long-term needs of St. Francis Hospital,” she said.

Meg Wingerter is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/st-francis-health-owner-says-hospital-not-sustainable.

Kansas Republican Sen. Jake LaTurner is replacing Ron Estes as state treasurer.

Gov. Sam Brownback announced LaTurner’s appointment to the soon-to-be vacant position Tuesday at a Statehouse news conference.

Estes, who last week defeated Democrat James Thompson in a special election in the 4th Congressional District, will step down as treasurer on April 25, the day after the state board of canvassers is expected to certify the election results. He replaces Mike Pompeo, who resigned in January to become director of the CIA.

LaTurner, 29, has represented a southeast Kansas Senate district that includes the cities of Pittsburg and Columbus since 2013. As a former staff member for outgoing 2nd District Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, LaTurner was considered a front-runner to succeed her. But he said Tuesday that he is no longer considering the race.

“My intention will be to run for a full four-year term in 2018 as state treasurer,” LaTurner said.

Former Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat who came close to unseating Brownback in the 2014 governor’s race, announced last week that he is considering a run for the 2nd District seat.

Even with LaTurner out, the field for the Republican nomination in the 2nd District is expected to be crowded. Announced candidates include Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, a Leavenworth Republican, and Vernon Fields, a member of the Basehor City Council. Others said to be eyeing the race include Sen. Caryn Tyson of Parker and Sen. Dennis Pyle of Hiawatha.

The 2nd District covers the eastern third of the state from the Nebraska border to the Oklahoma state line, excluding the metropolitan Kansas City area, which comprises the 3rd District.

The state treasurer’s office has been somewhat of a political stepping stone for Republicans. In addition to Jenkins, who occupied the office from 2003 to 2008, Tim Shallenburger’s five-year stint helped catapult him to the Republican nomination for governor in 2002.

Asked if he aspired to higher office, LaTurner said his immediate focus would be on “continuing the quality work that Kansans have rightly come to expect from their state treasurer.”

“The treasurer’s office is an exciting place to be,” he said, noting its role in returning unclaimed property to Kansans and administering a program that helps families save for college tuition.

“As a guy that grew up in a family without much money and a guy that had to take out student loans to pay for college at Pittsburg State University, being able to advocate for families saving for their children’s education is something I’m particularly excited about,” he said.

Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/laturner-appointed-succeed-estes-kansas-state-treasurer.