Audrain Community Hospital “Sold” Again?

The Mexico Hospital continues to be either a highly sought after property, or one that no one wants for very long, depending on your viewpoint. The hospitals popularity seems rather odd after the hospital was denied an extension on it’s operating license by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in mid-December and then suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage when water pipes froze and burst shortly before Christmas.

For the fifth time in less than a year, the property has seen some sort of ownership change. Earlier this week, Clifford Sullivan of Damascus, Oregon, sold some part of the stocks for the property to Kohmal Groner and Kangaroo Partners of Connecticut.

Groner was expected to be in Mexico next week to look over the property. Audrain County Commission lawyer Lou Leonatti indicated that may have changed due to a family conflict. KXEO/KWWR will continue to monitor this development.

The sale of stocks to Groner from Sullivan came after Sullivan initially tried to sell some of the stocks to Yisroel Rabinowitz of New Jersey. It is unclear what happened to that deal, but it apparently didn’t go through. In an email to KXEO/KWWR, Rabinowitz stated he has no ownership interest in the local hospital.

Sullivan purchased the property from Ryan Cole and Platinum Team Management of Dallas, Texas. Platinum Health was represented locally by CEO Cory Countryman who resigned shortly before the sale of the property. Platinum of course bought the property from Noble Health in April.

The change in partial ownership came to light after the county demanded repayment of a $1,815,660 interest bearing loan on December 8th, 2022.

The property itself, hospital and clinics, as well as all the equipment, is still owned by Noble Health Real Estate II, LLC.

The hospital’s Certificate of Need runs through April of 2023, while it’s Certificate of License expired on December 18th, 2022.

“We continue to work with these people to try and get a positive outcome for the community,” said Mexico City Manager Bruce Slagle.

Meanwhile, the city continues to lose out on employment, tax, income, and most importantly, critical care.

A group that is looking into constructing a smaller alternative hospital, which would be years away at the earliest, suggests current costs would run between $60-$65 million. Some medical professionals fear that number may be too low.