NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A showdown is brewing in court as officials with North Kansas City Hospital have filed an injunction against the City of North Kansas City and the City Council to keep the city from selling the hospital.
The city had been exploring the possibility of a sale of the hospital it built and has owned since 1958, but at a press conference on Thursday hospital officials made it clear that they oppose any sale of the facility. They say that they only learned of the proposed sale on June 18th, adding that city council members had been discussing the sale for weeks beforehand.
Dr. Michael Montgomery, chairman of the board for North Kansas City Hospital, says that the proposed sale has hindered the hospital’s ability to hire new physicians.
“We have had to stop any endeavours that we have been engaged in such as hiring for physicians,” said Dr. Montgomery. “We have had difficulty finding psychians knowing that it would be for sale.”
Dr. Montgomery says that while the city technically owns the hospital, a Missouri state statute allows the hospital board or administration to run the hospital, and doesn’t give the city council the power to sell the hospital.
City officials have not returned FOX 4’s requests for comment. According to North Kansas City Hospital officials, the hospital isn’t in any financial need or trouble that would prompt a sale.