The Park Hospital District Board has at least an extra month to map out its next steps after Estes Park Health is transferred to UCHealth ownership. That is because the acquisition, which was set for Nov. 1, has been delayed until at least Dec. 1.
In addition, the Board’s September meeting, which had been postponed until tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 9, was cancelled according to both a social media post on Facebook and an email sent by EPH on Wednesday morning to the Estes Valley Voice, and then a short time later, EPH sent out a notice saying that the Thursday, Oct. 9 meeting was not canceled.
Major decisions on tap for the PHD Board remain before the end of the year, including discussion and passage of a 2026 budget for EPH should the ownership transfer not occur for some reason, a 2026 budget for PHD if the affiliation agreement is successfully concluded before Jan.1, and arrangements for how the PHD Board will operate once the contract with UCHealth is fulfilled.
By state law, budgets for public bodies are required to be available for public review by Oct. 15. The PHD Board has not discussed 2026 budgetary information during a public meeting.
The delay in closing on the EPH transfer to UCHealth reportedly occurred due to scheduling and public notice requirements involving Larimer County. The County Commissioners are now required to approve the plan, following the Colorado Attorney General’s approval of the transfer.
In its announcement about the delay delivered to EPH staff, the district “was unable to get on the Larimer County Commissioners’ calendar in October, and we need the Commissioners’ review before the transaction can close. The district hopes to get on the County Commissioners’ calendar in November, which would set us up for a December 1 effective date,” the notice said.
So far, the only confirmed component of the Dec. 1 transition from overseeing EPH operations to scaled-back responsibilities of the PHD Board of Directors is the location for meetings in the coming months.
Arrangements to meet at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of the month in the Town Board Room at Town Hall have been made, Steve Alper, Board vice chairman, said during a study session Tuesday morning.
While the Board briefly discussed other issues surrounding the transition, no consensus or actions regarding the Board’s potential functions, activities, communications, or community relations efforts were determined during the 45-minute meeting.
By state law, no voting can occur outside a regular or special meeting of the Board.
Alper said the PHD Board would want to monitor activities for assurance of high-quality care, and positive employee engagement, along with financial liability and stability, but in order to do that, “we need a process for communication between the district Board members and the UCHealth Board to communicate so we have a good understanding of what’s occurring,” he said.
Additionally, Alper said, “We want to make sure that we are doing enough things that are meaningful and are useful so that people want to run for office.” Alper said, noting that PHD needed to deal with issues that people find engaging.
Yet to be confirmed are details such as developing a website and email functions, obtaining phone equipment and a contact number, determining the location of an office, and hiring an administrative staff member.