Stacy Augustine, hospital administrator, told the Coffey County Commission that Coffee County Hospital has executed a shared-services agreement with Newman Regional Health to provide a primary general surgeon at the hospital two days a week. "It's 2 hospitals that are sharing the general surgeon," Augustine said, describing the arrangement as a lease of provider services rather than a merger or acquisition.

The administration said the agreement guarantees local access to general surgery and uses Coffee County Hospital staff for perioperative care; only the surgeon will be provided by Newman. Under the contract, the county will pay a flat daily rate of $2,400 "anytime that the general surgeon is here providing services," Augustine said, a figure she said was derived from national-group salary percentiles and a prorated malpractice-cost allocation. The contract term runs through the end of 2028 and includes a 180-day termination clause.

The hospital will bill for services performed while the surgeon is working at Coffee County Hospital, and providers will be credentialed through the hospital. Augustine said Newman Regional Health will credential its other general surgeons as backups so procedures can be covered if the primary surgeon is unavailable. "We will also be using our own surgery staff," she said, adding that anesthesia will continue to be provided by an existing group, CCI.

Commissioners asked about insurance coverage and employment status. Augustine said malpractice insurance and some payer arrangements will be handled by the surgeon's home entity when appropriate; she described the model as similar to other outpatient specialty arrangements where the provider's home organization covers malpractice while services are billed locally. She emphasized the agreement is not a merger or acquisition and that any such move would require direct involvement by the commission.

Augustine noted potential competition from other regional systems and said the county chose Newman because it offered more frequent on-site coverage than some larger facilities. She also flagged flexibility in the agreement: if volumes rise, the parties can pursue increased coverage days.

The hospital administrator said she will return in February or March with 2025 operating numbers and to provide updates about how state rural-health transformation funds — administered through entities such as the KU Care Collaborative — may affect local programs. "We don't have a whole lot of detail yet," she said, but promised to report back once state discussions conclude.

The commission did not take a direct vote on the hospital contract during the meeting; Augustine opened the floor for questions and said staff would continue monitoring access, insurer networks and program outcomes going forward.