Five become Mercy board members

The newest members of the Mercy Health Center Foundation Board of Trustees are (from left) Dave Martin, Joan Ermel and Karl Wicker. Absent when the photo was taken were Sharon Campbell and Tim Staton. (Submitted photo)

The Mercy Health Center Foundation recently announced the addition of five new board members.

New members, who will each serve a three-year term, include Sharon Campbell and Dave Martin, both of Fort Scott, Joan Ermel, Bronson, Tim Staton, Pleasanton, and Karl Wicker, Arma.

"Over the last 15 years, our service area has expanded to meet the needs of patients in Linn County and northern Crawford County," Mercy Health System of Kansas President and CEO John Woodrich said. "We are delighted to now have representatives from a broader geographic area to help support the good works of our Foundation board and allow Mercy Health Center to better serve our constituents."

The Mercy Health Center Foundation was founded in April 1988 with the purpose of securing the health care needs for the residents of Fort Scott and the surrounding region as provided by Mercy. The foundation's board of trustees is comprised of community leaders entrusted with the responsibility to receive and obtain gifts and property of all kinds and to manage and supervise these assets in support of the care and relief of the sick, a Mercy statement said.

Over the years, the foundation has enabled the purchase of numerous pieces of hospital equipment and has established an endowment to meet future needs. In 2002, the foundation successfully raised $2.1 million for a capital campaign to support the construction of the new Mercy Health Center.