HealthONE to lease and operate Memorial Health System

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.