Montgomery County Commissioners have admitted wrongdoing in an improperly-called executive session held in October, according to an agreement in principle reached between the commissioners and county attorney Larry Markle.

Markle confirmed Tuesday that an agreement had been reached — but had not been formally signed — by the commissioners admitting to an improperly-called executive session held at a commission meeting on Monday, Oct. 13.

Also in the agreement, commissioners will not contest a complaint that they violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act by improperly calling an executive session on Sept. 15.

The Montgomery County Chronicle filed a complaint with Markle’s office in late October, asking that Markle investigate the commission’s possible abuse of the Kansas Open Meetings Act on two different occasions: one on Oct. 13 and the other on Sept. 15.

The Kansas Open Meetings Act allows — but does not require — governing bodies to enter into an executive session to discuss matters that are deemed confidential, such as the job performance of employees. The act also allows executive sessions, which are closed to the press and public, for governing bodies to consult with an attorney, conduct employee-employer negotiations, protect trade secrets and financial information regarding businesses and corporations, discuss the acquisition of real estate, deal with matters pertaining to security measures, and issues dealing with students, patients, or residents of a public institution.

Unless the discussions involve those above-mentioned areas, all discussions are to be held in public.

The Chronicle contends that the Oct. 13 executive session involved the commission, county counselor Paul Kritz, and chief administrative judge Russell Canaday of the 14th Judicial District. Andy Taylor, Chronicle editor, complained that the commission abused the open meetings act by allowing Canaday to be present in that closed-door discussion. Canaday, as the chief administrative judge of the 14th Judicial District, has no oversight over any county employees (court employees are considered State of Kansas workers). And, because the court system is a unit of the State of Kansas, Canaday could not provide information in that executive session that would assist the commission in setting policy or making decisions involving county services, programs or employees.

The open meetings act forbids the presence of a third party in an executive session, unless the information provided by that third party can help the governing body in a quest for more information.

Taylor also complained that the commission entered that executive session on Oct. 13 under the guise of “attorney-client discussions” with county counselor Paul Kritz. While the open meetings act does allow an attorney to discuss confidential legal matters with a client (in this case, the commission), the discussions must involve pending litigation and be of such a private nature that they should not be revealed in public. Having a judge sitting in a closed-door session with a county counselor, as the attorney, and a commission, as the client, would violate the spirit of the attorney-client privilege, Taylor said.

Sanctions against county commissioners Billie Lewark-Wood, Gene Tucker and Tony Fowler will be announced once the formal agreement is signed by the three commissioners and Markle.

Mercy announces cost containment measures, including staff reductions and service changes

Mercy Health System of Kansas, Inc., on Wednesday announced cost containment measures that include staff reductions and modifications to services in an effort to conserve resources and continue the provision of quality healthcare to its communities.

Mercy chief executive officer John Woodrich explained that the organization, like many others in the area, has been adversely affected by the continued downward spiral of the nation’s economy over the past several months. He cited under-utilization of services, increased obligations to provide charity care and rising bad debt in unpaid patient accounts as the factors in the staff reductions.

“We have been good stewards of our resources for many years, so today we remain a financially sound organization,” Woodrich said. “However, there is no end in sight to our country’s economic crisis, and the impact appears to be widening and escalating. For that reason, we had to take action immediately.”

Measures implemented today included the elimination of 56 positions across the Kansas organization, which operates hospitals in both Independence and Fort Scott. Twelve of those positions were currently vacant, leaving a total of 44 co-workers potentially affected by the layoff, including 30 in Fort Scott and 14 in Independence.

Part of the reduction involves the elimination of paid positions to operate Mercy Health Center’s courtesy transportation service in Fort Scott. Mercy also announced the pending closing of its rural health clinic located in Arma. The clinic’s last day of operation will be Feb. 6. Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott will also discontinue weekend cafeteria service.

Another change announced today involves the provision of physician services for the emergency rooms at both hospitals. MHSK has contracted with Acute Care, Inc., of Des Moines, Iowa, to provide ER physician staffing in both locations. The part-time coverage started at Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott last week and will begin in Independence on April 7. Local emergency room physicians already practicing with Mercy will have the opportunity to apply for employment with Acute Care, Woodrich explained, and the emergency rooms will continue to be staffed with a provider 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

All co-workers affected by today’s layoff will receive comprehensive severance packages and any requested assistance with job seeking, Woodrich said.

Mercy Health Systems of Kansas is part of the Sisters of Mercy Health System based in St. Louis, which also owns and operates multiple hospitals and outreach ministries in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Woodrich explained that all hospital units within the Mercy system are experiencing negative economic trends at this time, as are most hospitals in the nation.

“We’re certainly not alone in this struggle, and we’ve seen even larger scale reductions by hospitals in our area in recent months,” he noted. “But a layoff is not an easy thing to do. Every co-worker is a valued member and asset to our healthcare ministry.

“We do want the community to know that we remain committed to providing uncompromised, high-quality healthcare to our citizens, just as we have for 130 years in southeast Kansas, and we look forward to future opportunities for growth.”