Bourbon County commissioners assign chair to oversee recovery of Freeman Hospital equipment

An unnamed Bourbon County commissioner said the commission has delegated Chairman Jim Harris to oversee recovery and testing of medical equipment from Freeman Hospital, after a verbal commitment from Mercy to release the devices back to the county.

The move came at a special Bourbon County Commission meeting on Oct. 4. The commission briefly entered a five-minute executive session under the statute cited in the meeting as "KSA 70 five-four 319 B4" to discuss data related to financial affairs or trade secrets, then returned and approved a motion naming Harris to handle the Freeman-related work.

The commission’s temporary lead, identified in the meeting only as an unnamed commissioner, said Mercy had given a verbal commitment to return equipment and to "withdraw their concerns," and that written confirmation was expected. "We verbally got a commitment from Mercy to release that equipment back to Bourbon County and withdraw their concerns. We have that coming in writing," the commissioner said.

Officials said the county is coordinating with multiple parties — including KRI, Legacy, Freeman representatives and local city officials — to move three key pieces of equipment and complete required testing. The county was told the expected items include an ultrasound machine, a portable X-ray and a CT/CAT scanner; meeting participants said the larger scanner currently lacks hard drives because the drives were removed to protect patient information under HIPAA rules.

"Those machines have to have patient information erased, and it has to be done by a professional," the unnamed commissioner said, adding that professional movers and technicians would be contracted to move, erase and test devices.

County officials estimated bringing technicians in to inspect and test equipment could cost "up to 15 or $20,000," and said that money would come from the commissioners' contingency fund, which the official said had $72,000 remaining. The commissioner added the county retains responsibility for the equipment until ownership is formally transferred, and that formal deed and title steps are under way after a recent state tax-abatement notice.

Representatives from Freeman expected to attend a follow-up meeting on Monday, the meeting record shows; the commissioner named two Freeman contacts as "Mrs. Baker" and "Renee Denton." Officials also named Dr. Nichols as the COO at KRI and said Justin Meeks and Bob Farmer are part of the county response team working on logistics.

The stated goal is to restore an emergency room and a 10-bed hospital serving local constituents once equipment is returned, tested and commissioned. The commission approved the motions and adjourned without taking other formal votes on policy or funding beyond the contingency-fund use discussed.

Next steps noted in the meeting record include receipt of written confirmation from Mercy, a Monday meeting with Freeman representatives, and contracting technicians to perform secure data erasure and equipment testing.