The University of Colorado Hospital and the two-hospital Poudre Valley Health System will operate as University of Colorado Health under a joint operating agreement.

The agreement, first announced in June, created a new governing board for the three hospitals with authority to borrow for capital investments and oversee operations, with some exceptions that will require approval from hospital governing boards, said Bruce Schroffel, president and chairman of University of Colorado Health.

Schroffel was formerly president and CEO of University of Colorado Hospital. Rulon Stacey, president and chief executive of Poudre Valley Health System, was named CEO of the joint health system.

The 11-member board will include Stacey, Schroffel, four members from Poudre Valley Health System, three members from the University of Colorado Hospital and two members from the University of Colorado, Schroffel said.

The new entity will include University of Colorado Hospital, a 437-bed hospital in Aurora, Colo.; the two-campus 237-bed Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins, Colo.; and 136-bed Medical Center of the Rockies, Loveland, Colo. The University of Colorado Health is in talks to lease 548-bed Memorial Health System, Colorado Springs, Colo.