Using a multitude of sports terms, members of the Colorado Springs City Council described in glowing terms the proposed lease of Memorial Hospital to University of Colorado Health during an Aug. 2 community forum sponsored by UCCS.
The executive board of the UCCS Alumni and Friends Association sponsored the Berger Hall event that brought together council members, city legal staff, business leaders, Mayor Steve Bach, UCCS leaders and a representative of the CU School of Medicine to explain the ballot initiative and benefits to UCCS.
Colorado Springs voters will receive mail-in ballots in the next two weeks asking permission to lease city-owned Memorial Hospital to UCH for 45 years. Ballots must be returned by Aug. 28 to be counted.
In contrast to some previous elections, the ballot language is simple, reading “Shall the City of Colorado Springs be authorized to lease the Memorial Health System to the University of Colorado Health system?”
Sports Metaphors Abound
“Home run, touch down, Score!” Jan Martin, member, Colorado Springs City Council, said when describing the proposed lease arrangement at the forum.
Martin served on a task force that studied various proposals to lease Memorial Hospital. The task force, and later the full city council, recommended UCH as the best option for Colorado Springs. Another council member, Merv Bennett, said he supported the proposed lease arrangement but that the vote was bigger than Colorado Springs.
“All of southern Colorado is a winner,” Bennett said. “That’s why this lease is a grand slam.”
Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak took personal leave time in compliance with the Colorado Fair Campaigns Practices Act to remind the more than 150 community members who attended the forum that Colorado Springs has some experience in merging programs with the university. In 1997, Colorado Springs voters agreed to merge the Beth-El College of Nursing, a part of Memorial Hospital, with UCCS.
“At that time, UCCS pledged to double the number of nursing graduates in a decade,” Shockley-Zalabak said. “We surpassed that goal and are committed to providing affordable, accessible education to benefit the citizens of this region.”
Shockley-Zalabak focused her remarks on the potential benefits to UCCS if voters approve the Memorial Hospital lease. The potential for expanded research opportunities in health and wellness, sports, aging, and biomedical sciences exists. Additionally, the lease agreement calls for a branch campus of the CU School of Medicine to be established at UCCS. If voters approve, a portion of the soon-to-be-under construction Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences on North Nevada will be used by the CU School of Medicine as an administrative home for the placement of third and fourth year medical students into clinical rotations in Colorado Springs.
Amy Collins Davis, director of finance for undergraduate medical education, CU Denver, said there are about 5,000 applications for 160 openings at the CU School of Medicine annually. The Memorial Hospital lease provides the opportunity to expand medical education without relying on state funds. Collins Davis also cited recent high rankings of the School of Medicine and UCH as reasons to support the lease agreement.
Additional Resources
For additional information about the ballot, visit
Let’s have a look at that …, a cover story in the Colorado Springs Independent
Memorial lease deal: What to know before you vote, a story in the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Alumni Sponsors
The event was sponsored by the UCCS Alumni Executive Board. Its members include
- Caron Alllen, School of Public Affairs, 2005
- Tom Baranowski, College of Business, 1981
- Laura Chandler, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, 1995
- Brad Cuppy, College of Engineering and Applied Science, 2002
- Maria Lampman, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, 2008
- Kim Ostrander, School of Public Affairs, 2011
- Eric Peitz, College of Business, 1977
- Fred Slane, College of Business, 2008
- Amy Sullivan, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, 2005
- Bryan VanSickle, College of Business, 1995
- Stu Woods, College of Business, 1989
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