Callaway County officials are trying to find a way to keep the doors of the Fulton Medical Center open, at least in some form.
Hospital owner NueHealth said Monday the facility will close no later than Sept. 22.
"We're exploring options," Callaway Chamber of Commerce economic development director Bruce Hackmann said Monday afternoon after learning of the planned a shutdown.
Weston Owen, public relations specialist for NueHealth, made the announcement in a news release late Monday morning. NueHealth owns 65 percent of the Fulton Medical Center. OMU Health Care, which owns the other 35 percent, said last week it was getting out of the operating agreement with Fulton Medical Center LLC.
Hackmann said officials, including those from Fulton and Callaway County, met Monday morning before the announcement, trying to find a solution. They met with a consultant from Newpoint Healthcare Advisors, a national health care consulting firm, to explore the feasibility of a contractual relationship with the firm to actively recruit a new operator for the medical center.
"It's very important to convey to the public that we're working on this, working for a solution," Hackmann said. "We need to find at least a short-term solution that would prevent an interruption in services."
He said Newpoint specializes in working with county hospitals to find sustainable health care solutions. In 2011, the firm negotiated the sale of a struggling Audrain Medical Center in Mexico to SSM Health.
"While we are deeply disappointed by NueHealth's decision to close the Fulton Medical Center by Sept. 22, the city of Fulton, the Callaway County Commission and the Callaway Chamber of Commerce have already intensified our efforts to identify both short- and long-term solutions that could prevent an interruption in health services and determine a sustainable health care model for the future," Fulton city, county and chamber officials said in a joint statement. "The loss of 158 jobs and the impact that would have on families is paramount in our thoughts and actions. We are committed to finding a way to preserve the level of health care our residents have come to expect."
NueHealth said the decision to close FMC was based on a number of factors, some mirroring comments made last week by MU Health Care:
Low patient volumes that made financial sustainability impossible.
Extensive repairs and upkeep required to the physical plant.
Inability to expand FMC to provide additional operating revenues.
Inability to provide a new care delivery model due to the certificate of need application denial by the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee.
"Our first priority today, and in the next two months, will be ensuring continuity of care for our patients and supporting the employees of Fulton Medical Center," Fulton Medical Center CEO Mike Powell said in the news release.
"We are deeply grateful for the dedicated efforts of Mayor LeRoy Benton and the Fulton City Council, as well as Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann and the County Commission, who for several months have worked tirelessly with us to pursue every possible path in an effort to make the hospital sustainable."
The 158 FMC employees were notified of the closing earlier Monday in meetings at the hospital, Owen said. There are 124 full-time employees and 34 part-timers.
NueHealth Chairman Dan Tasset said helping those employees find new jobs was a goal.
"We have partnered internally to provide priority consideration for open positions within NueHealth facilities," he said.