The 25-bed critical access hospital shut down after months of financial troubles. The hospital, owned by an affiliate of Kansas City, Mo.-based EmpowerHMS, was nearly 30 days behind on payroll when it closed.
Horton Community Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy two days after it closed, and a trustee was appointed to oversee the hospital’s operations.
The hospital began the first phase of reopening on March 25, when a few employees came in to answer phones and retrieve medical records. However, it may be several months before the facility fully reopens.
“It’s not going to be a very fast process,” Richard Brown, MD, chief of staff at Horton Community Hospital, told WIBW. “In fact, when I talked to the trustee, I said, ‘Are we just a few weeks from getting things up and running?’ and he said, ‘Probably longer.’ So I anticipate weeks, if not a few months, at least.”
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