As local rescue squads and residents grapple with the closing of the Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick, officials are working together with corporate, state and federal counterparts to locate a buyer.

The hospital closed on Sept. 15, after filing bankruptcy in 2016.

Economic Development Director Debbie Foley said four of the six entities to express an interest in buying the facility submitted proposals to the management of the bankruptcy.

“We don’t know where they are in that process, and we won’t know” because neither county nor economic development officials are involved in the bankruptcy case, Foley said. “We cannot be a part of that process.”

Additionally, “it does not matter if a buyer walks in with cash, everything has to be approved by the judge, period,” she said.

Foley said once a proposal is submitted, it is sent to creditors for review. A creditor may object, and if that happens, the bankruptcy court judge can either override the objections or find validity to them, and direct representatives to renegotiate and address the concerns.

“The buyer then has the option to walk away and that’s what happened with AmeriCorp, as I understand it. They walked away” after making their final offer, Foley said of AmeriCorp Health Care Group Inc., which tried to buy the hospital, according to previous reports.

Officials have made progress in other areas, Foley said. For example, the hospital was granted a variance on its license until the end of the year. Before the variance was issued, the hospital had 30 days to relinquish it.

While “that gives us a little breathing room, it did not stop our urgency,” she said.

Additionally, “we have worked with the Town of Stuart on an incentive package,” Foley said, and added she could not release details about the incentives. However, members of the Stuart Town Council recently approved a measure to allow certain town officials to look into incentives that may include water and sewer rates.

“We’re doing everything within our little power to get every little thing” in place and make the sale attractive to potential buyers, Foley said. “But there are a lot of moving parts. It is a slow process, and we ask for the community’s patience.

“We understand what you are going through and we are working as fast as we can,” Foley said. “We are doing the best we can with what we can do.”