An agreement to form a strategic alliance between Valley Medical Center and UW Medicine is now in the hands of Valley’s commissioners.

The five commissioners will begin their review of the agreement starting at 4 p.m. Monday in their board room. Additional meetings are also scheduled – 7 p.m. Tuesday, 4 p.m. Wednesday and 4 p.m. Thursday; however, the last meetings will be canceled if the commissioners finish their review on Monday and Tuesday.

It’s possible commissioners could vote on proposed changes to the agreement, but a final vote is not scheduled during any of the four meetings.

The agreement also must be approved by the trustees of UW Medicine and the University of Washington regents. The deadline is May 31.

Since January, negotiators for Valley Medical and UW Medicine have been negotiating the agreement, about 50 pages long.

The meetings are designed as study sessions for commissioners to ask questions, with some chance for hospital staff and the public to ask questions, too.

The commissioners received a memo Wednesday from Sue Bowman, the board’s president, explaining the routine the meetings will follow. The first meeting is expected to last hours.

“What is most important is that the key participants in the process have the opportunity to focus upon what is of significance to them,” she wrote, including commissioners, the administration and the public.

She also wrote that the board will not discuss issues “that are not relevant to the potential Alliance or Alliance documents.” As an example, she wrote that Valley Medical doesn’t have any other proposal from UW Medicine or another organization.

She also expects some discussion on issues and questions commissioners have raised “during recent meetings and in their public statements regarding the advisability of the proposed strategic alliance.”

Bowman wrote it’s important for commissioners “to come to these meetings fully prepared to discuss the Strategic Alliance as the sole topic for this meeting after some preliminary routine business.”