Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center will terminate employment for 23 staff members at the end of this month, according to a press release issued Thursday afternoon. Salary reductions for staff and officers will also be implemented, the release announced.
In a major development, the press release also said SEKMHC is separating from Ashley Clinic and Yates Center Dental, but provided no details on the transactions. “These measures were necessary to stabilize the organization and ensure continuity of services,” the release said.
Interim executive director Doug Wright told the Register he has “been directed that all media requests go to our board attorney.” In an attempt to discuss the press release with SEKMHC’s board attorney, Jacob Bielenberg of Fisher Patter Sayler & Smith, or Wright, or several board members, the Register was met with silence.
In an internal memo sent to staff and reviewed by the Register, Wright informed employees that all staff will receive a 12% reduction in base wages. In the memo, Wright wrote he was reducing his salary “by an additional 17%, on top of earlier reductions this year.”
SEKMHC acquired Ashley Clinic in July 2023. Ashley Clinic has locations in Chanute, Iola, Yates Center and two locations in Humboldt — one on South Ninth Street and the other in the new Cubs Community Care Center, which opened in October 2025. USD 258 partnered with the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center/Ashley Clinic and Allen Community College for a grant of nearly $5 million to build the multi-purpose health and community center.
Earlier this year, all Ashley Clinic surgery-based practices were transitioned outside of SEKMHC, and a February press release stated that SEKMHC and Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center were “working together to explore options to preserve access to local healthcare services.”
The partnership with Ashley Clinic was seen as pivotal to the nonprofit’s approach to integrated care. The same can be said for Yates Center Dental, which SEKMHC purchased in February 2025.
According to the press release, the staff cuts follow “a retroactive rate adjustment for 2025 that resulted in an overpayment for services during that year.”
No further cuts are planned, the release said, “and the full array of client mental health services remains available and will continue without interruption.”
The nonprofit’s CEO Nathan Fawson and CFO Job Springer have both been suspended from their positions by the board. Their immediate status is unclear, as is their future. Fawson was placed on administrative leave Jan. 26.
SEKMHC has found itself mired in turmoil since last spring when reports of executive pay surfaced. In June 2025, Allen County commissioners dismissed its two representatives to the board, Walt Regehr and Ken McWhirter. At the time, Commissioner John Brocker said the decision was in response to the “numerous complaints” commissioners received about the salaries of SEKMHC executives.
According to SEKMHC’s IRS form 990 for 2024, Fawson received $685,147 in compensation and $203,952 in benefits. Together, Fawson, Wright, and Springer received $1.6 million in salary and over $522,000 in benefits in 2024.
In the following months, virtually all county commissions in the nonprofit’s service area moved to replace their board members. Allen County’s two board members now are Commissioner David Lee and Richard Zahn, a retired pharmaceutical executive.
SEKMHC serves Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Linn, Neosho and Woodson counties. All six counties currently have at least one county commissioner on the board.
Those actions accompanied a drastic reduction in the counties’ support for the mental health center. Three counties – Allen, Anderson, and Neosho – now contribute just $1 each, while Linn and Bourbon counties contribute nothing. In the past, the six counties have together contributed around $550,000, about 1% of the center’s total budget. Those funds were used to help pay for services for those who lack health insurance or are unable to pay.
The organization has experienced rapid growth in recent years. When SEKMHC became a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, or CCBHC, the organization expanded in both personnel and services.
Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center will terminate employment for 23 staff members at the end of this month, according to a press release issued Thursday afternoon. Salary reductions for staff and officers will also be implemented, the release announced.
In a major development, the press release also said SEKMHC is separating from Ashley Clinic and Yates Center Dental, but provided no details on the transactions. “These measures were necessary to stabilize the organization and ensure continuity of services,” the release said.
Interim executive director Doug Wright told the Register he has “been directed that all media requests go to our board attorney.” In an attempt to discuss the press release with SEKMHC’s board attorney, Jacob Bielenberg of Fisher Patter Sayler & Smith, or Wright, or several board members, the Register was met with silence.
In an internal memo sent to staff and reviewed by the Register, Wright informed employees that all staff will receive a 12% reduction in base wages. In the memo, Wright wrote he was reducing his salary “by an additional 17%, on top of earlier reductions this year.”
SEKMHC acquired Ashley Clinic in July 2023. Ashley Clinic has locations in Chanute, Iola, Yates Center and two locations in Humboldt — one on South Ninth Street and the other in the new Cubs Community Care Center, which opened in October 2025. USD 258 partnered with the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center/Ashley Clinic and Allen Community College for a grant of nearly $5 million to build the multi-purpose health and community center.
Earlier this year, all Ashley Clinic surgery-based practices were transitioned outside of SEKMHC, and a February press release stated that SEKMHC and Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center were “working together to explore options to preserve access to local healthcare services.”
The partnership with Ashley Clinic was seen as pivotal to the nonprofit’s approach to integrated care. The same can be said for Yates Center Dental, which SEKMHC purchased in February 2025.
According to the press release, the staff cuts follow “a retroactive rate adjustment for 2025 that resulted in an overpayment for services during that year.”
No further cuts are planned, the release said, “and the full array of client mental health services remains available and will continue without interruption.”
The nonprofit’s CEO Nathan Fawson and CFO Job Springer have both been suspended from their positions by the board. Their immediate status is unclear, as is their future. Fawson was placed on administrative leave Jan. 26.
SEKMHC has found itself mired in turmoil since last spring when reports of executive pay surfaced. In June 2025, Allen County commissioners dismissed its two representatives to the board, Walt Regehr and Ken McWhirter. At the time, Commissioner John Brocker said the decision was in response to the “numerous complaints” commissioners received about the salaries of SEKMHC executives.
According to SEKMHC’s IRS form 990 for 2024, Fawson received $685,147 in compensation and $203,952 in benefits. Together, Fawson, Wright, and Springer received $1.6 million in salary and over $522,000 in benefits in 2024.
In the following months, virtually all county commissions in the nonprofit’s service area moved to replace their board members. Allen County’s two board members now are Commissioner David Lee and Richard Zahn, a retired pharmaceutical executive.
SEKMHC serves Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Linn, Neosho and Woodson counties. All six counties currently have at least one county commissioner on the board.
Those actions accompanied a drastic reduction in the counties’ support for the mental health center. Three counties – Allen, Anderson, and Neosho – now contribute just $1 each, while Linn and Bourbon counties contribute nothing. In the past, the six counties have together contributed around $550,000, about 1% of the center’s total budget. Those funds were used to help pay for services for those who lack health insurance or are unable to pay.
The organization has experienced rapid growth in recent years. When SEKMHC became a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, or CCBHC, the organization expanded in both personnel and services.
