Layers, parts or what?

I'm trying to recreate the passage shown in the image. This is a vocal piece with piano accompaniment.
You'll notice the left hand seems to have two "parts" in it (i.e., a rest above the half note, followed by half note, half note and quarter note).

Can anyone offer a way to accomplish this. Musescore is counting each note toward the overall measure count which is a mess. I'm sure this can be done - but I'm kind of a noobie at things this complicated.

Any help is appreciated!

NOT FOUND: Capture.JPG