Merger between UCHealth and Pueblo's Parkview Health System set to finalize in December
After a full year of negotiations, regulatory reviews and due diligence, Parkview Health System in Pueblo is set to officially merge with Aurora-based UCHealth Dec. 1.
The partnership is not expected to affect Parkview's nearly 3,000 employees who will become UCHealth employees. Both organizations pledge they are committed "to minimizing any disruptions to patient care," according to a Thursday press release.
“While this will be a change for Parkview, our employees and providers, we will ensure that our patients continue to receive excellent, high-quality care. We will always put our patients first,” said Darrin Smith, Parkview president and chief executive officer.
Parkview celebrated its 100th anniversary as a private employer earlier this year. It has grown to a 350-bed capacity and served nearly 236,000 patients last year.
“I am excited to be moving forward on this important partnership to stabilize Parkview and protect jobs in Pueblo,” Smith said. "Joining UCHealth will help ensure that our patients in Pueblo and Southern Colorado continue to have access to excellent healthcare.
“As our community knows, we serve a very large number of patients who are either uninsured or who are covered by Colorado Medicaid. This has strained our finances and risked the sustainability of some of our services."
Last May, Parkview was forced to close its 25-bed psychiatric unit.
An audit undertaken as part of the merger process revealed that in 2022, Parkview reported $34.6 million in losses. In fiscal year 2023, Parkview reported $22.2 million in losses.
UCHealth is a nonprofit network of 12 hospitals with 29,000 employees. UCHealth has committed to investing in Parkview's main hospital and clinics in Pueblo as well as the Pueblo West emergency room and orthopedic hospital.
Through the partnership, UCHealth is expected to invest "not less than $175 million into Parkview and the Pueblo community" during the 10 years following the closing date, according to the auditor's report.
Those investments include a $5 million donation to Parkview for its Parkview Foundation to establish a long-term fund to support patients, the community and the hospital; assistance with recruiting staff and physicians; support for nursing and clinical education programs; and capital investments to upgrade Parkview’s facilities, equipment and technology.
More on Parkview: Pueblo's Parkview Health System merger with UCHealth may not happen until next year
Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's Parkview hospital to merge with Aurora-based UCHealth Dec. 1
