Services to be suspended this evening at the Fulton and Mexico hospitals

The hospitals in mid-Missouri’s Fulton and Mexico will be suspending services this evening at 5 pm, to restructure operations.

Kansas City-based Noble Health has made the announcement on its Facebook page, quoting both hospital chief executive officers. They say they’ll focus on identifying changes that will make the hospitals more efficient and sustainable. Their statement says they have a responsibility to the community to pull back and reassess their structure, so they can create a more sustainable structure.

They say the goal is to reopen when the hospitals can return to delivering high-quality care, close to home.

Noble purchased both hospitals about a year ago, and has invested millions of dollars into both facilities. Former Missouri House Speaker Elijah Haahr, who runs the Noble Health Foundation, noted last year that the Fulton and Mexico hospitals were both in danger of closing, before Noble came in.

The Missouri Hospital Association says ten rural hospitals have closed in the state, since 2014.