A loan in the amount $1,815.660 made to Noble Health in September of 2021 by the Audrain County Commission has not been paid back according Audrain County Presiding Commissioner Alan Winders.

The loan was interest bearing and was to be repaid within one year.

In an email to the Mexico Ledger, Winders says the loan made to Nobel (Audrain Community Hospital) was made from federal rescue funds (ARPA), not locally generated tax dollars. The loan was made to assist in keeping services at the hospital with payroll, critical services and vendor payments. The County Commission intends to pursue repayment of this loan to the degree it makes sense. However, the Commission wants the hospital entity (ies) to first pay back wages and salaries, pay local vendors and local creditors. The Commission has engaged legal counsel to investigate options available to the Commission in this matter."

The Audrain County Commission is meeting with their legal counsel about the unpaid loan next week.

Platinum Health now the owner of the shuttered hospitals in Mexico and Fulton has been granted approval from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to a request to extend temporary suspension of their hospital license. They were approved for up to an additional 90 days last month (September). According to Audrain Community Hospital CEO Amy Obrien negotiations are ongoing with Platinum Health and a potential new buyer.