(KAIR)--A community meeting, focused on available healthcare options, will be held in Horton Thursday evening, March 21.

The meeting follows the permanent closing of the Horton Community Hospital last week.

According to a release from the City of Horton, the meeting will be held at 7:00 in the Horton High School Auditorium.

During the session, healthcare options that have been explored by Horton Mayor Bryan Stirton, Commissioner Wade Edwards, and City Administrator John Calhoon, will be outlined for those in attendance. A presentation will also be given focused on the option of acquiring a Comprehensive Primary and Preventative Healthcare Program.

The release calls the meeting "informational only," and is intended “to listen and gather feedback from any and all citizens in Horton and surrounding areas interested in future healthcare options in Brown County.”

The release says the city "would like to have as many individuals attend as possible" as the task of moving forward, following the closure of the hospital, needs "to be a community effort."

The closure of the hospital followed a long stretch of financial woes, including the inability to pay employees.

The current ownership of the hospital, listed in court documents as CAH Acquisition Company #3, LLC, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy March 14, two days after the closing.

The company is tied to Kansas City firm EmpowerHMS whose head, Florida resident Jorge Perez, is facing lawsuits for allegedly using the hospitals he owned as a way to funnel lab bills in order to profit from the increased reimbursements that rural hospital labs gain to help keep them open.