HCA-HealthONE LLC on Monday will submit a response to the Request for a
Proposal (RFP) to lease and operate Memorial Health System in Colorado
Springs. A Colorado Springs City Council-appointed Task Force will
evaluate all proposals to determine which hospital operator is best
suited to be Memorial's strategic partner.
Linda Kanamine, vice president of Public Affairs at HealthONE, says
HealthONE's passion for delivering clinical excellence aligns with
Memorial's tradition of quality patient care for all: "HealthONE brings
many advantages Memorial doesn't yet have, including: a wealth of
clinical expertise and best demonstrated practices from across the
country to improve care; local, regional and national regulatory and
statutory knowledge to prepare for and implement health care reforms;
economies of scale for business operations and supply purchasing to
lower costs; numerous programs to benefit local communities, including
health professionals education; and access to financial resources to
invest in programs, technologies and facility improvements that benefit
patients, employees and physicians."
The Colorado Springs City Council voted in 2011 to solicit bids for a
long-term lease of Memorial Hospital and identify a third party that
would manage the hospital. A winning bid is expected to be chosen and
recommended to City Council by the end of the year. It will then be up
to the City Council to negotiate the long-term lease for Memorial with
the winning bidder - and then send the final proposed plan to a ballot
for Colorado Springs voters to approve.
Among issues raised the past year are benefits Colorado Springs
residents would gain from the tax revenue HealthONE will generate for
the city and county (an estimated $10 million per year), as opposed to a
tax-exempt company. Another important issue is health care for the
Military and their families. HealthONE honors our military and has very
strong relationships with Fort Carson, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado
National Guard, and active duty and retired military families in the
region to provide patient care (accepting TriCare and through our
Traumatic Brain Injury programs), help train military medical staff and
EMS, and offer education to health and EMS professionals. We would
welcome an expansion of these relationships.
"HealthONE will submit a very attractive package that focuses on what
we've heard the people of Colorado Springs and El Paso County say is
most important to the community," Kanamine said. "We appreciate the Task
Force's hard work, time and consideration during this critically
important process." HealthONE will respect the Quiet Period requested in
the RFP, which starts at 4:00 p.m. MST Mon., Nov. 14, 2011, so that the
Task Force can fairly review all proposals.
For background information and HealthONE facts and figures, please visit
http://www.healthonecares.com/healthone-and-memorial-health/index.htm
About HealthONE: HealthONE is the largest health care system in the
metro Denver area with more than 9,000 employees and 3,000 affiliated
physicians. HealthONE hospitals have a long and trusted legacy in the
densest area going back more than 130 years with St. Luke's, more than
85 years with Presbyterian Denver, more than 105 years with Swedish and
more than 60 years with Rose. The current health system was created in
1995 as a Colorado company and a joint venture between The Colorado
Health Foundation and various affiliates of HCA. The Foundation grew to
the second largest charitable foundation in the state and in October
2011 sold its share in HealthONE to HCA (NYSE: HCA).
HealthONE includes: The Medical Center of Aurora; North Suburban Medical
Center; Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center & Rocky Mountain Hospital
for Children; Rose Medical Center; Sky Ridge Medical Center; Swedish
Medical Center; Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital; Centennial Medical
Plaza (affiliated with The Medical Center of Aurora); Swedish Southwest
ER (affiliated with Swedish Medical Center); 14 stand-alone ambulatory
surgery centers; 8 occupational medicine & rehabilitation clinics;
dozens of specialty clinics; two radiation oncology centers ; and
AIRLIFE-DENVER, which provides critical care air and ground
transportation across an eight-state region.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding HCA's business
which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that
involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those
contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the
Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal
year.
Leslie K. Horna
Public Relations, HealthONE
303-584-6100 | c. 303-523-1978