The new owners of the hospital in Mexico, ZivaMedical, went to bankruptcy court yesterday in the next steps toward reopening the facility.

The new ownership group also purchased the defunct hospital in Fulton and according to slides presented to the court the company has spent more than $2 million this year in, “engaging medical and technical service providers, building and equipment repair, preventative maintenance, architectural and engineering fees, utility payments, legal fees, and other related expenses.”

The spokesperson noted the hospital has been, “passed around like a hot potato” in the last few years with ownership changing hands more than three times. The previous owners, Noble Health, didn’t last a year.

ZivaMedical, at the time called Pasture Medical, purchased the hospital and its system this past December and quickly became aware of the issues. The company soon learned that both hospitals had hosted their licenses and lawsuits against the previous owners continued to pile up. Audrain County, which has backed a loan to Noble Health, filed a lawsuit against Pasture just weeks after the new owners acquired the hospital. 

“After meeting with and being impressed by the communities in Mexico and Fulton, Pasture Medical chose to hunker down where others had fled despite the many obstacles,” the spokesperson said.

The slides provided to the court outline ZivaMedical’s plans and vision for success which includes opening both hospitals along with some satellite clinics that were also closed. One slide shows the area's regional hospitals and how far of a drive someone from Mexico would face if having to travel that far. A trip to Moberly regional hospital takes about 40 minutes while a trip to University Hospital in Columbia takes about 47 minutes. The slides quote Mexico Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dana Keller who appeared on a radio show.

“It’s life or death when you have to travel 40, 45 minutes by ambulance or otherwise to get healthcare,” the slide quotes Keller saying.

The slides say a vital element of reorganization is leveraging the benefits of specialized service partners. The slides say ZivaMedical has signed letters of intent or is negotiating with experienced operators to establish behavioral health, wellness, and rehab center, laboratory services, recovery center, wound care, long-term care and assisting living, pharmacy, cafe and food services, and childcare.

The spokesperson said CEO Amanda Shurtz completed an analysis of the hospital after being hired and has identified areas that will make the new operation sustainable including a focus on services for which there is essential demand, a more watchful eye on revenue cycles, and a more efficient operation. ZivaMedical expects to have lower operating costs than what Noble had last year. 

“She concluded that the prior hospital owners were trying to be all things to all people without a clear strategy,” the spokesperson said. “She applied her detailed understanding of recent rural healthcare failures throughout the country.”