Stormont Vail Hospital now owns property within the Emporia city limits.
As part of their regular action meeting Wednesday morning Emporia City Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a long-awaited annexation request from Stormont for property located southeast of Roads 180 and G. Following the meeting, Stormont released the following statement:
“Stormont Vail Health is grateful for today’s Emporia City Commission action to annex the property. The action follows the precedent set with annexations approved for other business developments in Emporia in the past and adheres to state law.
For Stormont Vail, the annexation of the property is the next step in the process to provide new space for our
team and enhanced care for our patients in Emporia and the region. As a part of the Emporia community
for 30 years, we are committed to continuing our tradition of providing safe, high-quality care in a
convenient location.”
Not all were pleased with the commission’s decision Wednesday including Newman Regional Health CEO Cathy Pimple who expressed her “disappointment” in the city’s action following the meeting. Pimple added she felt the decision to annex the property was contrary to a supposed agreement amongst Newman, Stormont, the City of Emporia and Lyon County.
KVOE News also spoke with Lyon County Commissioner Doug Peck who believes Wednesday’s action violated Newman’s trust.
Commissioner Susan Brinkman, who has been involved with recent meetings between the entities alongside Commissioner Jamie Sauder, told KVOE News Wednesday that no formal agreements of such nature were ever approved or in place ahead of Wednesday’s action. Said action followed a near 30-minute public comment period with the majority of individuals speaking in opposition to the annexation request for various reasons.
Among them was Viola Heskett who stated Newman is “a county hospital we rely on” and she did not understand why the City Commission was dealing with matters related to it
Wednesday’s action followed a near 30-minute public comment period with the majority of individuals speaking in opposition to the annexation request for various reasons. Among them was Viola Heskett who stated Newman is “a county hospital we rely on” and she did not understand why the City Commission was dealing with matters related to it.
Commissioner Brinkman acknowledged this comment noting she agreed with it but ultimately voted in favor of the annexation request. When asked her reasoning, Brinkman stated Newman Regional Health was not the matter before them Wednesday.
Also voting in favor of the request were commissioners Sauder, Bekcy Smith, and Tyler Curtis. Smith tells KVOE News her decision was made for the same reasons as Brinkman.
For his decision on the matter, Curtis stated he wants to see all of Emporia’s healthcare providers, including Newman, be successful but not at the cost of “restraining another healthcare partner’s interest in expanding our healthcare offerings.”
Serving as the lone no vote Wednesday was Emporia Mayor Erren Harter who told KVOE News his “nay vote” was made in hopes that others would vote the same way to table the matter until after December 17 when Newman and Stormont are next set to meet for further discussions. KVOE News asked Harter Wednesday if based on the disappointment expressed by Newman leadership he believed meaningful and productive conversations between the two entities were still possible.
Harter responded he does noting “a lot of people have been disappointed throughout this process.”
Approval of Stormont’s annexation request Wednesday comes after, as previously mentioned, 14 months of negotiations and conversations between between it and Newman focused on two key issues: one, hammering out which available services would be agreeable to Newman Regional Health; and two, to finalize an if-necessary two-year lease negotiation so Stormont’s Cotton O’Neil Clinic could stay in its current location in the Newman Medical Partners Building through February 2029, a process that ended last month with signatures from both sides.
Due to the volume of matters before commissioners as part of their action meeting Wednesday, the commission’s study meeting which was set to focus on utility rates, was rescheduled to noon Nov. 15 at City Conference Room 1AB.
