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Pawnee Valley Community Hospital briefs commissioners on provider tax changes, RHTP participation and ER trends
Summary
Hospital leaders updated commissioners on provider tax mechanics, the hospital's plans to apply for the Kansas Rural Health Transformation Program, recent awards, staff vacancies, and financial metrics including a year-to-date gain despite a missed monthly budget; hospital presented ER visit and EMS transport data by ZIP code.
Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Administrator Melanie Urban and Chief Financial Officer Michelle Beckner updated the Pawnee County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 2 about program changes, staffing and recent financial performance.
Melanie Urban reviewed recent hospital recognitions — including a Foundation Healthcare Star Award for Lacy Bowman, APRN, and a 2025 Kansas Business Merit Award — and described staffing vacancies and recent community events. On the provider tax, Urban explained the assessment was created by the Legislature in 2004 and collects funds from hospitals to draw down federal Medicaid dollars; she outlined the old, current and potential future models and said the long-term plan is to reduce the assessment back to 3 percent pending approval from CMS. "This was created by the Legislature in 2004, and it collects funds from hospitals to draw down federal Medicaid funds," Urban said.
Michelle Beckner presented financial highlights through Dec. 31, 2025, saying inpatient stays were down while outpatient visits rose and the hospital missed the budget for the month but remained positive for the year. Beckner also provided emergency-room visits by ZIP code for the past four years, EMS transports out of the Pawnee Valley ER for the year, and fiscal-year 2025 mental-health transport costs; commissioners asked whether staff could produce a report showing time EMS transport was needed, and Urban said, "I believe we can build a report with the information."
