FORT SCOTT – The state of Kansas is reviewing Freeman Health System’s plans for a new hospital in Fort Scott.
Freeman, among the region’s largest providers of health care services, is seeking licensure to open and operate an acute care hospital. Upon obtaining licensure, the proposed 10-bed general medical unit and 24-hour emergency department will operate in the city’s former hospital site, 401 Woodland Hills Blvd. Freeman will lease the space from Kansas Renewal Institute, which recently purchased the former hospital building.
According to Freeman Neosho Hospital Chief Operation Officer Renee Denton, the planning for required renovations and the design phase have been completed. She said this is a prepared statement from Freeman. The requested renderings have been submitted to state officials, and once approved, renovations will begin.
“We submitted those plans to the state and are waiting for their authorization,” Denton said. “Once plans are approved, we will immediately send the plans out for bid to have the required renovations completed.”
Other work underway at the former hospital building includes valuating infrastructure capabilities that will be needed to support the overall computer system, operability and building the electronic medical record; evaluating and sorting through discarded equipment to determine what is operable; and identifying all new laboratory, radiology and pharmacy equipment needed to support the new hospital and emergency department.
“Representatives at Kansas Department of Health and Environment have been very helpful to work closely with us,” Denton said. “They have been very willing to help in whatever way they can. They, too, are supportive of the effort we’re trying to bring to fruition in Fort Scott.”
Fort Scott has been without a hospital since 2018. The hospital’s emergency department stayed open until December 2023, forcing residents to seek medical treatment 30 minutes away in Pittsburg or across the state line in Nevada, Missouri.
The emergency department will consist of six bays, with 365-day, 24/7 coverage, by licensed physicians and trained nursing staff. Support for the emergency department includes laboratory, radiology, computerized tomography and an inpatient pharmacy. Opportunities to have an outpatient lab, radiology and CT services will also be available to the community from the hospital.
The specific opening date for Freeman Fort Scott Hospital in 2025 will crystallize as state officials review Freeman’s submitted plans and the required renovations are completed.
