'Where It Hurts' Podcast

‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes

'No Mercy' is Season One of 'Where It Hurts,' a podcast about overlooked parts of the country where cracks in the health system leave people without the care they need. Our first destination is Fort Scott, Kansas.

By Sarah Jane Tribble October 13, 2020

Republish This Story

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen.

Where It Hurts

This podcast was produced in partnership with St. Louis Public Radio.

Learn More

Emergency care gets complicated after a hospital closes. On a cold February evening, when Robert Findley fell and hit his head on a patch of ice, his wife, Linda, called 911. The delays that came next exposed the frayed patchwork that sometimes stands in for rural health care.

After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut down, many locals had big opinions about what kind of health care the town needed.

“Words of experience is, you don’t know when that tragedy is going to happen,” Linda Findley said.

Fort Scott’s free-standing ER and the new community health center aren’t enough, she said.

“I mean, my gosh, you need to feel like you’re safe and could be taken care of where you’re at,” she said.

Click here to read the episode transcript.

Linda Findley holds a photo of her husband, Robert.(Christopher Smith for KHN)

“Where It Hurts” is a podcast collaboration between KHN and St. Louis Public Radio. Season One extends the storytelling from Sarah Jane Tribble’s award-winning series, “No Mercy.”

Subscribe to Where It Hurts on iTunes, Stitcher, Google, Spotify or Pocket Casts.

And to hear all KHN podcasts, click here.

Sarah Jane Tribble: sjtribble@kff.org, @sjtribble

Copy And Paste To Republish This Story

‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes

By Sarah Jane Tribble October 13, 2020

Article HTML

<h1>‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes</h1>
	<span class="byline">Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News</span>

// Autosize iframe
				var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) {

var origin = document.createElement( 'a' );
					origin.href = e.origin;

// Verify message origin
					if ( 'embeds.kff.org' !== origin.host )
						return;

// Verify message is in a format we expect
					if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type )
						return;

switch ( e.data.msg_type ) {
						case 'poll_size:response':
							var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id );

if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width )
								iframe.width = '100%';
							if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height )
								iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height );

return;
						default:
							return;
					}
				}

if ( 'function' === typeof window.addEventListener ) {
					window.addEventListener( 'message', funcSizeResponse, false );
				} else if ( 'function' === typeof window.attachEvent ) {
					window.attachEvent( 'onmessage', funcSizeResponse );
				}
			}
			if (document.readyState === 'complete') { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ }
			else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', func, false ); }
			else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( 'onreadystatechange', func ); }
		} )();
		</script>

<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="http://kwmu-rss.streamguys1.com/player/player20101215113815.html">Click here to listen</a>.</em></p>

<aside class="related related-slab pull-right">
											<div class="slab default-slab ">
													<h3>
					<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/where-it-hurts/">
		Where It Hurts			</a>
			</h3>
<div class="slab-container">	<div class="slab-content">
		
	<iframe 
 title="Embedded Media"
		id="wpcom-iframe-864eb118d00dee1b392e016906f9f13c"
		width="100%"
		height="210"
		src="https://embeds.kff.org/protected-iframe/864eb118d00dee1b392e016906f9f13c"
		scrolling=""
		frameborder="0"
		class="wpcom-protected-iframe"
		>
	</iframe>
	<script type="text/javascript">
		( function() {
			var func = function() {
				var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-864eb118d00dee1b392e016906f9f13c')
				if ( iframe ) {
					iframe.onload = function() {
						iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( {
							'msg_type': 'poll_size',
							'frame_id': 'wpcom-iframe-864eb118d00dee1b392e016906f9f13c'
						}, "https:\/\/embeds.kff.org" );
					}
				}

// Autosize iframe
				var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) {

var origin = document.createElement( 'a' );
					origin.href = e.origin;

// Verify message origin
					if ( 'embeds.kff.org' !== origin.host )
						return;

// Verify message is in a format we expect
					if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type )
						return;

switch ( e.data.msg_type ) {
						case 'poll_size:response':
							var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id );

if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width )
								iframe.width = '100%';
							if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height )
								iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height );

return;
						default:
							return;
					}
				}

<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="http://kwmu-rss.streamguys1.com/player/player20101215113815.html">Click here to listen</a>.</em></p>

<p>Emergency care gets complicated after a hospital closes. On a cold February evening, when Robert Findley fell and hit his head on a patch of ice, his wife, Linda, called 911. The delays that came next exposed the frayed patchwork that sometimes stands in for rural health care.</p>
<p>After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut down, many locals had big opinions about what kind of health care the town needed.</p>
<p>“Words of experience is, you don’t know when that tragedy is going to happen,” Linda Findley said.</p>
<p>Fort Scott’s free-standing ER and the new community health center aren’t enough, she said.</p>
<p>“I mean, my gosh, you need to feel like you’re safe and could be taken care of where you’re at,” she said.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7224995-Where-It-Hurts-S1-Chapter-3-Transcript.html">Click here to read the episode transcript</a>.</p>
 Linda Findley holds a photo of her husband, Robert.

<p><em>“Where It Hurts” is a podcast collaboration between KHN and St. Louis Public Radio. Season One extends the storytelling from Sarah Jane Tribble’s award-winning series, “<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/no-mercy/">No Mercy</a>.”</em></p>
<p><em>Subscribe to Where It Hurts on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/where-it-hurts/id1529977695?mt=2">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/st-louis-public-radio-2/where-it-hurts">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/1234567890">Google</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2UnB6idd8wVjwPNAsJug59">Spotify</a> or <a href="https://pca.st/01vob06g">Pocket Casts</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>And to hear all KHN podcasts, <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/podcast/">click here</a>.</em></p>
	</div>
	<div class="link-button">
		<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/where-it-hurts/" class="btn btn-default btn-block">
			Learn More		</a>
	</div>
	</div>						</div>
									</aside>
				
<p>Emergency care gets complicated after a hospital closes. On a cold February evening, when Robert Findley fell and hit his head on a patch of ice, his wife, Linda, called 911. The delays that came next exposed the frayed patchwork that sometimes stands in for rural health care.</p>
<p>After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut down, many locals had big opinions about what kind of health care the town needed.</p>
<p>“Words of experience is, you don’t know when that tragedy is going to happen,” Linda Findley said.</p>
<p>Fort Scott’s free-standing ER and the new community health center aren’t enough, she said.</p>
<p>“I mean, my gosh, you need to feel like you’re safe and could be taken care of where you’re at,” she said.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/7224995-Where-It-Hurts-S1-Chapter-3-Transcript.html">Click here to read the episode transcript</a>.</p>
 Linda Findley holds a photo of her husband, Robert.

We encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Here’s what we ask:

You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our kffhealthnews.org site. If possible, please include the original author(s) and KFF Health News” in the byline. Please preserve the hyperlinks in the story.

Have questions? Let us know at KHNHelp@kff.org

More From KFF Health News

Medical Providers Still Grappling With UnitedHealth Cyberattack: ‘More Devastating Than Covid’

A side-view of a man standing at a window and looking out. His right had rests on the window sill.

He Thinks His Wife Died in an Understaffed Hospital. Now He’s Trying to Change the Industry.

A photo of a man working in a steamy restaurant kitchen.

Newsom Offers a Compromise to Protect Indoor Workers from Heat

Jian Zhang stands beside a large, vertical sign that says, "Chinese Hospital Cancer Center"

In San Francisco’s Chinatown, a CEO Works With the Community To Bolster Hospital

Related Topics

More From KFF Health News