Estes Park Health shocked area residents Tuesday afternoon by notifying its newsletter subscribers that the board of directors is ready to introduce a resolution to solidify an affiliation with UCHealth.
That announcement came just six days after Vern Carda, EPH CEO, reported during the April 30 EPH board meeting that some due diligence work had to be completed while the board of directors was working on documents governing the new organization.
The EPH board met in executive session Tuesday morning before individuals received the letter later in the day.
The letter said the board of directors plans to meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8, in Town Hall to introduce a resolution to approve the agreements. The meeting is open to the public to attend in person and also online, and public comments about the resolution will be heard at the meeting.
A second meeting concerning the resolution has been scheduled for Thursday, May 15, at which time it is expected that the Park Hospital District board of directors will vote to approve the resolution.
The May 8 meeting is listed on the Estes Park Health’s website page dedicated to meeting postings. At this time, details about the May 15 meeting have not been posted.
Both meetings are slated to occur before two new board members, Tom Leigh and Janet Zeschin, elected to the board yesterday, the same day the affiliation announcement was made, are sworn in.
Leigh and Zeschin cannot take an oath of office until certification of the election is complete on May 20. Their swearing-in ceremony is expected at the EPH board meeting on May 28.
Information on the EPH website says the EPH and UCHealth expect the agreement to be signed in late May, then submitted to the Colorado Attorney General for review and approval.
Once the AG approval has been received, a definitive date for full affiliation can be established.
While the letter of Intent was signed on Oct. 3, 2024, the community was not informed until a press release on Oct. 16, 2024. The Estes Valley Voice submitted a CORA request for the LOI, but the request was denied.
On Oct. 23, 2024, a bullet point summary of the LOI was provided to the community at a public meeting. At that time, the Park Hospital District board president remarked that the public would not be given access to the LOI.
The Estes Valley Voice again made two additional CORA requests for the LOI and then brought suit to have the document released for public review based on the state’s Sunshine Law.
A court date was set for May 22, 2025, to review the matter, one week before the new board is seated.
Yesterday, after the announcement of the special meeting on May 8, where the EPH board would introduce a resolution to approve agreements made with UCHealth, the Estes Valley Voice made a CORA request to have the deal released so the public could review the terms of the document.
Following the EVV’s latest CORA request, Estes Park Health released copies of the 10-page Letter of Intent, a 62-page Integration and Affiliation Agreement (Work Product), and an 89-page Health System Operating Lease Agreement (Work Product).
Details of the documents include protection of employment for Carda and other senior management, including Pat Samples, the chief nursing officer, the senior director of hospital services, the chief financial officer, and the senior director of support services, “for no less than 18 months following the closing.”
Other details include a 50-year term of the agreement, renaming EPH to UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center, Park Hospital District retaining ownership of the land and buildings, but leasing them to the new organization, and offering employment to all current employees, pending current standard pre-employment screening.
The Integration and Affiliation Agreement spells out the terms for establishing a new seven-member board, the Newco board, which will effectively assume the role of the present EP Health board. The Newco board will be charged with:
- Assessing the community needs of the District Service Area and approving the community health needs assessment; recommending the UCHealth Newco Hospital’s capital and operating budgets, to be presented to the Board of Directors of UCHealth for approval
- Partnering with UCHealth to develop strategic plans
- Overseeing and approving UCHealth Newco Hospital’s medical staff credentialing and related medical staff matters, including board certification requirements; granting of medical staff privileges; and approval of the UCHealth Newco Hospital medical staff bylaws and amendments thereto, in a manner consistent with the strategic plans, quality care processes and standards of other hospitals affiliated with UCHealth.
- Overseeing UCHealth Newco Hospital’s quality and safety standards and processes consistent with other hospitals affiliated with UCHealth.
- Oversing the accreditation process for UCHealth Newco Hospital and, to the extent required by accreditation agencies’ standards for hospital governing bodies, be accountable for taking certain actions required by the accreditation agency to the extent required by the accreditation agency (e.g., granting medical staff privileges, etc.).
- Ensuring UCHealth Newco Hospital’s compliance with licensure requirements of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in accordance with applicable laws.
- Ensuring UCHealth Newco Hospital’s compliance with Medicare Conditions of Participation as required by applicable laws; and
- Ensuring UCHealth Newco Hospital’s compliance with the requirements of Section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
Tuesday’s letter to constituents said the new board will include two members nominated by Park Hospital District, two appointed by UC Health, and the remainder composed of community members.
The future role of the five-member Park Hospital District board of directors will effectively be to set the property tax mill levy and maintain the hospital building and grounds, but not to set hospital policy.
The wording of the affiliation agreement reads to “control all the operations, policies, and procedures of the District.”
The board “shall have the exclusive oversight of the use and expenditures of all moneys collected to the credit of the District, provided such use and expenditures further the Purposes of the District and comply with the Definitive Agreements,” and “shall have the power to borrow money, to incur indebtedness, and to issue bonds and other evidence of such indebtedness.”
Additionally, the board of the District shall “continue to provide funding support of Estes Park Healthcare Operations and patient care from the District’s receipt of the mill levy,” and “shall take no actions to terminate or reduce the Tax Revenue.”
18 months for pat and Vern? Ludicrous, absolutely not. The door should be shown now; they’re the mess.
A bunch of snakes, if retaining a ceo who is dismissive to the staff, physicians and community, with a spotty work attendance ethic and a CNO with a foul mouth and who has publicly terminated and bullied staff is a priority we as a community ask that they employ them elsewhere in their system. They knew they weren’t long for this facility and this is a big “screw you” to our community physicians and staff.