JoAnn Nengel couldn’t hold the excitement in when she saw the new glass being installed. The windows to the old ER department had been boarded up for almost a year at the old Audrain County Community Hospital since a former employee’s family member shot them out shortly after the entire staff was let go last summer.

“I just wanted to give Amanda a big hug when I came in this morning,” Nengel said. 

Amanda Shurtz, the CEO of Ziva Medical, the new owners of the hospital, couldn’t help but laugh telling Nengel’s story. Nengel had worked at various jobs within the hospital for 22 years before an undeserving ending for her and the rest of the staff when the former owners, Noble Health, shut down the facility last summer.

“To see someone who worked here for so many years, who has the heart, you cannot help but see that when you talk to her,” Shurtz said about Nengel. “That’s the heart of this place.”

Fixing the windows to the ER is just one of many things the new owners have to do to get the building ready to function as a hospital. Nengel told the Ledger it’s just one of many signs she sees that have her believing in the new ownership group.

“They’re working so hard and they’re doing the right things,” Nengel said. “They’re doing all of the little things. They’re not trying to come in and do everything at once and I think that’s the right way to do it.”

Seeing the windows fixed in the ER department also hits home for Nengel. Her last position with Noble was working the desk in the ER department. She remembers opening an email at her desk telling her and her co-workers the hospital would be closing at the end of their shift at 6 p.m. and their jobs would be terminated. It was a sinking feeling.

“We walked out the door at six,” Nengel said. “It was sad.”

Nengel, like many other people, started hearing rumors about the Ziva Medical folks and then she got a call from Shurtz asking her if she would consider coming back. Nengel paused for a moment looking up and then she looked back down and said, “Yep, I’m going back. My heart said, ‘Go back.’”

Ziva is also bringing in a lot of new faces including Shurtz. Her new executive assistant, Claire Bailey, started last week and is getting settled into her new role. Shurtz believes having locals who care and some new fresh eyes on the situation will be a big benefit.

“They’re both a different look,” Shurtz said. “I’m hoping the hospital is uniting a wonderful blend of the past, who have the heart, and the talent that’s moving here. I love the idea that we’re blending those.”

Shurtz and the ownership group know that reopening the hospital isn’t going to be the only giant task ahead. The past ownership group left a bad taste in the community’s mouth and the situation has been turbulent for several years. Nengel said Ziva will be the fifth different ownership group she has worked for in 22 years. Shurtz said employees like Nengel are crucial in getting the operation off the ground and that employees like Nengel can communicate the message and people will listen.

“I can say it but I’m kind of an outsider,” Shurtz said. “She can go and tell people and I think that’s the gift of having JoAnn.”

Nengel said the biggest question she gets is when the hospital will open but she can’t give them an answer. She said at first some folks were negative but she’s hearing less of it as time goes on and more things keep moving forward.

“Some people are probably never going to believe it until it opens the doors,” Nengel said. “It’s going to be a process and they’re going to get it open. It’s going to work this time because these are good people.”