New agreement between Wesley, Ark City hospital will start with ER focus

Wesley Medical Center said Thursday it has entered into an affiliation agreement with South Central Kansas Medical Center in Arkansas City to improve its existing services.

Wesley said in a news release that the agreement will initially focus on the hospital’s emergency department services.

“I know we have a tremendous facility staffed with amazing people,” Virgil Watson Jr., chief executive of SCKMC, said in the release. “But perception is reality, and we want to improve our image in the community. Since the emergency room is often the front door to our hospital, we wanted to start there.”

Wesley said in the release that it hasn’t acquired the Arkansas City medical center and doesn’t plan to manage any of its services. It said consultations with physicians or the use of Wesley staff when needed for certain services is possible.

Wesley said it has affiliation agreements with 41 hospitals across Kansas and northern Oklahoma that include a variety of general support services, including telemedicine consultation and transporting.

Wesley interim CEO Bill Voloch said in the release that Wesley has improved its wait times across its network of emergency rooms in the city, including at its main hospital, Galichia Heart Hospital and Wesley West ER.

“By focusing on getting our patients in a bed immediately, our average wait times were cut in half without adding staff,” Voloch said. “We know we can help South Central Kansas Medical Center create these same efficiencies in its ER.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2015 at 10:09 AM with the headline "New agreement between Wesley, Ark City hospital will start with ER focus."