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An Innovative Partnership Launches Successfully
A Brim Success Story
Pikes Peak Regional Hospital
Woodland Park, Colorado
The community of Woodland Park, Colorado, wanted a hometown hospital. Local residents were forced to travel some 20 miles down to Colorado Springs for emergency treatment, routine surgeries, even outpatient procedures. Decades after the town had grown up into a thriving resort and business community, a core group of residents believed Woodland Park was overdue for a hospital of its own.
When the time finally came to convert that dream into a reality, Brim was brought in to help make it happen. With successful local fund-raising efforts well underway, community leaders sought a partner with the management expertise and resources to successfully navigate the complex task of opening and operating a hospital. After exploring a variety of options, including joining with nearby hospital systems, community leaders in 2005 chose Brim.
"Brim was chosen because of the company's track record for managing facilities like these and keeping them in the black," said Richard Harris, M.D., a local family practitioner and member of the hospital association board. In October of 2007, the beautiful new Pikes Peak Regional Hospital (PPRH) opened its doors for patient care, the result of years of steadfast effort and the community's commitment to an innovative working relationship with Brim, a privately held, national hospital operating company. That relationship is structured on a 10-year operating lease. The hospital association, a non-profit governed by a community board, holds title to the land and building, retaining that control over Woodland Park's valuable new asset. Brim makes an annual lease payment to the hospital association and is responsible for (and at risk for) all facets of management and operations.
The hospital chief executive is supported by a team of Brim consultants with national hospital management experience. Through the Brim relationship, the community also gained a major tax-paying enterprise with future expectations for expansion and a growing roster of employees.
Local physicians praised Brim's commitment to the community and to the quality of patient care at the hospital. "I've been in a number of different hospital systems- Air Force, Kaiser, and local groups, and so far I like working with Brim better than any of those," said Kurt Weaver, M.D., a family practitioner who serves as chief of staff. "It would be easy for Brim to just take the money from operations to support their company. But they have chosen to make this hospital successful by serving the needs of the community and have thrown a lot of energy behind that. They care very deeply about it. With all the people Brim has brought to the table, the focus has been to make the patient care superb."
"Brim took a start-up and made it very successful and busy from the get-go, which is remarkable when you consider the established referral patterns here," Dr. Harris added. "The Brim people have been very accessible and easy to work with."
The company's expertise with capital expenditures has been invaluable to the project, according to Dr. Harris. "It's not just the ability to get capital, but knowing where to put it that matters," he said. "This is a really important part of what Brim does."
