Remembering LINC commissioner and Health Forward Foundation attorney Mark Flaherty

Mark G. Flaherty, a LINC commissioner, lawyer and founding member of the Health Forward Foundation, died peacefully at his Kansas City home April 27. He was 72.

Flaherty’s long service in his community shined in many ways, perhaps most notably for his key role in the legal struggle that ultimately compelled the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) to fulfill its obligation to make capital improvements and maintain charitable care after the corporation’s purchase of publicly funded Health Midwest.

The action against HCA, which was also championed by LINC Chairman Landon Rowland, resulted in a $188 million judgment in 2017 that provided additional funding for the Health Forward Foundation.

Flaherty was appointed by then-Gov. Jay Nixon to the Foundation’s board, which was created in 2003 and later served as its general counsel. The health care foundation was created from the sale of Heath Midwest to HCA.

Mark Flaherty at a LINC Commission meeting

Flaherty shared LINC’s concerns that extraordinary effort was needed to make sure that the sale of the hospital system would not harm the health care and support of underserved communities. He talked about that and his close friend Landon Rowland when school children recognized Rowland as a community hero in 2016.

Flaherty’s obituary said he was most proud of his role in the Health Forward Foundation.

A Kansas native, Flaherty would serve in Vietnam with the U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Unit where he was wounded twice and awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

He graduated from the University of Kansas Law School, and after building his career with several Kansas City law firms he established his own law practice in health, medical, labor and employment law in Missouri, Kansas and New York.

Numerous public projects in Kansas City, Jackson County and Missouri sought Flaherty’s consultation and legal advice, and he served on many boards, marking a career that his obituary described as that of a “dedicated lawyer who had genuine care and concern for his clients, coworkers and community.”