Feeling fatigued while fighting an infection, 77-year-old Wayne Russell drove himself to Freeman Fort Scott Hospital, Inc.

On the morning of Thursday, September 4, 2025, the Bourbon County resident walked under his own power into the emergency department. He’ll always remember the reception he received from the ED physicians and staff.

“Everybody was happy to see me because I was the first patient, and everyone mentioned it,” Russell said with a chuckle.

More than 14 months in the making, the six-bed emergency department and 10-bed acute care hospital had opened to the public an hour earlier.

“I asked them if I’d won anything,” he said, smiling.

While he was getting checked out by Dr. Mark Brown, Freeman Fort Scott Hospital’s medical director, Russell mentioned in passing he’d also been suffering intermittent chest pains. He was immediately given an electrocardiogram.

“From the outset, his EKG was abnormal,” Dr. Brown said, “so we knew right away that something besides the generalized weakness and infection was going on.”

Once the lab results came back, Dr. Brown told Russell that he’d experienced a heart attack. He was immediately transported to Freeman Hospital West in Joplin.

Russell had joked earlier to hospital staff if he’d won something for being Freeman Fort Scott’s first-ever patient. He finally had his answer.

“It was an ambulance ride to Joplin,” Russell said good-naturedly. “I didn’t expect that to happen.”

He spent 10 days at Freeman West, with eight of those days spent inside the Intensive Care Unit. Having already received two stents and a bypass surgery, Russell received two new stents during his stay in Joplin.

“It was a difficult 10 days—I had a hard time breathing after that for several days, and for the infection they pumped me full of antibiotics—but I improved. I’m now living a normal life.”

The last time Fort Scott enjoyed access to a full-service, hometown-based hospital was in 2018. The emergency department closed on Dec. 20, 2023. This forced local residents—yes, even those suffering heart attacks—to seek treatment in nearby Pittsburg, Nevada, or Kansas City.

“Wayne had significant coronary heart disease, and had he not come [to Freeman Fort Scott Hospital, Inc.] when he did, he probably would not have done well,” Dr. Brown said.

It meant a great deal to both Russell and his family that he could drive just a few miles in a few minutes to receive top-quality treatment at Freeman Fort Scott Hospital.

“We’d discussed not having a hospital or ER anymore, and it pretty much worried everybody [in Bourbon County]. It was great when it opened back up.”

Since his visit to Freeman Fort Scott Hospital, “I’ve told everybody about the good experience I had there,” Russell said. “The nurses and doctors were very friendly and very helpful.”