University of Colorado Health Announces Big Expansion Into Wyoming

Embargo: Jan. 1, 2013 Contact: Dan Weaver: 720-441-7050 [email protected]

Fast-growing new system launches affiliation agreement with Ivinson Hospital in Laramie, Wyoming

Aurora, Colo. (Jan. 1, 2013) – University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) and Ivinson Hospital in Laramie, Wyoming have entered into a management agreement that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2013.

Under the agreement, Ivinson, which traces its roots to 1917, will become an affiliate of UCHealth but will remain an independent hospital run by the seven-member board of the Albany County Hospital District. The agreement, which was signed in October, allows Ivinson and University of Colorado Health to share expertise and resources. It also further establishes UCHealth, with some 15,000 employees and 1,500 beds, as an emerging medical and economic powerhouse.

“Affiliating with University of Colorado Health gives us at Ivinson a vast network of experts and knowledge to add to our own, some of the best medical and health care delivery minds in America, increased market power in managing the risings costs of care, and still more muscle in meeting the special challenges of rural and community care,” said Carol Dozier, Ivinson’s president and CEO.

“We are looking forward to working more closely with the Laramie community and with the doctors, nurses and staff at Ivinson,” said Rulon Stacey, president of University of Colorado Health. “Together, we’ll grow Ivinson’s already strong dedication to quality and patient care.”

Stacey pointed out that UCHealth, which did not exist at this time last year, now has close to 15,000 employees and stretches from venerable Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs, through the Denver metro area to University of Colorado Hospital, and into northern Colorado to Poudre Valley Hospital and Medical Center of the Rockies. “Now, with our new affiliation with Ivinson – which may be the most successful rural hospital in America – we are both figuratively and literally able to provide the full continuum of care, from the essentials of community health to the most complex medical interventions.” The system now includes in excess of 1,500 inpatient beds and literally dozens of clinics and facilities in its patients’ neighborhoods through the Front Range.

UCHealth also includes the No. 1 academic medical center in quality in the United States (two years running), a Baldrige National Quality Award winner, one of only 40-some National Cancer Institute- designated comprehensive cancer centers in the country, neuroscience and stroke services offering the highest possible clinical certifications, the only American Burn Center-verified burn center in the region, the busiest and most experienced transplant center in Colorado and, not least, unique and award-winning community health programs.

Under the agreement, Ivinson’s top executives will be employed by UCHealth and will collaborate closely with leaders from all other UCHealth facilities, sharing best practices in patient care and operations. The strength of UCHealth’s business practices has been widely recognized. Most recently, bond rating agencies have again upgraded the ratings and outlooks at hospitals across UCHealth.

“UCHealth has quickly moved to the forefront of a national movement toward more integration and partnerships among health care providers,” said Stacey. “Working together makes us stronger and allows us to increase both the quality and the value of care our patients receive.”

Affiliating with UCHealth and its Magnet® nursing hospitals will also help Ivinson on its path to Magnet designation. Magnet facilities have met rigorous quality standards demonstrating innovation, collaboration, continuous professional growth opportunities, a focus on patient and family centered care and utilization of evidence-based practices. Nurses working in Magnet hospitals work autonomously and diligently to ensure the highest quality patient care and are proven to be more satisfied than nurses working in non-Magnet hospitals. UCHealth hospitals, including University of Colorado Hospital, Poudre Valley Hospital and Medical Center of the Rockies, have been awarded the majority of the Magnet designations in Colorado.

“We’ll learn from UCHealth just as they learn from us,” Dozier added. “Patients and staff at Ivinson should be excited about this management agreement because we’re ensuring we’ll offer the highest quality care and stability even as we face uncertainty in the future of health care.

Based in Laramie, the home of the University of Wyoming, Ivinson Memorial Hospital has 99 inpatient beds and provides emergency and general medical and surgical care for patients throughout southern Wyoming. This agreement will give management control of Ivinson to UCHealth while Ivinson retains responsibility over its own finances.

Among the Ivinson executives who will formally become employees of UCHealth are President and CEO Dozier, Chief Financial Officer Karl Vilums; Linda Mink, chief compliance officer and vice president of clinical service line development; Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Sharon Gern; and Holly Zajic, vice president of Human Resources and Physician Services.

“This affiliation will provide great opportunities to enhance the health care available to the people of Albany County and our surrounding service area,” said Ivinson Board Member Terry Roark. “Poudre Valley Health System has long been a referral partner, and I am excited that our affiliation will now also include access to the University of Colorado Hospital, an excellent teaching and research facility.”

This agreement will enhance the already close collaboration between UCHealth and Ivinson. The two have worked closely together for years with cardiovascular, trauma and general surgery, and neurology services. Collaboration also exists with rotations for University of Wyoming PharmD students and elective clinical nursing training.

Patients, however, will not be required to go to other UCHealth facilities for their care. UCHealth believes that a patient and his or her doctor should decide where that patient receives treatment, but specialized procedures not offered at Ivinson might be available at other UCHealth locations for patients.

About University of Colorado Health University of Colorado Health is a Front Range health system that delivers the highest quality patient care with the highest quality patient experience. University of Colorado Health combines Memorial Hospital, Poudre Valley Hospital, Medical Center of the Rockies, Colorado Health Medical Group (formerly Poudre Valley Medical Group), and University of Colorado Hospital into an organization dedicated to building a healthier community and providing unmatched patient care in the Rocky Mountain West. Separately, these institutions can continue providing superior care to patients and service to the communities they serve. Together, they push the boundaries of medicine, attracting more research funding, hosting more clinical trials and improving health through innovation.