By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
The Sisters of Mercy Health System, the new owner of St. John’s Regional Medical Center, asked for views Thursday night about the future of local health care, and it got them — pages and pages of them.
More than 125 people from Joplin and across the region were asked to describe what health care in Joplin needs to look like. They were seated at 18 tables at the Joplin Holiday Inn, where they shared their opinions and observations.
At the end of their round table discussions, their statements — printed on large sheets of paper — were collected by representatives of Sisters of Mercy.
The topics were wide-ranging. Some groups wanted expanded access to health care in north Joplin and Webb City, continued support of the Community Clinic of Joplin, and easier access to care. Other groups wanted more choice where care is concerned, greater stability in the medical staff, and less interference by insurance companies.
Lynn Britton, president and CEO of Sisters of Mercy, based in St. Louis, said Mercy’s focus during the acquisition phase has been internal in that the top priority has been the employees of St. John’s.
“It’s time to shift gears and get the external point of view,” he said. “What does health care need to look like in Joplin? Instead of us telling you what that should be, we want you to tell us.”
Britton said the comments gathered Thursday night “will become the basis of a plan for what we will do in Joplin. Before we can do that, we have to un derstand what is going on here first.”
Britton gave those attending a glimpse of the future at St. John’s. He said the medical center plans expanded use of technology with the installation of electronic medical records by 2011. He said patients will have greater access to an array of doctors who provide specialty care that, until now, has not been available.
Sisters of Mercy, he said, will continue to advance lower-cost health care settings beyond the typical hospital environment. The system, he said, saw 2.7 million patients last year, but only 143,000 were seen at hospitals.
Britton used the occasion to introduce Gary Pulsipher, the new president and CEO St. John’s, to the community. Pulsipher, who has experience with the Mercy system as a hospital administrator in Lebanon, said he was glad to be back with Mercy in Southwest Missouri.
The transfer of St. John’s ownership from Catholic Health Initiatives, based in Denver, to Sisters of Mercy was announced earlier this month. The agreement to make that happen was formulated in midsummer, Britton said.
When Mercy took over, Pulsipher said there was a possibility that some jobs would move from St. John’s in Joplin to Sisters of Mercy operations in Springfield and St. Louis. Britton said that remains a possibility.
St. John’s within the past year has eliminated about 160 full-time positions and cut programs, with the overall aim of saving $30 million in expenses.
St. John’s was founded under the Sisters of Mercy Omaha Congregation and was part of that group until 1996, when CHI took over. St. John’s and Sisters of Mercy have a common ancestry in Catherine McAuley, the founder of Sisters of Mercy.
Carthage, Jasper County
St. John's new owner seeks views fom public
- Carthage, Jasper County
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Carthage attorney, reformer of revenue department, dies
James R. Spradling, a Carthage attorney who was noted for his reform of the Missouri Department of Revenue in the 1970s, died at 5:50 a.m. Monday at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital.
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Bondswoman charged with false imprisonment
A bail bondswoman from Carthage is facing a charge of false imprisonment for allegedly attempting to put a man in jail without a judge’s order, then taking him home and handcuffing him to the banister of a staircase until a friend of the man paid her his bond money.
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Man’s last statement to be given to defendant
A judge ruled Monday that the Jasper County prosecutor must provide attorneys for Darren J. Winans with a videotaped statement co-defendant Matthew D. Laurin made about the Sheldon murders shortly before killing himself.
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Open house to celebrate projects at courthouse
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Jasper County Commission gets building project update
Plans to close out one building project and start another were reviewed by the Jasper County Commission last week.
Darieus Adams, Western District associate commissioner, met Thursday with officials of the firm who designed a $292,400 project to upgrade the lighting and make other changes to make four county-owned buildings more energy efficient. -
Two men running for associate judge in 39th Circuit take case to court
Two men running for associate judge in Missouri’s 39th Circuit began battling it out in a Jasper County courtroom this week.
Jasper County Circuit Judge Gayle Crane heard arguments Wednesday concerning the disclosure of documents sought by Robert “Bobby” George, Aurora, the current Lawrence County prosecutor. -
Unveiling ceremony celebrates CHS tiger
Kandy Frazier, Carthage High School principal, summed it up once the new addition to the CHS campus was unveiled Thursday.
The bronze tiger sculpture created by Carthage artist and sculptor Bob Tommey, she said, is the kind of work that would be found at a big university. - More Carthage, Jasper County Headlines
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