Webb reassigned to negotiation duties for EP Health affiliation

While Estes Park Health (EPH) will remain engaged with information and activities of the Estes Park Health Foundation, there will no longer be an official liaison from the board of directors to the organization. Instead, CEO Vern Carda will represent the board’s interests to the ancillary organization.

The announcement of the decision was just one item presented during the Wednesday, July 24 EPH Board of Directors meeting. Other information relayed included a report on Home Health and reports from Chief of Staff Bridget Dunn and CEO Carda.

The liaison announcement came from Board Chair David Batey, who explained that Vice-Chair Drew Webb’s energies would be more useful if directed toward new negotiations associated with EPH’s attempts to affiliate with another health organization. Batey had no announcement about those negotiations other than to say EPH is “making progress” but had signed a non-disclosure agreement and could say nothing more. Batey and Carda said they hoped information about a letter of intent could be shared at the August board meeting.

Eliminating the liaison job from Webb’s responsibilities will allow him the ability to “focus on extraordinary demands and negotiating an affiliation agreement with a larger nonprofit healthcare organization,” Batey said. “Drew’s years of experience in investment, investing and mergers and acquisitions are ideally suited for this critical essence of our health activity and being able to direct his time and energies toward that would be really helpful.”

Batey noted that there still will be a direct link between the Foundation and EPH as Carda is a regular attendee at EPH Foundation quarterly general meetings, monthly executive meetings, and finance meetings.

In a prepared statement, Batey said, “Drew, in his role as liaison, has worked to enable the Estes Park Health Foundation to be a more effective organization. He has facilitated improved communication and strategic alignment between Estes Park Health and the Estes Park Health Foundation,” Batey said. “The Board of Directors deeply appreciates Drew Webb’s significant contributions in his liaison role,” Batey concluded.

Pat Samples, Chief Nursing Officer provided a brief update on EPH’s movements to provide home health care and hospice services to the community after having closed home health care, home care and outpatient hospice care services seven months ago.

When those services closed, Samples told the board that EPH added other resources to assist people. “We have social work coverage seven days a week,” Samples told the board. Since initiating the social work team, she said there have been a significant number of individuals calling, seeking assistance with myriad issues: needing hospice care, needing help at home, needing to know what to do with the resources they have at hand.

With the social work system fully in place, individuals receive assistance based on individual resources, needs, support systems and health conditions.

“We’re working with people as they walk the continuum and adjusting the resources and care as we get closer to whatever it is the outcome they’re planning for. It’s much more complicated. But it’s much more rewarding,” Samples said.

Being able to partner with community resources has also been helpful. “Crossroads has been amazing stepping up helping us find prescriptions and rides. We have the Quota Club to help us with any durable medical equipment that we might need which might be a wheelchair or walker or crutches,” Samples added.

Changing definitions and regulations defining levels of need criteria by agencies such as Medicare complicates choices and availability of options. However, Samples said “We’re really working with each individual person. We can plug them into resources that are available to them.” In the past several months, sometimes that’s meant some in-home nursing care. In other cases, out-patient rehabilitation care has been successful.

Home hospice care “is a difficult service to provide because the individual must have someone with them 24/7.” Samples explained that is not feasible in households where the elder is living with their children who must work. There have been cases where hospice team members and companies from outside Estes Park have helped. “It’s figuring out what resources that individual has, and then how we can help them best use their resources.”

“We’re going to continue down that pathway,” Samples told the board. “It seems like more (people) are getting individualized care plans for our community members.” She encouraged residents to call the social worker team to obtain assistance.

“I feel confident we have been able to support our community members in their journeys to the best of our ability and there is a level of satisfaction and a feeling of comfort,” Samples said.

To reach the social work team at EP Health call 970-577-4646.