Safeguarding Hospital Services in El Dorado
You are due for a cancer screening. Your sister is about to have a baby. Your 9-year-old has a high fever and a rash that came on suddenly. Your elderly mother is recovering from hip replacement surgery after a nasty fall. Your uncle needs cardiac rehab after a bypass surgery. Where do you go?
If you’re in El Dorado, you probably turn to Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital (SBAMH), a locally run facility with a full suite of services staffed by caring, dedicated experts.
But the hospital faces challenges that could threaten crucial services. Like many hospitals in Kansas, SBAMH is grappling with rising costs in care and shortfalls in reimbursements. Although new hospital leadership has cut expenses and improved services in the last few years, stabilizing finances to safeguard the hospital’s future requires public support.
“We’re asking voters in the City of El Dorado to approve a seven-year, special-purpose 1% sales tax to support our hospital,” said CEO Melissa Hall. “We have served El Dorado for 95 years, and every life we care for is a reminder of why we serve.”
The sales tax will add 1% to the cost of items purchased in the City of El Dorado for seven years. So, a $5 purchase would cost $5.05, a $10 purchase would cost $10.10 and so on. The tax would generate roughly $3 million per year for the hospital.
Most community hospitals in Kansas receive public support — nearly 75% of Kansas hospitals reported receiving funding through a local mill levy or a sales tax in 2025.
Here in El Dorado, SBAMH currently receives no public support. As a nonprofit, Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospital, SBAMH is reimbursed by Medicare and Medicaid using predetermined, fixed rates for patient services. Those rates — along with rates of major insurance plans — often fall short of the actual cost of care. For instance, the cost of medication alone for a four-shot rabies series required for a patient who has experienced an animal bite is $4,687.41. The reimbursement for this medication is only $1,669.65.
The realities of rising costs in 2025 alone are reflected in stark numbers: Total hospital expenses grew 7.5%, expenses for supplies increased 9.9% and drugs increased 13.6%, according to a March 2026 American Hospital Association report. Workforce expenses rose 5.6% from the previous year.
If the new one-cent sales tax passes, funds will help the hospital reduce reliance on higher-cost contract staff in favor of attracting local talent, particularly in nursing. Another priority is to make critical equipment purchases to ensure the hospital can continue to provide high-quality care.
One local resident who knows firsthand the high quality of care at SBAMH is former mayor Gene White. White said he has an appreciation for “the immediacy of our hospital” because of his experience serving as a volunteer member of the Butler County Rescue Squad for many years. His professional respect for the staff is magnified by his personal experience having several surgical procedures at the hospital.
“I’ve always thought the care provided was just incredible! I’ve been up there, and I know how good they are,” White said.
Hall said people have asked her what will happen if the voters reject the tax.
“If the sales tax doesn’t pass, our hospital will not close the next day, but we will look a lot different. We will likely have to stop offering some services our patients and community have come to rely on, and those patients would be forced to seek care elsewhere,” she said.
White doesn’t like to consider that possibility and recommends voting YES on the sales tax question.
“You may not need that hospital today, but you, your wife, your friends, your children will need it tomorrow, and you should hope it’s there functioning and active for our whole community,” he said.
Local Impact
Despite cost challenges and other difficulties, the hospital has made great strides in the last few years. New hospital leadership has reestablished partnerships with local providers, offered new services and worked to improve patient experiences. These efforts have brought results: Emergency room average length of stay times have decreased from four hours to less than two hours, which is below the state and national average. Sepsis care compliance rates for patients with life-threatening response to an infection improved from 25% to 88% according to evidence-based best practices. Provider communication also improved from the 4th percentile to the 89th percentile when measured against other hospitals.
“We’re proud of the improvements we’ve made during a challenging time. Our goal is to ensure that residents of El Dorado and the surrounding area have local access to the best possible healthcare, and our staff works hard to provide that care 24/7. We take our commitment to quality seriously,” Hall said.
In addition to caring for the community’s medical needs, SBAMH offers substantial economic benefits.
The hospital provides nearly 300 jobs and pays $16.4 million in yearly labor income to employees. Local healthcare is also crucial to local businesses, both because it offers healthcare to workers and because having a hometown hospital means staff members, visitors and residents are more likely to shop locally.
“Availability of local healthcare services helps El Dorado residents avoid the time and expense of traveling to receive those services, helps our community recruit and retain businesses and helps retirees age in place. The benefits are direct and indirect, but they add up to a big economic impact,” Hall said.
Blend the personal and economic impact of local healthcare, and you have something worth public investment to protect. The current management team and board of trustees are committed to realigning and hope the community is willing to help.
Whether you or a family member is getting screened for cancer, welcoming a baby into the family, receiving urgent care, recovering from a fall, needing cardiac rehab or facing another medical situation, consider the role SBAMH can play in providing high-quality care to our community and vote YES on August 4.
Thank you for taking time to learn more about the sales tax question on the August 4 ballot in El Dorado. Follow @voteyessbamh on Facebook or Instagram to learn more. Have a testimonial to share? Visit this page.