As a semi-retired physician in WaKeeney, Kansas, I feel compelled to address a critical situation that is currently impacting our community's health and well-being.
I have practiced medicine for over 40 years in the area and have become concerned by the current trends in health care access for the patients of this community.
Hays Medical Center serves as our regional medical facility in western Kansas, and its success is vital for us. Simply put, our health depends on it.
Recently, our community faced a significant setback with the resignation of the surgeon who has provided care for us for the past eight years. This departure is part of a troubling trend as Hays Medical Center has lost multiple physicians across various specialties in the past six months.
The implications of these losses are profound given the growing physician shortage in our region.
One particular concern involves Dr. Grove, the surgeon who has been instrumental in serving our hospital and community.
Dr. Grove traveled to our hospital twice monthly to perform essential procedures and consult on the health care of patients in WaKeeney and surrounding counties. If Dr. Grove did not come directly to our hospital, many of our patients, because of poor health or travel issues, would not have had access to these surgical services.
Life-saving cancer screening tests, cancerous skin lesion removals and many other consultations would have been delayed or, worse yet, not done at all.
Dr. Grove also allowed the local physicians and providers to consult him by phone anytime, day or night. Patients in WaKeeney and the surrounding area were well cared for (from a surgical standpoint) because of Dr. Groves’ commitment to our community.
Due to restrictive covenants enforced by Hays Medical Center, Dr. Grove is now unable to continue his practice in WaKeeney and much of western Kansas.
This, unfortunately, comes at a time when we desperately need access to surgical care. Dr. Grove does not want to leave western Kansas.
Hays Medical Center is enforcing its contract with Dr. Grove to prohibit him from the practice of surgery in WaKeeney and western Kansas. This might be understandable if we had multiple surgeons requesting privileges at our hospital.
That, however, is just the opposite of what we find in western Kansas. There is a significant surgeon shortage. Pushing these restrictive policies will potentially harm our community and may exacerbate the existing healthcare crisis.
I urge Hays Medical Center to reconsider enforcing its restrictive covenants and allow Dr. Grove (and other physicians who have been employed by HMC) to practice in WaKeeney and throughout western Kansas.
Permitting Dr. Grove to practice in western Kansas will help secure surgical services in our area and ultimately strengthen Hays Medical Center. We want and we need Hays Medical Center to be successful and strong.
Granting this flexibility is not merely a matter of convenience. It is a matter of providing essential health care services to our patients and safeguarding the health of our community.
Everything Hays Medical Center has done regarding the enforcement of the many restricted covenants are undoubtedly legal.
However, is doing so in the best interests of the many patients they serve? Finding high-quality physicians to practice medicine IN western Kansas is difficult at best. Can we please find a way to help the Doctors who want to stay? Thank you for your attention to this pressing issue.
Gordon Lang, MD
WaKeeney Medical Group
WaKeeney