SWEETWATER COUNTY – Castle Rock Hospital District and Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County have agreed in principle to enter into an affiliation agreement.  The affiliation agreement will further define the cooperation and shared services the two organizations intend to provide to the residents of Sweetwater County.  The Boards of Trustees of both institutions have jointly met three times to develop a structure for an affiliation agreement, according the Hospital Board Chair Artis Kalivas.

Castle Rock Chair Sandee Gunter says the affiliation agreement will provide a framework for more comprehensive health care services for Sweetwater County residents.

Presently, specialty physicians from Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, including surgeons, cancer, liver, and OBGYN doctors, are providing services at Castle Rock Medical Center for Green River and surrounding area residents.  Physicians from Castle Rock are using services of Memorial Hospital for additional training, in conjunction with the Hospital’s affiliation agreement with the University of Utah Hospital.   In addition, Memorial Hospital’s radiology team is now reading the x-rays and other studies done at Castle Rock.  The benefits to both institutions from the cooperative efforts have improved available health care resources for the County, according to Castle Rock’s incoming CEO, Bailie Dockter.

An affiliation agreement will allow the two institutions to expand the level of services offered to County residents.  Memorial Hospital CEO Jerry Klein says the affiliation agreement will enable both institutions to share electronic health record information, and increase the availability of physical therapy and other rehabilitation services.   The affiliation agreement will also open the door to additional joint training and education programs to benefit both institutions.

Interim Castle Rock CEO John Ferry emphasized that entering into an affiliation agreement does not change the ownership or individual integrity of Memorial Hospital’s or Castle Rock’s operations.  However, the affiliation agreement formalizes a partnership and working relationship that the Boards of Trustees and the CEO’s of both organizations have been striving to achieve.