Outlines of the Madera Community Hospital sign being covered by a tarp at the Emergency Room entrance of the hospital on Jan. 2, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

For the third time, Madera Community Hospital has a suitor on the line to reopen the hospital that has been closed for the past year. 

American Advanced Management Inc. in Modesto has been seeking to manage the shuttered hospital since the spring, but an unsolicited job offer and a $150,000 check left hospital officials uncomfortable, according to published reports.

With a deal with Adventist Health to manage the hospital falling apart last month — and the original Saint Agnes parent company deal imploding a year ago this month — American Advanced Management is the direction the Madera Community Hospital board of trustees has decided to go.

KMPH reported Tuesday that American Advanced Management has an agreement with Madera Community Hospital to temporarily manage the 106-bed facility.

“American Advanced Management has the vision, experience and resources to reopen our hospital and create a strong future for our community’s health care,” said CEO Karen Paolinelli in a news release.

“They have a track record of successfully reopening and sustaining closed hospitals in California, which uniquely qualifies them to move this forward. We’re excited about their leadership and partnership.”

The relationship reportedly had a rocky start.

In a previous meeting with officials from American Advanced Management, Madera Community Hospital CEO Karen Paolinelli said she received an unsolicited job offer and a $150,000 check made out to her personally during the bidding process to find a new partner. 

Paolinelli said in a court filing that the interaction made her uncomfortable. Madera hospital’s legal team has called it misconduct.

Matthew Beehler, chief strategy officer for American Advanced Management, told the Fresno Bee in September that the offer letter and signing bonus was extended in hopes of employing Paolinelli through a speedy transition of ownership, and that they were unaware any other offers were on the table.

American Advanced Management launched in 2012 with its pilot hospital, Central Valley Specialty in Modesto. It now operates seven hospitals systems Northern California, according to its website, including Coalinga Medical Center in western Fresno County. 

American Advanced Management says it’s the first company in California to revive a rural hospital following bankruptcy and closure.

The company has also made an offer to take over Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister. Nurses at that hospital expressed concerns about a possible bribe involving the Madera hospital at a September town hall, reported sanbenito.com.

It could take several months to reopen the hospital, and would first require bankruptcy court approval.