Employees of Pinnacle Regional Hospital in Boonville, Mo., got less than one day's notice before the hospital closed.
Pinnacle Regional closed Jan. 15 at 7 p.m., about seven hours after officials first announced the hospital was shutting down. In a statement posted to the hospital's Facebook page, officials cited the need for costly repairs as the reason for the closure.
Pinnacle Regional shut down about a month after the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services inspected the hospital and cited it for sterile processing procedures. The health department ordered the hospital to stop performing surgery until the sterile processing unit was upgraded, according to KCUR.
Hospital officials initially said they were working with the state to rectify the situation, but they ultimately decided to close the facility instead of making the repairs.
"Following further discussions with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, it has been determined that the economic hardship of bringing the facility into compliance is too great to make the appropriate repairs necessary," reads the Jan. 15 statement from the hospital.
Pinnacle Regional closed the day after telling employees they would not be paid as scheduled on Jan. 15, according to KOMU 8.
"The inflow of cash during the holidays was extraordinarily low," Pinnacle Health Care System CFO Dale Farrell wrote in an email to employees on Jan. 14. "However, we are expecting some significant deposits this week and are optimistic paychecks will be available by Friday."
Pinnacle Health Care System bought the hospital in Boonville, formerly known as Cooper County Memorial Hospital, in 2018.
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