Surgical Services of Colorado will benefit AVH

My tenure as Chief Executive Officer at Aspen Valley Hospital began in January. I came to the hospital from Wisconsin and had no preconceived notions about the hospital’s surgery services or the decision to contract with Surgical Services of Colorado. Considering the controversy and my experience that a variety of different physician-hospital relationship models can be instituted successfully, I made a decision to revisit the issue. I needed to become 100 percent comfortable with the process and the relationship with Surgical Services of Colorado.

After revisiting the capabilities of four other surgical groups — none of whom could deliver on identified needs in a timely fashion — it was my professional opinion (with 35 years in executive healthcare roles) that Surgical Services of Colorado would best be able to provide the services needed for our community and our patients. At that time, and to this day, I fully support the decision to contract with Surgical Services of Colorado.

---

---

I, the board, medical staff leadership, other members of the executive team, and Surgical Services of Colorado all intended for Dr. Bill Rodman to join the Surgical Services of Colorado group. To the extent possible and legal, I facilitated negotiations between the two. I personally met with Dr. Rodman at least a dozen times and am aware of changes to the contract that would have provided him with a deal that was comparable to other senior partners in the Surgical Services of Colorado group. For reasons that I can’t explain, Dr. Rodman chose not to sign the contract, knowing full well that the hospital would move forward with Surgical Services of Colorado and the provision of two surgeons from their group.

In the meantime, per their contract, Surgical Services of Colorado has been working diligently to identify two surgeons to relocate to Aspen and become a part of the hospital medical staff. The candidates we have seen so far are very impressive in training and experience. Once selected, we look forward to introducing them to the community.

---

---

Dan Bonk

CEO, Aspen Valley Hospital