North Kansas City officials strongly denied Tuesday that there was any plan to sellNorth Kansas City Hospital to HCA Inc.
The city hit back against statements in an affidavit filed Monday by former hospital board Chairman Terry Myers that he was approached by Clay County CommissionerGene Owen to help a team that was working on a sale to HCA.
“The city of North Kansas City has no plan in place — and never did have a plan in place — to sell the North Kansas City Hospital to any specific entity,” the city said in a statement. “While the North Kansas City Hospital board of trustees and their lawyers would have you think otherwise, there is absolutely no truth whatsoever to these allegations.”
The hospital board sued last year to block any potential sale of the hospital. State legislators also have proposed a bill that would make the hospital independent of the city.
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In their statement Tuesday, city officials said Myers’ affidavit was an attempt by the hospital to mislead the public and spread false information.
Here is the city’s full statement:
The City of North Kansas City has NO plan in place – and never did have a plan in place – to sell the North Kansas City Hospital to any specific entity. While the North Kansas City Hospital Board of Trustees and their lawyers would have you think otherwise, there is absolutely NO TRUTH whatsoever to these allegations.
It is also regrettable that the Business Journal didn’t bother to simply call the City for comment before running their story. Had they done so, they would have learned that the affidavit focuses on two neighbors who have no relevant knowledge of the City’s deliberations and that the allegations are demonstrably false. Let us be clear: Gene Owendoes not work for the City and neither he nor the other individuals mentioned in this story have “evidence of a plan to sell the hospital” because no such plan exists.
The affidavit filed on behalf of the North Kansas City Hospital Board of Trustees is yet another reminder of how far the Hospital Board of Trustees will go to mislead the public, spread false information, and attempt to redirect the conversation away from the true matters at hand. It certainly is no coincidence that this story was placed by the Hospital to run the evening before a scheduled court hearing. The City Council and the citizens of North Kansas City are left with no option other than to conclude it is yet another desperate attempt by the Hospital’s Board of Trustees to circumvent due process and protect their own self interests.
In the strongest terms, we again call upon the Hospital Board of Trustees to stop misleading our citizens, to stop wasting taxpayer dollars in an attempt to manipulate the courts, our legislators and the media, and to stop hurting our Hospital by refusing to allow an objective analysis about its ability to effectively compete and survive. We all must ask ourselves, if the Hospital Board is willing to continuously stoop so low, what is it hiding?