Joplin, Mo.-based Freeman Health System plans to open its first acute care hospital in Kansas in 2025.
Plans for the Fort Scott hospital are under review by state officials, and system leaders are optimistic it could open this spring, according to a Jan. 8 health system news release.
Freeman Health System is seeking licensure to open and operate the proposed 10-bed hospital, which will include an emergency department. Once receiving licensure, it will be located at Fort Scott's former hospital site, which closed in 2018. The site's emergency department closed in December 2023, the release said.
The new hospital's emergency department will have six bays and will be supported by laboratory, radiology, CT scanning and an inpatient pharmacy.
Once requested renderings receive final approval, renovations will begin, including updates to certain bathrooms to ensure ADA compliance, according to the health system.
Freeman Health System will lease the space from Kansas Renewal Institute, which recently purchased the building.
Additionally, Freeman Health System is planning a $168 million project to build the 50-bed Freeman Southeast Kansas Hospital in Frontenac, which the health system expects will create 500 to 1,000 jobs.