Recent statements made by some members of the Estes Park community suggest certain actions taken by the Park Hospital District Board over the past several months have violated Colorado law, Hospital policies, and sound management practices.
Dr. Diana Van Der Ploeg, president of the Hospital Board, is reviewing the allegations with Hospital legal counsel. Thus far, neither Dr. Van Der Ploeg, Hospital attorneys, nor the Hospital Board as a whole have yet found merit in these claims.
One concern raised is that Board member Dr. Diana Van Der Ploeg is serving a third term as president against Hospital policy, which is two terms. The request to seek a one-time exemption to the policy during the May 2016 election was pursued only because at the time, Hospital leadership consisted of three (3) new, incoming Board members and an interim CEO. At the Board’s request, Dr. Van Der Ploeg agreed to serve a single additional year as president, which concludes in May 2017. The special circumstances were reviewed by legal counsel and recognized by all Board members, who unanimously approved the exception to provide for the ongoing stability of the Medical Center.
A second concern surrounded Interim CEO Mark Gregson’s authority to hire Management Directions, Inc., a healthcare management company, to assess Hospital operations and help institute best practices. Dr. Van Der Ploeg noted that this management decision was within Mr. Gregson’s discretion as Interim CEO, and did not require Board approval.
Finally, concerns have been raised over the handling of electronic files of the Board executive sessions. As mandated by Colorado state statutes, all executive sessions must be recorded and maintained for 90 days. Due to issues with the recording equipment utilized, the process was re-evaluated and improved. New equipment was acquired and has been in use since September 2016. At least one meeting was recorded on the Board Secretary’s cell phone, and was recently turned over to Hospital legal counsel pending expiration of the 90 day retention period. Availability of August meeting tapes has come into question which were last known to be in possession of the Board Secretary. The new equipment and protocol allows for the complete security of the confidential recordings.
Overall, Dr. Van Der Ploeg indicated that the Medical Center is operating extremely well and focused on the right things.
“The leadership team and employees at Estes Park Medical Center are doing a tremendous job of providing the best care possible for our community,” said Dr. Van Der Ploeg.
Last week, Mark Gregson, provided his final operations report to the Medical Executive Committee as Interim CEO. During the meeting, Mr. Gregson outlined several milestones the Medical Center has achieved over the past year, including improvements in quality, customer service and financial performance.
The new permanent CEO, Larry Leaming, takes over at the Medical Center on January 16, 2017
Media Contact:
December 12, 2016 Kerrie Hill
970.577.4390
khill@epmedcenter.com
