I thought I was done writing about our hospital for at least a few more weeks, but two medical emergencies affecting two different people in less than a week have put it back on my mind, and I haven’t been able to settle it since.
Before I begin, let me point out that this piece appears in the Opinion section. Opinions, as the saying goes, are like elbows — everybody has them, and mine are no better than yours. Or, as the philosopher Dennis Miller once said, “Of course, that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”
Last Tuesday afternoon, I tried to call an older gentleman who has been a mentor to me for more than a decade. He didn't answer, which is highly unusual.
Over the years, this man has spent countless hours helping me through some of the worst moments of my adult life, including some of the most self-destructive ones, with no discernible benefit to himself.
About an hour later, I received a text from him saying he was in the Freeman emergency room with a possible stroke. It was the second time in a year and a half that this had happened to him. As someone who lost his father at 68 — and with this gentleman now 69 — I am not a fan of receiving those texts.
This past Sunday, my mother texted me to tell me that another older gentleman had had a stroke right in the middle of the Sunday morning church service she attended. She was thankful that local EMS had arrived so quickly, and that he didn't have to be transported far for treatment.
As I have waded through the information that has come to me, both on and off the record, regarding the hospital over the past few months, I have developed something of an agnostic stance on the subject.
Do I hope Freeman is here for the long haul?
Yes.
Do I believe our local governments should do everything in their power to help ensure that happens?
Yes.
Do I intend to move my family if we lose the hospital?
No.
Despite being what those in the medical profession refer to as “morbidly obese”, I am, somewhat miraculously, in pretty good health.
My mother, on the other hand? Her health is very good, but I’m already down to one parent, and my risk tolerance for becoming a full-blown orphan is pretty slim.
The mentor I mentioned earlier? There's just no way - the risk would be too great.
And what about our manufacturers, including the two new ones that have announced plans to move to Fort Scott?
I truly don’t know, but to quote Han Solo, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
What I do know is that Bourbon County without an ER is not going to resemble the Bourbon County we have known for the past century. It can’t.
Households headed by people ages 45 to 64 are the largest contributors to our local tax base. If we lose access to emergency medical care, I have a hard time seeing many of those folks staying, particularly if they are on the upper end of that spectrum.
Here is where this column may become controversial for some readers:
If I were a reporter for the New York Times, it's almost a certainty that I would not know any of the 51 elected New York City Council members. Those 51 Council members represent roughly 8.58 million New Yorkers.
In Bourbon County USA, on the other hand? I know just about everybody, including County Commissioner Gregg Motley. In fact, Mr. Motley is the mentor I referenced at the beginning of this column.
Side Note: Gregg, like my late father, is a very private man, and is probably going to be as thrilled about me writing this column as my father was when I broadcast his NASH cirrhosis diagnosis to a USD 235 School Board meeting and in turn the Fort Scott Tribune.
Do I agree with Gregg on everything? Not remotely - I avoid talking national or even state level politics with him because I suspect we would disagree violently. Even on local politics we are sometimes far apart.
But here's the thing - I believe Gregg Motley when he says inaction on the county's part with cost us Freeman at some point in the next 2-3 years.
Every piece of information I have received from multiple on and off the record sources tell me this is true. Could I be wrong? Absolutely. Shoot, I hope I am...but I don't think that's the case.
Here is another thing I believe, and once again, this is strictly my opinion: I believe some parties, both within and outside Bourbon County, would strongly prefer to prevent any legal action brought by the county that could require them to testify under oath or produce records through discovery and subpoenas.
If that sounds conspiracy-theory-ish, so be it, but it has been a long time since I have seen what I can only describe as a misinformation campaign waged this aggressively over something as fundamentally uncontroversial as maintaining access to local hospital care.
I also believe there are over 150 good and decent people working for a local employer that are stuck in the middle of a mess that started well before that employer ever came to town, and that sucks.
Lastly, I believe this: If this is in fact a genuine fight to keep our hospital, it shouldn't fall on the shoulders of just one man.
While the county government has the only real means to take action, it is, well, not doing so hot financially. Commissioners are currently struggling to find a way to pay for one of the key promises many of them made while running for office.
In the meantime, the city of Fort Scott has been making significant strides, and it has a substantial amount of skin in the local health care game. Because of that, I believe city leaders need to take a more visible stance on this issue.
The majority of economic development in Bourbon County happens in Fort Scott. Most of those 45- to 64-year-olds who shouldering the largest share of our tax burden aren't my neighbors in Uniontown. They live in my hometown — and now my workplace — of Fort Scott.
In my opinion, this needs to become a visibly unified effort between the county and the city.
I personally have made my peace with whatever may come in regards to healthcare in Bourbon County. When people ask me what's going to happen, I just tell them to pray, which is what I've been doing for five months now.
That being said, when someone I personally trust tells me there's hope, I believe him...but it's gonna take more than just one person to turn that hope into reality.
