Patients and employees of the Longmont Clinic should notice few changes if a deal for Aurora-based University of Colorado Health to purchase Longmont Clinic goes through.
The clinic signed a letter of intent this week and is working with UCHealth to negotiate the terms of the sale, which is expected to be complete by the end of the year, UCHealth spokesman Dan Weaver said.
The UCHealth system is made up of five hospitals and dozens of clinics, including a Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery center in Longmont and the University of Colorado’s Sports Medicine, an eye care center and a physical therapy center in Boulder.
Details of the agreement are not being released, Weaver said.
Longmont United Hospital was in talks to purchase the clinic but the hospital suspended the talks earlier this month, said Longmont Clinic administrator Jack Campbell.
The goal is to create as little disruption for Longmont Clinic patients, physicians and employees as possible if the sale is finalized, Weaver said.
Most clinic physicians and nurses will continue to work at the clinic as employees of Colorado Health Medical Group and clinic staff will remain as employees of CUHealth, Weaver said.
“When you get a check, you may notice that the color is different and it’s signed by someone else but that’s about it,” Campbell said.
Many of the changes following the partnership will be behind the scenes, making daily appointments, referrals and general care more efficient.
UCHealth’s digital medical records would make it easier for Longmont Clinic physicians and staff to access notes and information from other partner facilities in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, said UCHealth CEO Dan Robinson.
Sharing information and expertise with physicians across the network will be one of the biggest perks to joining a system like UCHealth, Campbell said.
“For the average patient that walks through the door, they’re not going to notice much of a significant change anytime soon,” Campbell said. “The intent is not to disrupt the patient care side or the employee side. It’s to enhance care as we move forward.”
Whitney Bryen: 303-684-5274, wbryen@times-call.com
