Two different boards will provide direction for community health care if a proposed affiliation with UCHealth becomes reality. That was just one nugget of information divulged during the Nov. 13 meeting of the Estes Park Health board meeting.
According to David Batey, board chair, remaining in place will be the Park Hospital District Board of Directors, the group of elected officers who currently serve the special taxing district operating as Estes Park Health.
There will also be a combined UCH Community Board with representatives from UC Health and others from the Estes Park area. Details about the composition of the second group were not shared at the Nov. 13 meeting, however at a presentation at lunchtime before the Rotary Club of Estes Park Nov. 14 , Batey indicated the new community board will likely be made up of seven individuals, some from the UCHealth Board, some from the EP Health board, and some selected from the community.
Two positions on the Park Hospital board will be on the ballot in May. The terms of Drew Webb and Batey expire in May. Batey is ineligible for re-election due to term limitations.
Other information about affiliation discussed Wednesday focused on the time-consuming processes currently underway.
“It’s always a challenge when you’re planning for yourself as an independent (organization and), thinking about the ideas and the possibilities of becoming affiliated with someone else,” said Vern Carda, CEO of EPH. Carda explained that combining strategic planning, end-of-year forecasting, and 2025 budgeting is needed at the same time as putting together documentation required for the ongoing affiliation due diligence process now underway.
According to Carda, he and the team he is working with are building the budget and working to provide the items requested by UCHealth by the end of November, “at which time staff can focus on and finish budget items.”
The due diligence Carda referred to includes a 16-page list of information request, including founding documents dating to the late 1960s when the hospital was founded. Carda estimated that compiling materials to answer the request is about 25% complete.
In return, Batey said EPH has submitted its own due diligence list to UCHealth that will allow the board to review that system’s hierarchy, get a better look at their finances, and capital budget.
“Our primary goal is to ensure, as best as we can, that there will quality health care delivered in a sustainable manner in the community. A large piece of that is the quality of the care is the people interacting with the patient, caring about the patient, and being kind and compassionate toward the patient,” Batey summarized.
There was one other issue about affiliation that Batey specifically wanted to emphasize. When the letter of intent was signed, he said there were four parts that were not flexible.
“When it begins and when it ends. Exclusivity and confidentiality. Coordinated communication. Everybody pays their own expenses,” Batey said, as he explained detailed information likely would not be forthcoming now, or anytime in the future – even after a deal is finally inked.
Other information heard before the board Wednesday included an overview of the restructuring of the Estes Park Health Foundation following the resignations of its president, vice president and secretary and other foundation board members after a break in the relationship between the Carda and the foundation’s key employee Kevin Mullen.
Since that time, the foundation has reorganized with new officers, moved its offices to a location inside the primary health center building and switched to using EPH’s financial record keeping systems.
Also discussed Wednesday was a third quarter financial report that, according to EPH Board Treasurer Steve Alper, showed finances were “close to budget,” there were some significant underperforming areas. Areas he pointed to included surgery income being significantly down along with outpatient services being down 10 to 15%. Even so, Alper said, “we’re in a secure position.”
A nine-page PowerPoint presentation about the third quarter from Aysha Douglas, EP Health’s chief financial officer, showed an overview of the medical center’s financial standing.
The balance sheet she presented showed total assets in September of $24,095,455 and liabilities or $24,205,253. The operating revenue and expenses slides noted that patient services have grown 16.1% since 2022 while expenses during that same time have remained flat.
Douglas also noted, as did Carda, that work on the 2025 budget was underway. The budget will incorporate data from a new accounting information system according to Carda.
“We’re learning greater capacities of how to use our software” Carda told the board during his report.
EPH had advertised that the 2025 budget would be reviewed at Wednesday’s meeting, but Douglas said complete data for the budget was not available. She said the draft budget was presented to the board on Oct. 15, but “that was just a draft.”