HADH looks to shutter Owensville clinic by year’s end

By Buck Collier, Special Correspondent
Posted 12/7/22

HERMANN — The Medical Clinic of Owensville, facing pressure for patients from several other clinics in the area, will be shuttered as part of the Hermann Area District Hospital’s (HADH) …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

HADH looks to shutter Owensville clinic by year’s end

Posted

HERMANN — The Medical Clinic of Owensville, facing pressure for patients from several other clinics in the area, will be shuttered as part of the Hermann Area District Hospital’s (HADH) network of health care facilities. HADH officials hope to close the clinic by the end of this year.

However, HADH Board of Directors President Dale Ridder in a telephone interview Friday afternoon told the Gasconade County Republican that if the year-end target date can’t be met, the clinic would likely operate until its lease expired in February.

The decision to close the clinic was made during the closed portion of the board’s regular monthly session Monday, Nov. 21. That decision was the first significant move to be made recently to cut the financial losses of the hospital. During a special closed session of the directors on Monday, Nov. 28, the board voted to end its Home Health Care Program by the end of the year — another action aimed at slowing the financial bleeding of the 50-year-old publicly owned hospital.

Meanwhile, as HADH officials make these cuts they are looking to establish closer ties with Mercy Hospital in an effort to obtain support to keep the rural hospital open as it faces a diminishing amount of Medicaid dollars and other federal financial assistance.

HADH Administrator Dan McKinney was unavailable for comment Friday. Ridder spoke of the effort to develop a closer working relationship with Mercy in optimistic tones. It was only a few years ago that Mercy, acting on a formal request at what would amount to a merger with HADH, declined to take on a more active role in managing the local hospital. That decision came after a lengthy due-diligence process that saw Mercy officials closely examine all aspects of the HADH operations.

After that, HADH policymakers turned to a possible partner in AVEM, an investment management firm based in Oklahoma. But after several months of lack of progress in negotiations later this year, and with internal issues within AVEM taking officials away from discussions, HADH administrators decided to scrap the effort to negotiate a lease with the firm.

That’s when they turned again to Mercy Hospital as a potential partner. Ridder said he hopes Mercy, which was involved in establishing ties with other hospitals during the due-diligence process with HADH, now will be more amenable to playing a key role in keeping the doors open at the local hospital.