A Simple Message of Thanks
My last day as a surgeon at Hays Medical Center was Tuesday, Nov. 12. My simple message to you is THANKS!
I was born in Western Kansas and raised in Dodge City, a seventh-generation Western Kansan. After graduating from Dodge City High School, I attended Wichita State University, followed by medical school at KU SOM and a surgery residency at KU Med. I joke with people when I tell them I have not made it far in life. In seven generations, my family has made it all of 164 miles.
In 2015, the choice was easy. I returned west to Hays Medical Center. During the last 9+ years, I have been blessed to be a small part of the medical journey of many. I have seen thousands of patients from Western Kansas and likewise performed thousands of operations, from appendectomies to cancer surgery, abdominal wall reconstruction, or simple endoscopy.
I am also proud to say that through my skill set and love for colon and rectal surgery, I was able to advance the care of rural Kansans further. I feel blessed to have saved thousands of patients a trip to Kansas City or Wichita.
Lately, however, I have concluded that the regional hospital model for providing health care to rural residents in Kansas is not sustainable.
I have become disheartened over the last year as I watched at least 10 of my fellow doctors, some of whom have lived here for 20-30 years, leave Hays. This was not always because they desired to leave, but because if they refused to sign a contract with HMC.
They are effectively forced to move due to certain covenants in HMC contracts that limit physician mobility. The covenants prohibit them from practicing medicine, not just in Hays, but also Western Kansas.
All the while, the Kansas Hospital Association, American College of Surgeons, and American Academy of Family Physicians have designated most of Western Kansas as being in a health care drought. This leaves access to quality medical or surgical care several counties away in some instances.
In the near future, I fully expect a whole slew of accusations and allegations, some about my skill set and others about my character. Some will believe that maybe I am a crusader.
If that implies having the courage to stand up for what is right they are correct. I am comfortable with the characterization of being a crusader because my only desire since finishing residency has been to provide excellent surgical care to people in Western Kansas, who deserve it just as much as those in Kansas City or Wichita.
I intend to carry on this crusade so that rural hospitals can provide the best care available anywhere to their own local people.
So once again, thank you Western Kansas for trusting me and allowing me to provide you with the health care that you deserve. Thank you too for welcoming my family and making them a part of the community.
Best wishes and God bless every single one of you,
JMG
Jerod M. Grove, M.D., FACS
general surgeon, Western Kansas