Former Pinnacle employees find jobs in local hospitals

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Major Mid-Missouri health care companies have hired 15 former Pinnacle Regional Hospital employees after the Boonville hospital shut down its clinics and services last month.

Boone Hospital Center, University of Missouri Health Care, Bothwell Regional Health Center and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital have hosted job fairs for the displaced employees.

The closing of the hospital left about 150 employees without a job after the hospital cited “economic hardship.”

"The job fairs themselves gave us hope and you go to these job fairs sometimes and you don’t know what’s going to happen," former Pinnacle employee Bryan Harberberger said. "But it seems like it’s just had such an awesome turnaround for everybody."

Bothwell Regional Health Center has hired four former Pinnacle employees. MU Health hired six with more than a dozen in consideration for other jobs. Boone Hospital Center hired five and is continuing to interview former Pinnacle staff.

The Truman VA Hospital, MidwayUSA and South Hampton Place gave the displaced employees’ career opportunity information.

Though some former Pinnacle employees have found new jobs, Harberberger said many still feel badly for the Boonville community. 

"This situation has had a resonating effect on the community and that’s kind of the one thing that’s in the back of all of our minds," Harberberger said.

MU Health hired a former Pinnacle physical therapist Monday who will continue to see patients at Mizzou Therapy Services in Boonville.