HICKSVILLE, Ohio (WANE) - Hicksville, Ohio residents have been without a hospital for over half a year.  Hicksville Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) permanently closed its doors on August 31; however, it has been closed since mid-May. The closure comes following multiple instances of financial hardship.   In January, Roy Davis, CEO of Community Memorial Hospital, said the hospital had a “50-50” chance of surviving, following the financial hardship from an electronic medical records conversion disaster in 2021. Davis told WANE 15 then that this caused the hospital to lose six months of revenue.  Now, according to a lawsuit filed with the Defiance County Common Pleas Court, CMH is being sued by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS). That organization claims in court documents that the hospital took money from employees and used it on hospital operations instead of retirement funds.  Defiance County Court appointed Gibbins Advisors LLC to act as a receiver for the hospital to help resolve issues that were caused by its closure.  Ronald Winters, co-founder of Gibbins Advisors, said along with money owed to OPERS, the hospital also has vendor obligations and bonds to account for.   “The hospital also, while it was in operation for a period of time, withheld employee money and did not admit it to the system. That's money we owe. We owe a good amount of money too, on bonds that were, I guess, issued to purchase or construct the hospital or refinance the hospital, and then we have many vendor obligations,” Winters said.  Winters said the goal and best-case scenario is to find a solution for both the receivership and the community.  “My personal sense is that the nature of the building is such that there's a pretty good chance of that,” Winters said. “We have been for some time now speaking to several hospital systems who have expressed interest in all or some of the assets, and we've talked to other health care investors that have expressed interest in acquiring the real estate."  PHOTOS: Site of former Azar’s Big Boy torn down in Waynedale Winters said a report is filed every month through the Defiance County Common Pleas Court with the progress that has been made. Before a decision on who will purchase the facility is finalized, it will be presented to the court, and all parties will be notified.   “If either of the two parties, the Fifth Third Bank, or the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System objects, they will be heard by the court. If anyone else objects, they'll be heard by the court. And if anyone else comes in and wants to offer more money that'll all go into consideration,” Winters said. “We will put forward something that we think is reasonable in light of the circumstances when we have offers. That's how the process will work.”  Winters expects there to be a decision made on the facilities' future in the coming weeks. The decision will come as many community members are hoping for more health care to be brought back into the area.  Dr. Vasazi Reddy, a family physician with Parkview Health, is the only full-time doctor still operating out of the facility. Parkview rented out a space in the facility for her to work in.   Reddy said she hopes more health care returns to the facility, and that the community gets answers as to what exactly happened.  “The employees that worked here that didn't get their full pay, didn't get their medical bills paid for when the health insurance was canceled, the retirement payments that were not put into our retirement fund, we hope all of that gets paid into, because they are owed that,” Reddy said.  At the end of the process, Winters said the court will determine the manner in which the money is distributed to creditors.  Reddy said not only have employees suffered, but so have residents in the community as it’s been a challenge for residents to receive the care they need.  “Driving 30 to 40 minutes to an emergency room is really dangerous for certain health conditions,” Dr. Reddy said. “Health issues that need to be seen on a routine basis are not getting seen, and so a lot of health issues are getting worse without routine care here.   Dr. Reddy said she is seeing over 100 patients a week. Michael Barth, Mayor of Hicksville, said it’s been difficult for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) workers as well.   “We stepped up, buying our second ambulance here, out here recently, and trying to beef up our staffing,” Barth said.   Having an idea that the closure could be a possibility ahead of time, the village also tried to hire more personnel; however, Barth said that was a challenge. He mentioned that he is proud of the EMS workers' efforts in getting patients where they need to be.  Overall, he said he is hopeful that another health care provider will purchase the facility.   “If they can sell the facility or find a buyer for the current facility, you know, we're hoping it's another hospital, of course, and have the emergency care facility there, and family practitioners, specialist clinics, things of that nature. But until that point in time comes, you know, we're hoping and praying for that,” Barth said.