University of Colorado Health is working to expand its reach into Wyoming by negotiating a management agreement with Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie.

University of Colorado Health is the entity created earlier this year by a joint operating agreement between University of Colorado Hospital in Denver and Poudre Valley Health System.

Ivinson has been searching for a partner to help bring leading-edge care to patients and feels that UCHealth is the best fit, according to a release.

Patients, doctors and staff at Ivinson should be as excited about this potential management agreement as I am," said Carol Dozier, Ivinson CEO. "This relationship will bring important opportunities to further elevate health care in our community."

The Ivinson board of trustees decided last week to proceed with negotiations with UCHealth. Ivinson would pay UCHealth a management fee and the management team would become employees of UCHealth.

UCHealth is also working to lease Memorial Health System in Colorado Springs. A special election will be held Aug. 28 for voters to decide the fate of the city-owned hospital.

The two deals are different in that UCHealth will lease all of Memorial, for $1.79 billion over the course of 40 years, rather than being paid a fee to manage the hospital. Ivinson will retain responsibility over its own finances.

There is no specific timeline for when the agreement might be finalized.

The 99-bed Ivinson provides emergency and general medical and surgical care for patients in Southern Wyoming. Ivinson and UCHealth already collaborate on different services such as cardiovascular and trauma.