One year ago - March 16 to be exact - Audrain County ushered in a new era of healthcare as Noble Health completed its purchase of the Mexico Hospital from SSM Health. Since then, Audrain Community Hospital has carried the torch of rural healthcare, not only serving patients, but existing as one of the area’s largest employers.

Amy O’Brien was among those to address the crowd at the formal transition ceremony last March. O’Brien, who has served as the hospital’s chief executive officer (CEO) since the change, has been on the front line.

There have been ups.

And there have been downs.

There’s been no shortage of challenges, as the world has been in a state of flux, thanks largely to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and widespread worker shortages.

It’s been a learning process, but O’Brien is proud to be a part of a cornerstone of the Audrain community, and she’s optimistic about the future.

“I can’t believe how quickly that first year went,” O’Brien said. “When I accepted the position with Noble Health, my goal was to use my experience and abilities to support their vision of keeping healthcare local here in Audrain County. I know that having quality physicians and staff to deliver the care is the key ingredient and we have worked hard to retain our providers and staff in this transition.”

O’Brien moved to Mexico last winter ahead of the transition, having past experience as vice president of Great River Health Systems in Iowa. Noble had purchased the Fulton hospital prior to Mexico with the intent of developing a regionally focused coverage strategy that built upon the hospital and its affiliated clinic services.

There were challenges, as expected, but with that was a sense of excitement.

“It was difficult when we would lose some from our team,” said O’Brien, “but also exciting when we were able to recruit new physicians in as well as recruit previous nurse leaders to return to our hospital.”
Long a community fixture, last year’s announcement was greeted with open arms.

“I loved having new employees from our area telling me, ‘I want to be a part of Noble Health - this hospital is so important to our communities’,” said O’Brien. “Our website says it all: This is care that’s community made.”

Asked to assess year one, O’Brien is proud of what’s been accomplished so far.

“We had a goal to make sure Audrain County residents have access to quality care close to home – and that’s what we’re doing,” she said. “It’s been amazing to see how everyone’s pulled together to see this through. Drew Solomon and Tom Carter from Noble Health have been with us in the trenches every step of the way.”
And so have area residents who have benefited from the hospital’s services.

“The community has been cheering us on from day one,” O’Brien said. “We knew it was important to keep quality care in the community – that’s our mission – and it’s so heartwarming to see everyone unite around that.”

And the challenges?

“Many of them had to do with the speed of our transition.,” said O’Brien. “We did not have adequate time to obtain payer contracts prior to the sale, and we did not have time to build out our electronic health record to fully capture our charges and develop adequate workflows with the staff.”

In many ways, there have been new-business trials, which have converged with tradition.

“The hospital has been here over 100 years, so the community expectation and the employee expectations are that of an established business,” said O’Brien. “We are working to get there.”

As in other industries, it has coped with worker shortages, namely nurses, as well as the cost of travel nurses.
But there’s been good - a lot of good, as O’Brien states.

“We’ve had some great victories,” she said. “Adding orthopedics was one of the primary goals, and we were able to recruit Dr. Brian Ellefsen.

Ellefsen did his first total knee replacements on Oct. 4.

“Patients are so pleased to get to stay close to home for this procedure and have done very well,” O’Brien said.

Also creating a buzz is Cornerstone Family Medicine, which opened in August with Dr. Alex Finck and Dr. Zack Treat. Their direct primary care model is making an impact by offering new choices to businesses and patients. The membership-based approach allows adult patients, 18 and older, to pay a set fee of $50 per month. Children are $20 per month. They do not accept insurance and there are no copays. Membership fees cover 24-7, 365-day care. More information can be found at cornerstonefmclinic.com.

The hospital also opened a new pain clinic with Wally Ralston, CRNA, NP.

“We have had many patients tell us about his great service and pain relief,” O’Brien said.

In September, the hospital achieved its three-year accreditation from CIHQ (Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality). And life at the hospital was busy in year one, with the emergency room averaging about 1,000 patients per month.

And now comes year two.

“We want to build stability,” said O’Brien. “ As we continue to improve our operational processes, it is important that we focus on improving our communication to our employees and our communities. We also need to find a way to recruit and retain nurses from our area to work and care for our patients, and reduce our reliance on staffing companies.”

It is hoped that additional primary care physicians can also be recruited to ensure adequate access to care.
Wednesday, March 30 is Doctor’s Day, and the hospital will recognize it by hosting a social hour at 5 p.m. in the hospital cafeteria.

“We thought it would be appropriate to have a social hour after work that day for us to publicly thank our doctors and give the community a chance to come in and meet some of our new providers and staff,” O’Brien said.

The hospital will also celebrate their first year as Noble Health, which employs 350 people in Mexico and 500 overall.

All said, O’Brien is happy to be in Mexico.

“My husband Joe and I are really enjoying the community,” she said. “The people are so warm and welcoming.”

The couple bought a home near the golf club, and “have plans to try and become better golfers.” They have joined a local church and have become fans of Mexico High School athletics.
“When our grandkids visited last summer, they loved the new city pool,” she said. “Mexico has everything we need.”

And thanks to the efforts of O’Brien and the Noble team, it has a hospital.