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Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending June 7th Back on a two-week capture time frame that matches our pay period. Just wish to ask of everyone’s patience as we steam roll through our floor tile replacement project. We know it is loud and disruptive…but it is just that kind of necessary work every 20 or so number of years. Thanks for tolerating!   No more to report   Thanks, as usual, to all our team for consistently caring for our patients! Have a great two weeks! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending May 31st Being a week late, as I was out most of last week, and with our month of May ending on a Saturday, the last day of our weekly reporting cycles, leads me to report (for this time only) three weeks of data, instead of the customary two. The data you see will give you a glimpse of how our monthly totals fared with their respective budgeted totals - see the right-hand column shaded in green on pages 5 and 6 below. We have endured a slow month regarding our overnight census, which does drive some of the volumes of our ancillary departments. So again – lots of red metrics to report. Interestingly, of the eight green metrics we generated over the past three weeks, four of them can be directly attributed to the crazy busy ER period we experienced due to accidents on the Unbound Gravel race on May 31st! So “green volumes” in both of EMS’s metrics, for the # of ER visits, and for total plain x-rays taken, were a result of the several bicycle accidents we cared for on May 31st! The 5,000 riders plus their support crews traveling through Council Grove last weekend did contribute extra business for MCH. I am sure many other businesses fared very well, too. Thanks to our individuals that worked so hard to care for these numerous accidents. What a special day for our community to be a part of this global event! In attending the KHA Board retreat last week, we were updated on many things we have been hearing about for years: our aging population, relative to the past, as couples everywhere are having fewer children, our shrinking healthcare workforce due to pandemic burnout, and the resulting storm ahead as we all know most required healthcare is towards the end of life. So, a very real hovering question is “who is going to take care of us in our later years”, with the convergence of millions of older people and a shrinking number of caregivers. The absolute dependence on Telehealth will be a critical piece moving forward, something that our community has not had a lot of exposure to. Technology will produce labor replacing options and innovation will be essential as well. But this question remains largely unanswered currently. The other hot topic was that of healthcare’s cost to our overall economy. As providers, we have grown accustomed to personalizing how we deliver our care. The USA has fostered choice in how providers approach their care plans and subsequently, creating a choice as to which doctors we as patients gravitate to for the style of care we prefer. Differentiation in how medicine is practiced domestically has proven to yield the highest per capita health expenditure in the world, by far. A move towards more standardization in adopting best practices is viewed as the best way to squeeze cost out of the system. And a huge part of the cost is on the administrative side of securing payment for services! Simplification in that area would be so impactful, if we could somehow better align incentives. It all comes down to seeking and adopting change that works on both a micro and macro level. So if anyone has good ideas, advocate for them through your State and local leaders! Thanks, as usual, to all of our team for consistently caring for our patients! Have a great two weeks! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending May 10th I write this during HOSPITAL WEEK, and in doing so I just want to recognize each of you that play an active role in Morris County Hospital’s success: our great Staff members, our visiting Physicians and Providers, our supportive vendors/contractors, our Board, and of course our Patients! Together we create a viable and enduring Community Hospital! Thank you One and All! Just a note for those who may have missed it…but last Friday we had a nice going away/retirement party for a notable long-term Physician for our Community. Dr. Michael Reynolds performed nearly 2,400 cataract/eye surgeries in our hospital over his thirty years of serving our area. He was a true icon in his field and will be greatly missed. We are hoping one of his two colleagues, Dr Anniker or Dr. Pole, will be able to fit us in once a month, despite their now busier schedules. We do wish Doc Reynolds a well-deserved retirement in his Colorado cabin. If you have some concerns, four months into our year, that we have routinely been seeing many more red scoring metrics than green ones, you are pleasingly observant but may need some perspective. Simply from an overall revenue generating target, we budgeted a 14.5% increase above a very impressive year of growth in 2024. We have fallen 7.3% short of meeting that target through four months, which leaves us short on many of the component parts that generate that growth. But on the optimistic side, we are still 6.7 % ahead of 2024 revenue through the same four months, and if we were grading current numbers to prior year numbers, we would look a whole lot greener. But increasing your expected budgets is the only true way to counter the uncontrollable inflationary costs which we have been experiencing for the past 2-3 years. It doesn’t mean that we will automatically attract such growth, but if we work with a mindset of continuous quality improvement as a daily driver…we can secure those referrals from incremental satisfied customers, which will assure more growth. That is my challenge to each of you. We need to be all about satisfying each person who chooses us to care for their health! Thanks to all of you that come to work each day to make that happen! Have a great next two weeks! And once again: HAPPY HOSPITAL WEEK! Kevin Leeper, CEO

These past two weeks have been tasked with a committed and hard-pressed effort to complete the 2025 -2026 application to the KS Community Service Tax Credit program. As most of you know, we have selected the project of expanding our Surgical abilities by adding a second OR Suite to our footprint. The space vacated by EMS is a convenient 50+ feet down a common corridor, and it sounds from the visiting architect this week that we can accommodate this conversion at an “affordable” cost. Perhaps I should say it is affordable if we can get some outside assistance, starting with the $200K we have asked for from the Tax Credit Program. It will be a somewhat on hold and anxious few weeks until we hear back on the award designation (or not). I think we have a good story, and we had some great last minute pledge support and Community letter writing in favor of this project! Thanks to all of you who did so! The real victors of this project, if we can get it accomplished, will be those future residents who have the unfortunate need to have their hips repaired or replaced. They will be able to do so locally!!   I welcome again Bryce Scott, CRNA, who has reaffirmed joining us effective May 1st, to share with Shaun McEuen, the coverage of our Anesthesia needs on a 24/7 basis. Lack of housing at the end of 2024 forced him to delay his start time, and the gap in time brought forth other challenges in moving a family, as well as other opportunities for him to possibly not require a move. So, since we have got to know you some over the past few weeks, Bryce, we are all very excited to hear this news.   April’s better weather seems to have softened service demands just a little bit…the red values are way up on our green values this pay period. But at least through quarter one, we are reporting good financial figures on the current-year to prior-year comparative performance. I want to thank our Accounting and HR duo of Lisa Lee and Terri Lemay for their hard work and preparation in driving the rollout of our new Payroll system in the past couple of weeks. I am excited to hear of some of the features of this new software and of some time savings it should yield to those who prepare payroll moving forward.   It is a busy season for our students, parents, and graduates, and I wish all of you the best as you wrap up another school year! And to conclude, we all give our heartfelt sympathies to the mother, siblings, extended family, MCH family, and all who are grieving the loss of Theresa McGannon, who left us this past week and is now free from battling cancer. We all miss you!   Thanks also to all our staff who give themselves to our patients, every day! Have a great next two weeks! Kevin Leeper, CEO

April is National Stress Awareness Month!   Here are a few tips to help ward off the negative impacts of stress: Take breaks from news stories:  It’s good to be informed, but constant information about negative events can be upsetting. (Think about setting boundaries before this upcoming election!) Eat healthy.  Have fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and low-fat or no-fat dairy. Limit foods with unhealthy fats, salt, and added sugars. Cut back on processed foods and choose more whole foods! Get enough sleep.  Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day to help you  sleep better . Adults need 7 or more hours per night. Sleep is what helps to reset our emotions and stabilize our hormones. Move more and sit less.  Every little bit of physical activity helps. Start small and build up to 30 minutes a day. Rome wasn't built in a day--add a few more steps today than you had yesterday! Limit  alcohol  intake.  Choose not to drink, or drink in moderation on days you drink alcohol. Moderation means having 2 drinks or less a day for men or 1 drink or less for women.  Continue with regular health appointments, tests, screenings, and vaccinations.  Talk to your doctor if you're feeling overwhelmed or anxious. They are here to help and can find you additional resources if needed.  Make time to unwind.  Take deep breaths, stretch, or  meditate . Try to do some other activities and make time for the hobbies that you enjoy. Connect with others.   Talk with people  you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. Connect with your community-based or faith-based organizations. Spend some time outdoors.   Your mom was right--get outside! Research shows that being outside is good for us. Sunshine and fresh air can help our physical and mental health.  We are putting a pause on Chair Yoga at the Council Grove Senior Center. We usually meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, but during April we will be participating in Walk With Ease instead.  Join Laura Canady on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fridays for some stretching and a brief walk outside. Meet at 12:30 and the Council Grove Senior Center. White City Senior Center chair yoga is unchanged this month. We will meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month from 10:30am to 11:00 am.   Everyone is welcome to join us for some great movement (and it's a great stress reliever too!) Health Wise Lunch Bunch is going off campus this month!  We are trying something new--a 3 part interactive workshop in conjunction with Council Grove Life Center. Workshops will be from 12:00-12:45 pm on Wednesdays, April 16, 23, and 30th at the Life Center. You will learn the importance of strength training as we age, as well as how to lift weights correctly. No lunch will be served! The workshop is free if you are a member of the Life Center, and there is a $7 fee if you are not a member. Space is limited, so you will need to reserve your spot. You can call 620-767-6811 ext. 148 or email szeigler@mrcohosp.com  to reserve a spot or with any questions. The 36-Hour Day Group. It is a support group for caregivers who are caring for those with dementia. It meets every Thursday from 1:00 -2:00 PM in our Hospital Chapel. The group discusses various topics from the book, "The 36-Hour Day". You can email Stacy with any questions you have, szeigler@mrcohosp.com   Morris County Assisted Living is an important part of our community and provides excellent housing options for our seniors. We appreciate your referrals as we look to rent our last couple of renovated apartments and we are looking for a few more great neighbors to call this unique space home. Call 620-767-5600 to schedule a tour. We are also looking to hire a full-time CNA or CMA and a part-time Activities Director. Call Laverne for more information at 620-767-5600.

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending March 29th March pretty well blew by (literally) and April’s awakening of spring is with us! You know you’re in the Flint Hills as the smell of ash is in the air...a beautiful odor to those who know how it affects our local economy! The cattle trucks will be rolling in from all over our country in the coming days and weeks.   As our nation’s leaders seek feverishly to deal with our nation’s unsustainable spending habits, we hear of concerns reaching our healthcare industry, especially to our Medicaid Program, used to cover 72 million low-income Americans. A budget resolution is important to both our House and Senate chambers, but we hope they will not compromise access to healthcare for such a large group of our constituents. If you agree, do reach out to Senators Marshall and Moran, as well as Representative Schmidt and tell them to protect the current Medicaid Program. Kansas has saved the government by not expanding Medicaid, so we cannot handle any reductions.   Our week has ended with a very nice interview with a second-year resident, Dr. Katie Hrencher, a Family Medicine and OB physician, and her husband Jacob who would be a great addition to our middle or high school faculty. Thanks to those of you who spent time with them and shared the great things our community offers. I will keep you abreast how their search for a summer of 2026 landing spot plays out. We can hope Council Grove will be their choice. I also have a first phone interview with another 2026 candidate on Monday...her name being Dr. Kayden Carter.   Still not real content with the low number of our metrics being reached on a weekly basis, but we did raise our targets to aggressive levels, and we’re not missing our targets by much. The best thing we can do is keep treating ALL our patients with great compassion and competence in each of our interactions with them. Thanks for doing just that!!   Have a great next two weeks! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending March 15th Quite the start of March, on through Spring Break Week! It just seems like a little bit of everything has wanted to show its face to the tune of the spring-like weather that we have been enjoying, including a mini blizzard that never quite materialized a couple of days ago…thank goodness. The circle of life has certainly been realized inside the MCH greater family, with the recent arrival of three newborns in a three-day window and the sad passage from this world of a few dear loved ones. May each respective family find joy for their future or seek comfort from their memories.   Through a somewhat unexpected news release, MCH was awarded a designation of making the Top 100 Rural Hospital in 2025 list, a couple of weeks ago, by the Chartis Group, LLC, a data analytics company. Our overall score of 97.1 actually elevates us to the Top 40 of all 2,100 rural hospitals across the Country, which Chartis annually evaluates with the use of 36 different metrics across eight different categories. They use all publicly available data from required reporting submissions of any facility that participates in the Medicare program (which is virtually every hospital). The data for this release was from the year ending 2023, as there is a lag in gathering all this data from hospitals with different fiscal year cycles. In a separate release, Chartis separately honors the top 20 hospitals (of the top 100), so now that we better know their criteria used in this analysis, we can set ourselves an objective to improve our scores in our lower two categories, enough in 2024 and 2025, to achieve that upper tier ranking. I will be preparing  a more detailed news release for our Community on this distinction in the next couple of weeks.   March Madness can now be legitimately experienced, as the games have officially begun…may your favorite team win, or at least your bracket do well. If you are not a basketball fan, there still seems to be a growing number of TV channel options popping up every week. Better yet, why don’t we shake off the winter doldrums and start getting active again. I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else in similar shoes. Have a great next two weeks! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending March 1st Sometimes we just like to play the blame game…so I will throw the Chiefs under the bus and blame their lethargic play on February 9th for the lethargic rest of February that we experienced at MCH relative to an expected normal winter month. Not that I am unappreciative of the large number of patients that we were fortunate enough to look after but it is the first time in a while that we so drastically fell below our budgeted service line numbers. Thanks for our Lab department, our Endoscope procedures, and our Cardiac Rehab spike in patients, or we would really have had a dismal last pay period of red values. Cash collections were also a plus, but that is a tribute to the infusion of property taxes we receive at this time of year.   I want to make a public statement for the benefit of our patient base. Our Revenue Cycle Team that processes and files claims, receives and posts payments, and in general manages ALL patient accounts properly, has simply not been at the standard we strive to maintain, over the past few months now. A large last quarter of 2024 turnover in our contracted billing service’s staff has played into this, as well as a significant turnover and sick days within our local hospital team. The healthcare business sector does not experience any smooth sailing when it comes to collecting from third party insurance plans these days. And when new people are trying to learn their computer software as well as all the insurance company nuances thrown at them daily, we have been set up for a step back in accurate and timely claims processing…and we are experiencing it. It is a grueling exercise to catch up from multiple discovered corrections that are needed on patient’s accounts, and that is where we currently find ourselves trudging through. And to help with this process moving forward, a reorganization of the department is being conducted…more on that later.   So, with this confession, I ask you to attempt being patient with our correcting some erroneous statements that have gone out in recent weeks…and know that by the first of April we hope to have them fully corrected. We will not send out any new statements until then, and if you prefer to hold off on making payments until then, we understand. But if your statement does concern you, please call our Business Office to make sure that someone is looking at and working your account.   I realize this has not been an uplifting report. Sometimes they simply won’t be. But hey…February is over, the fume of spring is hinting at us, and the Chiefs have a new draft ahead of them to plug a gap or two. Thanks for all you do and do spread this message to those whom you might have heard grumbling. Have a great next two weeks! Kevin Leeper, CEO

March is National Nutrition Month!  Healthy Eating Tips for the whole family from the American Heart Assoc.       For snack time, keep fresh fruit and pre-chopped or no-chop veggies on hand. Your family is more likely to grab fruits and vegetables over the other items if they're readily available. Enjoy fish high in omega-3 fatty acids. Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, trout, and albacore tuna are good choices. A  small handful of nuts or seeds   can be a satisfying and healthy snack. Look for unsalted or lightly salted nuts. Almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts are all good choices. Vegetables and fruits are loaded with nutrients and fiber, and typically low in calories and sodium.  Fresh, frozen or canned produce can all be healthy choices ,  but compare food labels and choose wisely.  And don't forget  -  Parents say family is less stressed when they eat together March is also National Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Did you know that age 45 is the recommended age to begin screening for cancer? And it may be earlier if you have a family history of colon or rectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death. Colorectal cancer affects men and women, and people of all races and nationalities. 30% of colorectal cancer diagnoses are under the age of 55. Often, those who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer have experienced no signs or symptoms associated with the disease. Don't put off your screening any longer. Call the clinic today to make an appointment or to speak with your doctor. 620-767-5126 This month we are changing our normal Health Wise Lunch from the third Wednesday to the first Wednesday.   Physical Therapist, Luke Plummer will be speaking about the effects of poor posture as well as how you can correct it. You will learn valuable exercises to improve your posture--and your health! Lunch is $6 and you do need to reserve your spot. You can call 620-767-6811 ext. 148 or ema il szeigler@mrcohosp.com   to reserve a spot. Join us for a fun and informative evening about Women's Health on Wednesday, March 19th, at the Territory Ballroom. Our pelvic floor experts, Kelsey Hartman and Christy Ziegenhirt, will share pelvic floor education and how to avoid common symptoms like leaking when you laugh or sneeze. For $25 per person, you can enjoy a couple of margaritas, chips & salsa, and you will go home with exercises to work on at home. When you RSVP before the event, you will also receive a free book! You can RSVP to Nicky Tiffany at 785-587-7870 The MCH Auxiliary is taking applications for their $500 scholarships through April 15, 2025. Applications can be picked up at the front desk of the Hospital or through the high school counselors in Council Grove and White City. If you have any questions, call Stacy Zeigler at 620-767-6811 ext. 148 Our Assisted Living Center residents enjoy all sorts of activities each month and we love having guests! We are looking for community volunteers (adults and/or students) to lead an activity a week.  We love games, arts & crafts, and of course playing cards! The friendships created here are one of the best parts of this unique living setting!  MCAL currently has three apartments available for rent, so if you are considering a move, now is the time to enquire. You can call Laverne at 620-767-5600 to set up a volunteer time, a tour or to have lunch with this fun crew. MCH Facebook Page Contact Stacy Zeigler with any questions concerning MCH Foundation events, to register for an event, or to book a speaker for your group or organization. Email:  Szeigler@mrcohosp.com   or call: 620-767-6811 ext. 148

Continued Dedicated Service to Our Community For Pay Period Ending February 15th Thirty days into our new Federal Administration, as well as into our requisite State law making sessions, is enough to be quite the fatiguing distraction if you open your ears to the constant clamor, the reactions, and the outright chatter clatter that envelopes us through today’s digital bombardments. It’s sometimes a wonder we can manage to conduct routine business as usual. Changes of many kinds are certainly in the wind, and it will take some extra study to keep up with where we just might land…but I just want to keep our sails tacking smoothly for the course of MCH. We just need to try to manage what is in our own spheres of influence.   The weather has continued to compromise our smooth course, but all in all we are still trending in a growth pattern relative to same months of our prior year. Some degree of growth is the only way we can contend with the continued inflationary squeezes we all are feeling (which is nowhere near as low as the reported 3%). We knew we were going to start the year with an elevated payroll, but rewarding our staff with a true investment in them (at the end of 2024) was the right and just thing to do. Adjusting our pay-scale has already paid dividends through our relative ease of filling several recent vacancies. I do continue worrying over the amazing cost increases we are experiencing in our pharmaceutical sector, which is partially driven by new drugs being approved at quite rapid rates.   As this weekend unfolded, it is great to see a period of prolonged warmth to refreshen our outlooks. Perhaps it will help curtail the abundance of flu we are dealing with and hasten folks’ recoveries. One of our Morris County native, Dr. Diane Hunt, returns to Council Grove this coming week for her first day of both Surgery and Clinic work at MCH. Feel free to schedule an appointment with her by calling the MCH Medical Clinic.   Thanks for each of you who daily deliver attentive patient care, and to all of you: do something worth remembering in the next two weeks. We should also give thanks to the Chiefs...they gave us another fun long-ride season - just a real tough-to-swallow ending. I do hope you all weathered the recent cold and snow as well as possible. Have a great two weeks leading into SPRING Break! Kevin Leeper, CEO

Happy American Heart Month! With heart disease still ranking as the number one killer of American men and women, it is an important time to know the signs of a heart attack as well as ways to prevent heart disease. Here are a few lifestyle changes that can help reduce your risk for heart disease.  1.  Don't smoke or use tobacco 2.  Get moving: Aim for at least 30 to 60 minutes of activity daily 3.  Eat a heart-healthy diet Two examples of heart-healthy food plans include the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan and the Mediterranean diet. 4.  Maintain a healthy weight Waist circumference can be a useful tool to measure how much belly fat you have. The risk of heart disease is higher if the waist measurement is greater than:    40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. 5.  Get quality sleep (at 7 hours a night) 6.  Manage stress 7.  Get regular health screening tests Important numbers to know-- Your blood pressure, Your cholesterol count, and your A1C .  If it's been a while since you've met with your doctor and done some testing, this month is a perfect reminder to get in for that checkup! We are thrilled to introduce Dr. Diane Hunt, a skilled General Surgeon, as the newest member of our team! Originally from Wilsey, Dr. Hunt graduated from Council Grove High School in 1985 before attending the University of Kansas. There, she majored in chemistry and even caught the attention of the Women’s Jayhawks basketball team, joining them for a memorable stint. After completing medical school at KU Med in Kansas City, Dr. Hunt spent two years in clinical training in Wichita before completing a five-year surgical residency. She has been in private practice with Kansas Surgical Consultants since 1999. Dr. Hunt will be seeing patients at MCH on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month, bringing extensive knowledge and experience to our surgery team. We are excited to have her with us! We are on our regular schedule for chair yoga at the senior centers. The Council Grove senior center  meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 11:00 am, and the White City senior center meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 10:30 am.  Everyone is welcome to join us for some great movement! In honor of Heart Health month, we will be talking about how to live A Heart Healthy Lifestyle. Learning more about the risk factors and how we can lower our risk for heart disease. Plus, we will enjoy a delicious lunch and great conversation. Lunch is $6 and you do need to reserve your spot for Wednesday, February 19th at 12:00 pm . You can call 620-767-6811 ext. 148 or email szeigler@mrcohosp.com  to reserve a spot and with any questions or a topic that you would like added to the schedule. If home maintenance has been difficult this winter, maybe it's time to check out the amenities that come with living in an Assisted Living apartment. We currently have three apartments available. You can call Laverne at 620-767-5600 to set up a time to take a tour and see if this home-style living is the right place for you or your loved one.