BCH, Children’s Hospital Colorado form ‘care alliance’

BOULDER — Boulder Community Health announced on Friday that it has formed an alliance with Aurora-based Children’s Hospital Colorado to provide inpatient care for children under 15, in response to a decline in the number of pediatric inpatients treated at BCH’s Foothills Hospital.

BCH will stop providing those services May 1, with the exception of newborns and infants up to four weeks old, who will be treated in BCH’s Intensive Care Nursery.

For several years, BCH has been experiencing a decline in the number of pediatric inpatients treated at Foothills Hospital as local pediatricians and families have steadily increased their use of Children’s Colorado’s resources for inpatient care, BCH said in a prepared statement.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Exploring & expressing grief

Support groups and events, as well as creative therapies and professional counseling, are all ways in which Pathways supports individuals dealing with grief and loss.

According to recent Colorado Hospital Association statistics, 64 percent of Boulder children under age 15 requiring hospitalization were admitted to Children’s Colorado. About 15 percent of Boulder children received inpatient care at BCH.

Through the alliance, of which the financial terms were not disclosed, most pediatric care will be provided by Boulder pediatricians, family practitioners, emergency physicians, nurses from the BCH Family Birth Center and therapists from BCH Pediatric Rehabilitation. Through the alliance, local physicians will receive additional support from Children’s Colorado, including a streamlined process for consulting with Children’s specialists.

Local families will be able to use the Foothills Hospital emergency department and BCH urgent-care centers. BCH said there will be improved coordination between BCH’s emergency-room physicians and the specialists at Children’s.

BCH and Children’s Colorado initially will review and collaborate on best-practice treatment protocols for pediatric patients in the Foothills Hospital emergency department; expand educational opportunities for the BCH caregivers treating pediatric patients; and streamline the referral process for Boulder families needing inpatient care at a Children’s Colorado facility.

“This is truly a win-win situation for local physicians and Boulder families,” said Dr. Stephen Fries, a Boulder Medical Center pediatrician for 37 years and a member of BCH’s board of directors. “Boulder pediatricians and family practitioners will continue to care for Boulder kids.  Families will continue to bring their ill and injured children to our emergency department.” He said local families needing inpatient care for their children will have expanded access to one of the best children’s hospitals in the country.

Jena Hausmann, president and chief executive of Children’s Colorado. said the alliance expands on a longstanding relationship with BCH, local pediatricians, primary-care providers and families in Boulder County. “This care alliance reinforces our commitment to providing the highest quality of pediatric care for kids in the region.”

Dr. Robert Vissers, president and chief executive of BCH, said the hospital’s mission is to provide top-tier medical care to Boulder County families.

“We’ve had a long and successful partnership with Children’s Colorado to jointly operate the Intensive Care Nursery at Foothills Hospital. … “We’re enhancing care in our community by partnering with Children’s Colorado.”

BCH has a strategic vision that includes partnering with “outstanding health-care organizations that can support us in making Boulder the healthiest community in the nation,” according to the statement. BCH recently partnered with the CU School of Medicine to open the Sports Medicine and Performance Center.