As local leaders grapple with the upcoming closures of Holiday Resort by Friday and Tyson Foods by late February, one of the discussion points has been the potential impact on healthcare.
Adjusted patient traffic projections are pending at Newman Regional Health, but Chief Executive Officer Cathy Pimple says hospital administrators are both working to determine how best to offer the necessary support to those affected and gathering information about potential impacts like care disruptions.
Lyon County Commissioner Doug Peck says the county is poised to do what it can to help Newman Regional Health meet the adjusted demand if needed. He also says the hospital’s improving financial picture certainly helps at this time.
Peck also says Wednesday’s joint meeting between county staff and Newman Regional Board of Trustees members came before more wide-ranging talks amongst commissioners and county staff at Thursday’s weekly meeting.
Meanwhile, a joint statement from the city of Emporia, Lyon County and several community partners says the response effort continues to help all impacted by the upcoming closures.
For affected Tyson and Holiday Resort workers, the initial impetus is to link them with local employment and training opportunities. Also, the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas has increased its recruitment work to bring new businesses to the area, hoping to add investments and job opportunities.
For Holiday Resort specifically, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services says it and the state’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman’s Office have been at the facility as efforts continue to help residents move to other facilities as part of “a safe, supportive process that is as seamless as possible.” However, with an online petition asking KDADS to put Holiday Resort in receivership gaining almost 300 signatures Wednesday, KDADS did not respond to KVOE News questions asking what steps would need to take place for receivership to become an option and whether it would consider petition results as part of that decision-making process.
KVOE News has also asked other local long-term care communities about their work to help those affected by the Holiday Resort closure. Of those, Presbyterian Manor has responded, saying it has received an unspecified number of applications and is reviewing them on a first-come, first-served basis. It is also working with its own network of facilities in Lawrence, Newton, Olathe, Parsons, Topeka and Wichita to meet the need for resident space.
