University of Colorado

A Message from the President

February 2012

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Colorado Springs City Council approves UCH bid to lease Memorial Hospital

The Colorado Springs City Council unanimously voted Jan. 10 to approve the bid by University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) to lease and operate Memorial Health System for the next 40 years.

The city council appointed a team to begin negotiating the terms of the lease and, when completed, the council plans to submit the deal to a municipal vote.

This is an important step in a process that, if approved, promises to greatly advance health care, health care education and the economy in southern Colorado.

We believe our partnership is the best option for Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region for a number of reasons, including:

  • Our partners share Memorial's mission, vision and values and will honor them in all decisions going forward.
  • Our partners understand and share Memorial's commitment to caring for members of the military services and their families.
  • Our partners understand and share Memorial's commitment to caring for the medically underserved, including the uninsured.
  • Our proposal offers $1.8 billion in a 40-year period in direct financial benefit to Colorado Springs and capital improvements for Memorial itself.
  • Our proposal provides funding to create a Branch Medical Campus to be housed at UCCS with clinical training at Memorial.
  • Our proposal connects Memorial to a nonprofit health system that spans the entire Front Range, giving it the depth and breadth of resources to weather the turbulent times ahead for all health care institutions.

In December, a special task force had unanimously recommended the UCH proposal to the City Council, saying the proposal was clearly the best among the plans offered by five organizations. The task force was impressed by how closely the UCH respondents' values aligned with Memorial's and the UCH partners' record of caring for active duty and retired military members.

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