The Audrain Community Hospital in Mexico, Mo., and the Callaway Community Hospital in Fulton, Mo., said they are suspending all services to restructure operations and become financially viable.
Services will be suspended effective 5 p.m. March 25, according to a news release shared with Becker's. Some physicians' offices will remain open.
"We have a responsibility to the community to pull back and reassess our operations and structure so we can create a more sustainable healthcare system," Amy O'Brien, CEO of the Audrain Community Hospital, and Jeff Stone, interim CEO of Callaway Community Hospital, said in the release. "This is not easy. But we know this is the right thing to do for the community and the future of its healthcare system."
On March 18, the hospitals announced that they would temporarily limit services because of an issue with IT services. Hospital officials said the facilities diverted emergency medical services and paused inpatient admissions to "address longstanding problems with their revenue cycle processes and electronic medical records, which has led to difficulties in the billing cycle creating cash flow problems."
The hospitals aim to reopen when the issues have been addressed.
Meanwhile, emergency medical services will be diverted to other area hospitals, and staff will continue to come to work unless told otherwise, to help with patient and provider records' requests, hospital officials said.
Audrain and Callaway hospitals are part of Kansas City, Mo.-based Noble Health.