What began as a meeting to champion a swift acquisition of Estes Park Health by UCHealth on Thursday, Aug. 21, turned into a display of anger that board member Tom Leigh has been outspoken about his concerns with hospital management and his desire for more scrutiny of the contract governing the pending acquisition.
Using the platform of a special meeting, members of the hospital’s leadership team, along with a group of managers and department directors, spoke about the need to affiliate with UCHealth sooner rather than later.
Board members used the forum to advocate that state approval for the affiliation should not be delayed.
In the end, one of three resolutions dealing with support for the affiliation and communications about board activities was approved as proposed by board vice chair Steve Alper.
Adopted outright was a resolution stating that, “the board is committed to implementing a partnership with UCHealth as established by the definitive agreements, and no individual board member is authorized to attempt to renegotiate any aspect of the transaction, nor request proposals from, or enter into, any agreements with consultants or advisors about any aspect of the transaction or definitive agreements.”
A resolution curtailing board members’ requests for proposals or entering into agreements with outside consultants was tabled until the board’s next regular monthly meeting, which will be held virtually on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 5:30 p.m.
The third resolution, also tabled, directs all questions from individual EPH directors to the chair, vice chair, and CEO during regular business hours.
The delay in approval of the last two resolutions was requested to give board members time to consider the matters as they had been presented to some but not all board members before Thursday morning’s meeting.
Speaking directly to Leigh, chief of staff Jennifer McLellan said, “Tom, it upsets me personally when you say things like this hospital is not well run and that our hospital is in disarray…these statements are completely untrue.”
McLellan added, “I would personally appreciate if you would work with your fellow board members as a team and stop creating anxiety and concern for the employees and the community.”
Board member’s concerns dismissed
Since being elected as a board member in May, Leigh has asked for information about the Park Hospital District’s operations, including hospital financial statements and personnel matters. According to Leigh, his requests have been denied and delayed.
At a July board meeting, Leigh asked for an independent performance evaluation of the CEO. According to the Park Hospital District bylaws, this annual evaluation is to be conducted in May. In 2024, the evaluation was five months late and has not been done this year. Leigh has also asked that exit interviews be conducted with staff leaving EPH employment. Additionally, he has asked for discussion items to be put on the board’s meeting agenda.
According to a public letter written by Leigh and published by the Estes Valley Voice, the board’s chair, co-chair, and the CEO, who reports to the board, have denied or delayed his requests.
Leigh has also expressed concern that, as a publicly elected board of a special district, a unit of state government that collects property taxes, EPH board members have not received onboarding or any training about Colorado’s open records and open meetings laws.
Chief of Staff assures public of “great quality care” at EPH
McLellan said she wanted to assure the public that despite the concerns raised by Leigh, who retired last September after nine years as an emergency room physician at EPH, the hospital is functioning well and if were not able to provide “great quality care,” that “as chief of staff, I would not allow us to continue to care for patients.”
Responding to comments Leigh made in a July 29 commentary, Ben Hetrick, interim chief nursing officer, submitted a statement saying, “Calling this a toxic environment ignores the dedication, collaboration, and professionalism I see across departments daily. This kind of language does not help our staff and lacks accuracy. It undermines morale and dismisses the efforts of those who continue to care for patients and carry this hospital forward.”
Last summer, nine former EPH employees met with the Estes Valley Voice on background as whistleblowers to express concerns about what they called a “toxic work environment” where they felt harassed and bullied by administrators. They urged that an internal workplace survey be conducted. The CEO said such a survey would be expensive and was unnecessary.
Hetrick also said, “Most urgently, this affiliation with UCHealth is critical to the future of Estes Park Health. It is not a last resort. It is a strategic step forward, one that brings long-term stability, access to a broader system of care, and support for both clinical and operational needs.”
Choking up and speaking through tears, board member Janet Zeschin said, “The path looks different for different people,” and that while some have “been very disruptive to this group…our directions have been very clear.” She said, “It’s time to move on.”
Alper praised staff members as he spoke about the affiliation process. “I want all staff to know how proud I am of all of you that, under these challenging circumstances, you are still doing the best that you can in providing high-quality care here,” he said.
To emphasize his desire to have the affiliation move ahead quickly, Alper asserted that “by getting this deal done, it’s going to be a win for every staff member here, for patients, because staff will have access towards technology, more intellectual capital. They will be employed by an organization that is financially extremely stable,” he said.
Alper also said that while “all board members might not see the same path, all are committed for staff to have the best work environment possible, and for patient care to be the highest that it can, and that we have sustainable high-quality health care providers.”
“This discord, whether it be between us and the community, has got to stop,” said board chairman Cory Workman, calling the media cruel.
“It’s not helpful. We’re not going to be able to move forward in this way. I am so excited for the next version of the Park Hospital District board. Think about what we’re going to be able to do once UCHealth is helping to run this hospital. I’m so excited for it, but I would ask for all to bring the temperature down,” he said.
About 60 interested individuals logged in to watch Thursday’s special meeting, which was held virtually. Workman said the meetings are held virtually because of threats he has received.
When news of the threats first surfaced in January, the Estes Valley Voice contacted the Estes Park Police Department. The Town’s public information officer, Kate Miller explained that the concern was “an ‘internal personnel matter’ which raised security concerns for the hospital and clinics internally.”
Miller told the Estes Valley Voice that, “after hearing the details of the matter from EPH leadership, we determined, from a law enforcement perspective, that the information they relayed to us did not contain evidence of a threat or any potential criminal activity, and therefore would not lead to an investigation.”
EPPD did not recommend additional security measures beyond what is standard at EPH, nor did the police department take part in the decision to move board meetings from in-person meetings held in the Town Hall to online meetings.
Miller told the Estes Valley Voice, “This is an isolated matter only within EPH, and we have no evidence of any security threats in our community.”
Acquisition next steps
In June, EPH and UCHealth asked the Colorado attorney general to approve arrangements for UCHealth’s acquisition of the local medical center. Under the Colorado Hospital Transfer Act, § 6-19-201 C.R.S., the attorney general must review the transaction and ensure it will not result in a material change in the charitable purposes to which the hospital’s assets have been dedicated, and that the assets don’t leave the state.
In deciding, the attorney general must also consider whether there are reductions in the availability or accessibility of healthcare services in the communities the hospital serves. At this time, the acquisition is expected to be approved sometime in October or November.
The next regular meeting of the EPH board is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27. Interested individuals must register to listen in.