Boone Well being and Audrain County officers signed a non-disclosure settlement (NDA) on Friday, with the intention of collectively growing a well being grasp plan, together with a brand new hospital, for the county.
The NDA will permit for a whole evaluate of the county's well being care wants.
“Signing the NDA permits us to totally share info and do strategic planning collectively to conduct an evaluation of the well being wants of the group and analyze what we want from a facility wants perspective,” stated the director Boone Well being govt Brady DuBois.
DuBois instructed KOMU eight that Boone Well being has been in talks with Audrain County officers for a number of weeks and that they’re centered on offering well being care to the residents of the county.
Now that conversations could be extra complete, Dubois stated Boone Well being can determine previous developments to find out easy methods to construct a facility that meets the group's wants.
“What do we want from a colonoscopy standpoint, a mammography standpoint, and a routine well being screening standpoint? What’s going to these numbers seem like to design a facility that meets present and future wants? County?” DuBois stated.
As a part of the long-term plans, a vital entry hospital will doubtless be established.
“As a widely known regional healthcare system with a confirmed monitor document of high quality outcomes, Boone Well being is greater than certified to discover establishing a vital entry hospital in Mexico,” stated County Well being Division Administrator and CEO by Audrain, Craig Brace.
Audrain County has been with no hospital since Noble Well being closed its group hospitals in Audrain and Callaway counties in March 2022.
Ziva Medical presently owns the hospitals and one in all its homeowners stated earlier this yr that it plans to reopen the services.
DuBois stated there aren’t any intentions to work exterior of Ziva's hospital. He lamented that Boone Well being is concentrated on designing its personal vital entry hospital, which he’ll take a while to ascertain.
“From design completion to funding supply, certificates of have to development, the method will take three years,” DuBois stated. “The development itself will take at the least 18 to 20 months at a minimal, so we try to develop issues within the close to future.” work in direction of a definitive resolution.”
This additionally implies that emergency care should wait.
“Within the state of Missouri, you're not allowed to have a freestanding emergency room, you must have a hospital, so as soon as the hospital opens we'll have 24/7 care accessible,” DuBois stated .
Dr. Charles Tillman, a Missouri Coronary heart heart specialist and resident of Mexico, Missouri, stated the group has been very wanting to obtain further medical care within the county.
“Years in the past after we had a hospital, we served over 40,000 individuals, and now we don't have a hospital proper now; issues are very troublesome at the perfect of occasions,” Tillman stated. “On daily basis on the workplace individuals ask me what we’re going to do with the hospital.”
DuBois stated the enlargement into Audrain County would add greater than 150 jobs. He stated Boone Well being is able to tackle this challenge financially and that the healthcare firm had a wonderful first quarter of 2024.
Boone Well being presently operates two major care facilities in Mexico and offers well being care in 26 counties in central Missouri.