Resurrecting the old Audrain County Medical Center hospital will take a lot of work and it will also take a lot of believing.

Craig and Angie Schierer are two of the people who will be doing that hard work and believing. Craig serves as the facilities manager for Ziva Medical while Angie is currently on contract as the company’s chief operating officer (COO). Both left comfortable jobs in north central Illinois to take on the task of not only reopening the hospital in Mexico but the hospital in Fulton as well.

“Stepping into the unknown and you leave very good secure positions to come here like we have it, was a leap of faith,” Angie Schierer told the Ledger.

It wasn’t originally in the plans for both of them to leave their former jobs and move to Missouri to try and reopen a hospital neither of them had ever visited or seen. Angie has worked with Ziva Chief Executive Officer Amanda Shurtz for more than a decade and was recruited to Mexico. Craig, who is a do it all mechanic, was asked to tag along for a tour of the hospital by his wife. 

“He started asking a lot of questions,” Angie said. “He’s already mechanically inclined and this was right up his alley. Amanda could see this was a position that was needed and he could easily fill it.”

Angie is still working for a former employer that will end soon and has been taking on this task on a contract that ends next week. At that time she’ll finally join Craig as a full-time employee of Ziva.

The two are currently staying in an RV they purchased after selling their home. Currently, they are staying in Florida while they take their time seeking a full-time home.

“We didn’t know where we wanted to live between the two facilities,” Angie said. “When you’re going into an unknown area it’s nice to have time to look around.”

Since visiting Mexico and beginning work the couple has met with several former employees including the previous facilities manager who is currently working with Craig on a contract. Angie said there are other former employees she’s spoken with and both have heard the horror stories from the past ownership. Angie said she knows some people are still bitter but the hope is over time some of those wounds can heal.

“We want to bring back to the community and to those who were hurt by the prior owners,” Angie said. “We would love to see that staff come back. We can’t make up for lost hurts but we would love to have them back and show them, ‘We want you.’”

Although the couple has heard many “horror” stories, they’ve also heard stories that have inspired them.

“You talk to someone who didn’t get a paycheck for a month,” Angie said. “Their passion to be here and to stick around and work without anything is amazing. That’s what makes you want to be here to open back up because you see that passion from former employees. Not all of them feel that way because they were burned.”

Currently, what we know about Ziva is there are three investors but the identity of the men has not yet been publicly revealed. However, the men have met with local business leaders and policymakers to talk about their vision. Angie said she and Craig met with the owners last week and after having spoken with them their faith is stronger.

“Their passion to bring healthcare back to rural areas is just phenomenal,” Angie said. “I’ll tell you to get engaged with it and you get the excitement and adrenaline rush of knowing you’re doing something good for the community.”

“They’re not afraid to explore the unknown, that's for sure,” Craig added about the investors.

The investors have little experience with healthcare themselves but have hired folks like Shurtz and Schierer to lead the way. Angie’s focus has been in rural healthcare and she is the former president of the National Association of Rural Health Clinics.

Part of getting the hospital going again will also involve getting clinics that were associated with the former hospital back open again in places like Perry where the new group is already hearing interest.

“That is one thing I like to do is set up services and get them out where they are needed so you’re not driving 20 minutes on a winding road to get to a physician’s office,” Angie said. “We’ve had providers asking if we can rent the space and provide services. What can we do to bring those back to life? So we’re looking at that as well so we can reach the rural communities.”

The Schierer says when talking with people they feel the excitement. Angie said her mother has a friend who lives in Mexico and she is “tickled pink” about the hospital reopening.

“She just cannot wait to see this come alive again,” Angie said.