Newman Regional Health’s new strategic affiliation with two external partners does not appear to have any impact with its ongoing collaboration involving Stormont-Vail Health.
Newman Regional Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships Steven Bazan says the hospital and Stormont’s Cotton O’Neil Emporia clinic will “continue to collaborate and coordinate patient care as we have for many years.”
Following a year of discussions about a possible new $44 million facility for Stormont Vail, including the purchase of land by Stormont near the Roads 180 and G intersection last spring, and just before the Emporia City Commission approved an annexation for the Stormont property in November, Newman Regional and Stormont agreed on a lease extension keeping the Cotton O’Neil clinic inside the Newman Regional Health Medical Partners building through February 2029 if needed.
Regarding the Stormont partnership and the decision announced Wednesday to affiliate with The University of Kansas Health System and LMH Health, Bazan says Newman Regional considered “options for additional direct collaboration” before deciding the new partnership with KU Med and LMH “best suited our future goals and community needs.”
Newman Regional has been a University of Kansas Care Collaborative partner for close to 10 years, according to Executive Director of Quality and Safety Ester Knobloch. It has also been a partner with LMH through OrthoKansas the last five years.
