Getting the old Audrain County Medical Center hospital up and running again isn’t an easy task or one that will happen overnight.

Craig and Angie Schierer have both been tasked with the task although both play different roles. Angie is Ziva Medical’s chief operating officer while Craig serves as the facilities manager. When the two first toured the facility there were a lot of reasons to turn around and run out but the couple also likes challenges and although there were a lot of negatives the couple also saw the positives.

“At first glance, you see a four-block building and your first thought is ‘Oh my’ but then we started going through and we saw a lot of vandalism and water damage,” Angie said. “You could see there was going to be a lot of work with the infrastructure but overall it was the excitement of bringing a building back to life.”

As Craig got further into the facility it became evident to him the problems in the building started before it was closed and the blame lies with the former owners, not the employees.

“For any business, one of the first things they want to do is a short cut and they short-cut maintenance,” Craig said.

Craig is currently working with the former facility manager to get the place cleaned up. Over the winter water pipes were left unprotected and burst causing flooding throughout the building. As mentioned the building also faced vandalism. A former employee was charged with vandalism in Audrain County Circuit Court.

“He did his best to get all of the water out of the building,” Craig said about the old building manager. “He could have spent months here blowing air through the building trying to get all of the water out.”

Craig said he was working his way through the building. Most of it has been closed off while he focuses on the main part and the plan is to initially open 25 beds. As parts of the hospital are reopened Craig will move on to the next phase.

“It’s a slow process but it’s getting there,” Craig said. “I never know what I’m going to find when I pick it apart and that’s the challenging part of it.”

Both are splitting duties between Mexico and Fulton. Ziva Medical has also purchased the hospital in Fulton and is currently going through the same process. However, most of their time is spent in Mexico because of the magnitude of the project.

“I have three times the work here than I do there,” Craig said. “We could probably get (Fulton) up and running in a couple of months without a lot of headaches. We’ll be working on this one.”

Craig doesn’t have to hurry too much because, on Angie’s end, there’s a lot of paperwork and certifications that have to happen before anyone can receive services. Angie said one of the first big hurdles is getting a certificate of need from the state to operate. They won’t be able to start that process until November at the earliest. Getting physicians ready to work at the hospital is also a process that takes 90 days at the least.

“Ugh, when are we going to get this done?” Angie said laughing. “It’s a process. “It’s not a fun time to go through but it’s essential and that’s with any hospital.”

There’s a lot of excitement around what Ziva Medical is doing but Angie said it’s also frustrating having to wait through the necessary processes. There are other things the company is looking at like mental and behavioral health and physical therapy that could open sooner.

“I would love to be able to give a set date,” Angie said. “We are exploring if we can open something sooner. We just don’t know yet.”

Although it’s a long process, both are looking forward to the ride.

“I love the excitement of bringing something back to life,” Angie said.