(KNZA)--In the wake of Hiawatha Community Hospital’s announcement that it plans to close its home health agency, various area agencies have united to ensure continued access to home health services for Brown County residents.

A multi-county task force of health care professionals met January 18th to develop a plan for coverage.

According to a press release from the Hospital, the home health services currently offered by its agency will be divided among the various agencies largely based on where a patient lives in the county.  The county has been  divided into quadrants using Highways 36 and 73 as boundaries.

The northeast quadrant of the county and a few areas in the southeast quadrant will largely be covered by the Doniphan County Health Department.

The northwest quadrant of the county will largely be served by Nemaha County Home Health and Hospice.  

The southwest quadrant and much of the southeast quadrant will be covered by Holton Community Hospital Home Health and Hospice.  

The Northeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department will cover all parts of the county.   Atchison Hospital Home Health also will cover portions of the southeast quadrant.

The Hiawatha Community Hospital announced January 3rd that it plans to close its home health agency no later than April 30th of this year.

Hospital CEO Jeff Shelton said the decision is directly related to the regulatory and financial barriers set by Medicare , which limits the hospital’s ability to financially sustain a hospital based home health program.