photo by: Rochelle Valverde

The new clinic for Heartland Community Health Center, 1312 W. Sixth St., is pictured on Oct. 18, 2021.

Before any funding decisions for the upcoming year are finalized, county leaders will continue a discussion with Heartland Community Health Center representatives regarding recent turnover in the center’s leadership, concerns about equity, and steps the center is taking to address those issues.

As part of its meeting Wednesday, the Douglas County Commission will follow up with Heartland regarding issues discussed during the commission’s budget deliberations this summer. In June, commissioners questioned Heartland representatives about the departure of two top executives at the center, one of whom later disclosed to the Journal-World that she had hired an attorney regarding a previous racial discrimination complaint against Heartland.

Though funds for Heartland have been set aside in the county’s budget, the allocation is not finalized, and commissioners asked for follow-up information and discussion with Heartland before funding was provided. The discussion will take place as part of the commission’s study session, meaning commissioners can direct staff to bring forward certain actions for consideration in the future but no decisions will be made as part of the meeting.

Heartland, which is a safety-net health care provider in Lawrence, requested $227,003 in base funding from the county and made a supplemental funding request for $27,653 to help support additional staffing, according to the county’s budget documents. County spokesperson Karrey Britt said the commission has set aside $227,003 in its 2022 budget for Heartland but has not finalized the allocation.

As part of Wednesday’s meeting, Heartland representatives will present updates on various issues at the center ahead of a discussion with commissioners.

As the Journal-World previously reported, Julie Boden Schmidt, interim CEO at Heartland, told commissioners in June that former CEO Robyn Coventon had been asked to leave the organization and that the center was receiving guidance on issues related to equity. Former chief operating officer Tiffany Lewis, who is Black, told the Journal-World at that time that she was fired about 45 days after she filed a hostile work environment and racial discrimination complaint.

Heartland presentation materials for Wednesday’s meeting state the center is working with Crystal Bennett, who provides training and workshops in diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to work regarding board diversification, organizational culture and mechanisms for accountability and sustainability, Bennett will conduct workshops and coaching for senior leaders, midlevel managers and front-line team members.

Regarding the current status of the two executive positions, Rachel Hartford assumed the position of the chief operations officer in September, and the CEO recruitment committee will begin “active recruitment” shortly after the center’s upcoming move into its new building. The center merged with Douglas County Dental in 2020, acquired Panda Pediatrics at the beginning of this year, and will open its new clinical site at 1312 W. Sixth St. later this month. Pediatric services will remain at the Panda Pediatrics building.

The presentation states that the center has also updated its strategic plan and has been working to improve its relationships with community partners such as LMH Health, Bert Nash, DCCCA, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and the Regional Alcohol and Drug Assessment Center, and proposes a process for improved communication with the county. That includes developing standing monthly meetings, a quarterly report and inviting a county representative to attend board meetings on a semi-annual basis to share information, concerns and challenges.

The Douglas County Commission will convene at 4 p.m. Wednesday for its study session and at 5:30 p.m. for its regular agenda at the county courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. Residents can participate in the meeting in person, virtually or via phone, and more information about those options is available at douglascountyks.org/commission/meetings.