St. Louis-based BJC Healthcare sold Mineral Area Regional Medical Center, a shuttered 127-bed facility in Farmington, Mo., for $13 in May, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Sharo Shirshekan, a nursing home owner and operator who purchased Mineral Area Regional Medical Center, said he considered the number 13 to be lucky and therefore used the figure as the purchase price, his attorney told the Post-Dispatch.
The former acute care hospital will reportedly be turned into a mental health complex comprising a 48-bed psychiatric hospital operated by Farmington Hospital and Behavioral Clinic, a 65-bed skilled nursing facility operated by Farmington Nursing Center, and an intensive outpatient mental health clinic, according to documents submitted to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The Post-Dispatch obtained copies of the documents.
According to additional sales documents obtained by the Post-Dispatch, BJC Healthcare claimed the building "potentially contained significant amounts of absestos, mold and other potentially hazardous materials." The documents also said there were "significant costs associated with tearing the building down," the report states.
BJC Healthcare purchased the medical center in 2015 and closed the facility roughly nine months later, according to the report.