If I pay off negative reported debt in full, will it help m

A year ago I went to the hospital emergency room, and was unable to pay the amount billed at the time. The bill was unfortunately put on the back burner and forgotten over time, so the hospital reported it to a debt collection agency who began reporting it to a credit reporting agency.

I called the debt collection agency and asked them if it would be better to make a payment or pay it off in full. They told me that they are not trained in Credit reporting and how accounts are effected, but they did tell me that they report any debt owed to a credit agency until it is completely paid off. They said I could make payments but they would continue to report the remainder of what I owe.

My question is, will it help my credit rating more if I make a consistent monthly payment, or will it help my rating more if I pay it off in full? My credit rating aside from this is OK. If you have any questions about anything I failed to cover here, let me know.