UCH president to accept
church mission role
Dennis Brimhall, president and CEO of University of Colorado Hospital since
1988, announced that he will leave his position to serve and preside over
one of the world-wide missions in his church. His wife, Linda, will serve
with him.
Brimhall will leave the hospital in early June. An interim president will
be named shortly and a search for a new president will begin.
During
his 17 years as president, Brimhall has guided the hospital through several
significant transformations and challenges. From its reorganization in 1991
to the move to Fitzsimons and creation of a new campus, the hospital has experienced
several successful initiatives under Brimhall’s leadership.
“Dennis Brimhall has been a dedicated leader for University of Colorado
Hospital and the entire University of Colorado system,” said Dr. James
Shore, chancellor of UCD and chairman of the board of the University of
Colorado Hospital Authority. “His efforts have been an essential part
of the accomplishment of the Fitzsimons dream. I will miss his collaboration
and friendship.”
Historically, the hospital was a state institution. In the late 1980s, it
was losing about $6 million per year – funding that had to be made up
by the CU-Health Sciences Center. Legislation was introduced in 1989 to reorganize
University of Colorado Hospital into a private, non-profit corporation.
After a court challenge, the hospital was approved in 1991 as a body corporate
and political subdivision of the state, legally separate from the state and
the CU-Health Sciences Center, more in control of its destiny and financial
status. The hospital has improved financially since then under Brimhall’s
leadership. It now has an A3 credit rating from Moodys and has been able to
issue bonds to build new facilities at Fitzsimons.
The other crucial initiative that owes much to Brimhall’s vision is
the move to Fitzsimons. After the hospital’s attempts to expand at the
Ninth Ave. and Colorado Blvd. site met with resistance from neighborhood groups
and the city, Brimhall and others began to explore alternatives.
When the Fitzsimons site was put on the federal base closure list, the hospital
and CU-Health Sciences Center jointly proposed moving the entire campus to
Aurora. The hospital was the first to break ground at Fitzsimons in 1998.
Brimhall’s leadership brought about a number of Fitzsimons “firsts,”
including major gifts to the hospital, patient care and new services not found
at many other hospitals, as well as his diligence in negotiating a place for
a Veterans Affairs hospital on the new campus.
“We were given a tremendous opportunity to reinvent healthcare for generations
to come at the Fitzsimons campus, and we have seen that begin to happen,”
he said.
“Dennis has been a pillar of ingenuity and a visionary leader for the
University of Colorado Hospital,” said Betsy Hoffman, PhD, president
of the University of Colorado. “There are few university hospitals that
have the fiscal strength he has created through his extraordinary leadership.
It is this profitable engine that has enabled CU to build an entirely new
hospital in Colorado that will provide outstanding patient care for generations.
“Dennis was one of our biggest champions for Fitzsimons, and I commend
him for all his outstanding efforts, from fundraising to the design of the
patient-centered health care philosophy at the hospital. Dennis has a tremendous
opportunity to share his many talents for a cause very dear to him. I wish
him the very best. He will be greatly missed at the University.”
Brimhall emphasized the current successful position of the hospital and recognized
faculty and staff for the institution’s strong presence within the community.
“There may never be a good time to leave, but few times may be better
than now,” he said. “The hospital is financially sound, the staff
is outstanding and our board is terrific. We have talented faculty who operate
vital programs that are nationally recognized, and our volumes and market
share are growing.
“I will leave here with the utmost respect for leadership of the hospital,
of the Health Sciences Center and of the University,” Brimhall said.
“Dr. Shore’s leadership has been especially important for these
many years. He is a strong leader and a good friend.
“When I interviewed for this position 17 years ago, I told the search
committee that I was looking for a place where I could give the best years
of my life and really make a difference,” he added. “I could not
have chosen a better place.”
Brimhall has been active in leadership roles and unpaid ministry in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for many years. The new position is a
calling for three years and can be anywhere in the world. “This call
came to us suddenly, and we have responded willingly, as a matter of faith
and commitment,” Brimhall said.
The Brimhalls do not yet know where they will be serving. Dennis and Linda
Brimhall have four grown children and one grandchild.
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