Hunter Health Clinic putting operations back in order
Financial problems at Hunter Health Clinic and alleged actions by its former CEO are troubling, but the current board of directors and staff seem to be putting operations back in order, thankfully. Wichita and many low-income families need Hunter to be financially healthy.
Hunter was founded in 1976 to serve Americans Indians, but it provides free or reduced-cost health care to people from all backgrounds – about 14,000 patients at its three Wichita locations last year. Unbeknownst to its board, the clinic dug itself into a deep financial hole several years ago.
Under the direction of then-CEO Susette Schwartz, the clinic accumulated $1 million in debt and was at risk of losing its federal contract with the Indian Health Service, according to documents the clinic released to The Eagle. The clinic also kept money it deducted from employee paychecks for retirement and other benefits – potential violations of the law. Employees described a “culture of fear” under Schwartz, according to the clinic’s attorney.
The clinic board says it didn’t learn about the extent of these problems until Schwartz went on family medical leave in late 2012. It fired her in February 2013.
Since then, the board has been trying to right the ship. Some of the required actions were painful, including instituting a pay cut, reducing staff from 116 to 80 employees and discontinuing the employee retirement plan.
But the clinic has made considerable progress. It has paid off its debt and restored the pay levels. It also changed the board structure to provide more oversight, board co-chairwoman Heather Baker told The Eagle.
This week the board named Amy Feimer as its new CEO. One of her priorities is replacing the Hunter clinic at 2318 E. Central, which is in bad condition.
Hunter could be in even better financial shape if the board had not racked up legal bills during a two-year attempt to block the release of e-mails to The Eagle. After the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled against Hunter in November, the current board finally decided to stop fighting and be open about its financial problems.
It should have done that from the beginning.
But what’s most important is that Hunter has stabilized and is now refocused on its mission and on moving forward. That’s good news.
This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Hunter Health Clinic putting operations back in order."