News Release

Norton County Hospital provides updates on medical staff, labor and delivery services

June 21, 2018

NORTON, Kan. – Norton County Hospital and Norton Medical Clinic want to keep the public apprised of changes in medical staff and services in the most transparent way possible. With that, the hospital and clinic want the public to know that Dr. Hoa-Dung Nguyen has submitted her resignation effective Nov. 16, 2018. Dr. Nguyen has provided services in obstetrics (OB) and family medicine for people of all ages in Norton since 2015.

“My husband and I would like to thank the Norton County Hospital and Clinic for the opportunity to serve the greater Norton County community,” Dr. Nguyen said. “It has been an exciting, challenging and humbling experience. We will miss Norton’s small-town charm and friendly smiles at every corner.”

The hospital’s Board of Trustees, administration and staff would like to thank Dr. Nguyen for her dedication to patients and wish her the best in the future.

This announcement comes shortly after the announcement of Dr. Thomas Kriley resigning from Norton County Hospital and Norton Medical Clinic effective Aug. 1, 2018. With the loss of two physicians in the immediate future, changes will need to be made regarding services provided, most notably labor and delivery services.

Norton County Hospital and Norton Medical Clinic believe the safety and care of mothers and newborn babies is the No. 1 priority throughout the entire pregnancy, especially at delivery. The hospital and clinic want to share the following information with patients:

• OB delivery services will be temporarily on hold after Aug. 1, 2018. OB patients will need to discuss their options with their OB provider at Norton County Hospital and Norton Medical Clinic.
• Although we as the hospital and clinic want to keep patient care at our facilities, we will work to transfer them, as appropriate, to another facility while attempting to keep them as close to home as possible.
• While delivery services specifically will be temporarily on hold, our hospital and clinic will continue to provide an array of maternal and infant care, including prenatal classes, prenatal lab, ultrasound, lactation consulting, postpartum care, car seat installation and checks, newborn hearing screenings and circumcision.
• We are honored that patients have chosen us to help welcome their children into this world. We value each and every patient who comes to our facility, and we will continue to work diligently to bring back OB services as quickly as possible. During this time without delivery service, members of our staff will continue to keep up their skills and train more staff in labor and delivery, while making other improvements to the OB program.
• We are committed to our OB services at NCH. Active recruiting for new family practice/OB physicians is still ongoing, and work is being done to secure temporary providers to fill patient needs (such as for clinic, emergency and outpatient services); this will allow for continuation of most health care services until permanent physicians are secured on the medical staff. We will do everything possible to ensure we can continue to provide safe, family-centered care at our facility.

OB patients can contact their provider or call labor and delivery supervisor Megan Juenemann, RN, BSN, with questions. Providers can be reached at the clinic by calling 785-877-3305, and Megan Juenemann can be reached at the hospital by calling 785-877-3351. More updates will continue to be made available to the public. Thank you to our patients for their understanding during this transition period.

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