Late News: Colorado system, hospital to explore unification

The University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, and Fort Collins, Colo.-based Poudre Valley Health System have signed a letter of intent to explore uniting under a joint-operating agreement, the organizations announced. If an agreement is reached, the 437-bed academic medical center and two-hospital Poudre Valley would form a joint-operating company with a single budget for a unified system, though the respective organizations would maintain control of operations at their facilities, according to a news release.

The announcement cited health insurance reform, increasing costs, complexity of care and a projected workforce shortage as factors driving the partnership. “Our goal is simple: to provide the best possible healthcare to our communities, the state and the Rocky Mountain region,” Poudre Valley President and CEO Rulon Stacey and University of Colorado Hospital President and CEO Bruce Schroffel said in a joint statement. Poudre Valley Health System includes 237-bed Poudre Valley Hospital, which has two campuses in Fort Collins, about 70 miles north of the University of Colorado Hospital's Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, a midsize city adjacent to Denver. Poudre Valley also operates Medical Center of the Rockies, a 136-bed hospital opened in 2007 in Loveland, Colo., about 15 miles down Interstate 25 toward Denver.