The sale is final — Colorado Health Foundation received $1.45 billion Friday for its 40 percent stake in the state’s largest hospital system, HCA/HealthONE.
The nonprofit foundation, now divested of its share in seven hospitals, 8,700 employees and 3,000 affiliated physicians in the Denver metro area, made the deal to enhance its financial stability, said foundation president and chief executive Anne Warhover.
The foundation supports more than 40 primary- care clinics serving rural, uninsured, Medicaid and other underserved patient populations. In 2010, the foundation provided more than $90 million to its grant partners, which include Live Well Colorado and other health-related nonprofits. It also administers medical education programs.
“It’s a huge relief to me to have that money in a more diversified portfolio,” Warhover said. “This secures our ability to fund our partners for generations to come.”
Dr. Stephen Shogan, chairman of the foundation’s board of directors, said that the missions of the foundation and HCA/HealthONE have diverged over time, with HealthONE focusing on acute care and the foundation focusing on healthy living and expanding access to care.
Swedish, Rose and Sky Ridge are among the local hospitals operated by HealthONE.
The foundation and HealthONE will continue to partner in managing five Denver-area physician-training programs.
Friday’s sale followed Colorado Attorney General John Suthers’ conditional approval Thursday of the divestiture. Suthers required Health- ONE not to close any of its hospitals for at least five years. It also required HealthONE to continue its support of charity care for at least 15 years and to accept Medicare and Medicaid patients for at least 10 years.
Suthers also required hospital oversight for at least 15 years by a Health- ONE board of trustees charged with counseling the for-profit system on compliance with the sales agreement, patient safety, quality of care and risk management.
Warhover said she expects HCA, which operates more than 160 hospitals around the country, to continue to serve all patients beyond those proscribed time limits.
“Based on HCA’s track record, it’s not going to stop providing health care to them, but the covenants give extra reassurance to the community,” Warhover said. “We couldn’t tie HCA’s hands for more than 10 (or 15) years in this unpredictable environment. Health care is going to change in the next 10 years in ways we can’t even imagine.”
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
