Mail ballots to decide Estes hospital board election

ESTES PARK — Enough candidates have filed for positions on the Park Hospital District Board to ensure that the May 6 election can be conducted with mail ballots, the district announced.

The deadline for self-nomination is Feb. 28.

The Park Hospital District, which operates the nonprofit Estes Park Health medical center, signed a letter of intent in October to join UCHealth this year. That agreement has yet to be finalized, however, and details are subject to change.

Currently, three candidates are vying for two contested positions: Thomas Leigh, Max Salfinger and Janet Zeschin.

Of the current board members, David Batey has reached his term limit, and Drew Webb has decided that he will not seek re-election.

Self-nomination forms to be on the ballot must be received by Sarah Shepherd, the designated election official, no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28. She must receive self-nomination forms from those wishing to be write-in candidates by 5 p.m. Monday, March 3.

Shepherd can be contacted at 303-482-1002 or info@ccrider.us.

The responsibilities of the Park Hospital District Board may change as Estes Park Health’s partnership with UCHealth develops. Estes Park Health and its board of directors continue to make progress on defining the agreement that will allow EPH to join UCHealth, probably in the middle of this year. As the due-diligence process continues, board members and hospital leaders say they are optimistic that the agreement will be finalized over the coming months.

If the partnership with UCHealth is finalized, EPH would create its own nonprofit hospital board of directors, expected to be made up of Estes Park community members, board members nominated by the district board, and UCHealth leaders. The nonprofit board would help oversee the hospital’s operations, provider credentialing, quality, safety and overall performance.

The Park Hospital District would continue as a special taxing district, helping to generate tax revenues that will support local health care operations and improvements. The district board would oversee the tax district, but oversight of the hospital would transfer to the new EPH board.

The hospital was founded in 1975 as Elizabeth Knutsson Memorial Hospital via a tax subsidy approved by Estes Park voters.

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