cnp ${?}^3$$$,$ No Plan in Sight? Succession Planning in a Small Rural Hospital

Amy Dore

Stratlin Memorial Hospital is located in Keen, Kansas, a small rural town in the Midwest. The county seat of Markley County, Keen has a population of $6,128,$ not including cows. Markley County is an area of $1,856$ square miles that consists of farming and agriculture, which are also the main sources of jobs for the county residents, specifically corn, wheat, soybeans, and alfalfa. There are also numerous livestock farms. The town of Keen is unique in its geographic positioning and unique attractions. Keen lies along Interstate $35,49$ miles south and $37$ miles east of the next largest urban cities. A major attraction for visitors to Keen is the Toy & Action Figure Museum and a well known chocolate factory.

If you ask residents why they live in Keen, they reply by telling you that the community is family oriented, peaceful, traffic$-$free, and has plentiful parks and recreation activities and abundant grocery stores, including local farmers' markers. Of course, Keen comes with its challenges that are standard in small rural towns, including residents that are older and have lower education levels, lower income status, and less healthy lifestyles. The area is also characterized by occasional droughts, lack of seat belt use, farming accidents, large numbers of residents who re uninsured and underinsured, limited business growth, and high incidences f kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease $($COPD$).$

Stratlin Memorial Hospital opened its doors in $1970,$ but has a long$-$standing story dating back to $1905$ when Drs$.$ Calhoun and Lewis partnered to form e first $5-$bed hospital, known as the Keen Sanitarium. The current hospital

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