Hospices Consolidate

TRU Community Care (TRU) and Hospice of Northern Colorado (HNC) have agreed to consolidate the two not-for-profit organizations. The combination transaction is expected to close by mid-summer, with full integration occurring within the next 12 months. Each entity will operate under its existing name for the near future. The volunteer community boards of both organizations unanimously support the decision to combine. They believe the consolidation will enable both programs to offer an ongoing coordinated, comprehensive continuum of care for those dealing with progressive and terminal illness.

“Both TRU (founded as Boulder County Hospice in 1976) and HNC (founded as Weld County Hospice in 1978) are cherished nonprofit community assets,” said Mark Heyart, chair of HNC’s board of directors. TRU played an instrumental role in starting HNC. This consolidation represents, in many ways, coming full circle in our relationship to each other.” The original founder of HNC, Hope Cassidy, collaborated with key leaders of Boulder County Hospice when she began to champion the effort of bringing hospice care to Weld County.

David Hamm, chair of TRU’s board noted, “Change is a fundamental part of our landscape. By combining, we are ensuring that our respective service areas will have nonprofit hospice options for all community members.”

TRU and HNC have provided not-for-profit hospice care for over 37 years in their respective communities. They offer a continuum of palliative services including pre-hospice medical consults for people seeking pain and symptom management and help determining personal goals for care. Both organizations provide patient services over and above those reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. These services include community education on all topics related to death and dying and community bereavement support along with charity care to uninsured patients. Moving forward, both organizations are committed to preserving and continuing to work with established referral relationships throughout our service areas.

TRU and HNC will be effective partners because of shared and aligned missions. Each organization is committed to serving rural, urban and mountain communities in northern Colorado, meeting the needs of all patients and providing excellent, compassionate service. And, both organizations share common values of service excellence, compassionate care
and leadership with integrity. The combined organization will reflect those values. In addition, the consolidation will:

• Strengthen our local presence in Boulder, Broomfield, Adams, Weld, Larimer and Morgan Counties.
• Ensure a long, sustainable legacy within our respective communities. Both of our organizations need the scale and efficiencies that a consolidation will foster in order to be a sustainable community asset.
• Enhance our operations as committed employers. Our goal is to protect both our nonprofit organizations and our employees. We are committed to doing what it takes to build a lasting organization.
• Furthermore, all health care providers are experiencing increased regulation and decreased reimbursement. By combining operations, the new organization will capitalize on shared expertise and economies of scale to proactively address these challenges.

TRU’s and HNC’s agreement to combine follows an extensive fact-finding due diligence process in which each organization and its advisors confirmed responsible fiscal and clinical management of the other. Leadership from both organizations is now developing an integration plan that should be fully implemented in 12 months. The organizations will continue operating out of the Greeley administrative location at 2726 West 11th Street Road and inpatient hospice facility at North Colorado Medical Center, 180116th Street, 5th Floor and at TRU Community Care’s administrative location in Lafayette at 2594 Trailridge Drive East and inpatient hospice facility in Louisville at 1855 Plaza Drive.

The two Boards will integrate and both leaders will remain with the combined organization. In addition, we are creating community advisory boards to maintain maximum connection to those we serve and those who support us. TRU and HNC are committed to keeping and using philanthropic support directly in the community from which it comes. “As nonprofit hospices, we have been and will continue to be guided by common missions and see ourselves as community investments that produce access to end of life care, commented Cindi Werner, Director of Operations at HNC. Knowing that nonprofits today are emerging to meet increasingly complex medical, social and cultural needs, we believe that the combination of forces provides a positive scenario for addressing many of these issues. Our strength lies is in our commitment to serve as change agents during the changing tides of healthcare.” “I couldn’t agree more,” said Darla Schueth, President and CEO at TRU. “I look forward to working with Cindi and our combined board in continuing to provide excellence in end-of-life care to our communities.”