There is no specific date for the name change from Estes Park Health to UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center, and the final documents have yet to be inked, but when the EPH board meets this week, the details of the transfer of operations essentially will be complete.
This Thursday, May 15, the EPH board of directors is expected to approve a resolution authorizing its executives and advisors to execute final versions of documents ratifying an affiliation agreement with UCHealth.
Residents of the area last week got their first look at nearly all the details surrounding the arrangement when the EPH board released working documents of the affiliation and lease agreements.
The Thursday special meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the town board meeting room at Town Hall.
UCHealth will need to sign the resolution noting the affiliation, and the Colorado attorney general will still need to sign off on the plan, but the change is expected to be final by the end of the year.
While some more notable differences between operations today and those anticipated, such as UCHealth leasing the property and establishing its own operations governing body, have already been publicly discussed, other details of the arrangements are included in the 155 pages of documents released for review on May 6.
Among the initial surprises was learning that the EPH board had signed a non-disclosure agreement with UCHealth on Jan. 30, 2023, four months before Park Hospital District sought voter authorization for the district to seek an agreement to find a group to provide outside operations of the local medical center. Voters authorized the move on May 2, 2023.
Also disclosed in the documentation is UCHealth’s commitment to conducting a community health needs assessment, something current CEO Vern Carda recently said he would not recommend because it was too expensive.
Seeking information from the community about health care operations was a hot topic during an early autumn board of directors meeting.
One item of community interest noted in the October 16, 2024 announcement that a letter of intent to join UCHealth operations was a 10-year, $20 million capital investment for Estes Park medical operations. According to the integration agreement, a portion of that investment will be spent to “rebrand” the local facility.
Also noted in the integration agreement is a commitment to potential new service lines and maintenance of an ambulance service.
Although the document notes a commitment to those elements of care, the language is clear that UCHealth will take into consideration what is required for those operations, and while committing to providing ambulance service, the document suggests it is possible that such service could be under contract arrangements.
Also noted in the documents is continued employment for all who work at EPH. Executive team members are subject to performance reviews, good standing, and compliance with policies and procedures.
While all tax revenues and income derived from patient care will be transferred to UCHealth for use at the Estes Park facility, arrangements are made for some of that revenue to be retained by Park Hospital District for payment of business expenses that it will be responsible to pay, such as audits, administrative expenditures, and cost of elections.
Included in the multiple documents posted on EPH’s website in the “About Us” section are new bylaws for the Park Hospital District. That document makes provisions for establishing an auxiliary organization.
Still waiting for inclusion into the final document are several exhibits noted in the affiliation document and schedules expected to be included in the lease agreement, including outstanding long-term debt, any legal proceedings, historical financial information, and more.
While there is no indication of how and when questions will be answered, questions from the public about the documents and affiliation can be submitted anonymously online through a link on the “About Us” page on the EPH website.