Audrain County, Boone Health proceed with plans for new hospital
MEXICO, Mo. (KMIZ)
Audrain County, the City of Mexico and Boone Heath have taken the next steps to get a hospital up and running.
On Monday the Audrain County Commission, County Health Department, and Boone Health signed a letter of intent to begin building a Medicare-certified critical access hospital in Mexico.
This comes after city and county leaders signed a non-disclosure agreement in April and purchased the shuttered hospital in July. Boone Health said it would need to conduct an eight-to-12-month assessment of the community to figure out its needs before building a new hospital.
Mexico lost its hospital in 2022 after the Nobel Health Group announced it was suspending operations in Callaway and Audrain County. ZivaMed later took over but also laid off workers and closed Audrain Community Hospital in January, dealing a large blow to the community. Noble Health owned a hospital in Fulton that also shuttered.
The letter of intent outlines the intent of all parties to work collaboratively toward an agreement to operate a hospital. The proposed facility would provide emergency and related services, filling a critical healthcare gap in Audrain County. Under the proposed plan, Boone Health will manage or lease the hospital facility once constructed, ensuring high-quality, accessible healthcare for residents.
According to a release, the letter of intent outlines the parties' commitment to collaborating on a comprehensive agreement to bring a new critical access hospital to the community. The proposed facility aims to provide emergency-related services and address the growing need for health care in Audrain County. Under the plan, Boone Health would manage or lease the hospital upon completion, ensuring residents have access to care.
Boone Health President/Chief Executive Officer Brady Dubois told ABC 17 News in April that Boone Health was not planning on using the shuttered hospital in Mexico.
He added that the new hospital might employ 175-200 new staff members. It is still unclear what will become of the shuttered hospital but after Audrain County purchased the building in July, Presiding Commissioner Alan Winders said in a release that “having local control and ownership of the property is in our best interest.”
Check back for updates to this developing story.
