Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge hosted several pre-opening celebrations as it approaches the Aug. 3 launch of its new 620,000-square-foot hospital.
The company held a reception on Thursday, July 18, for dignitaries, donors, health system leaders and hospital caregivers. On Saturday, July 20, Intermountain Lutheran President Andrea Burch joined Wheat Ridge Mayor Bud Starker and local chambers of commerce for a ribbon cutting at the hospital entrance. Following the ceremony, doors opened for guided tours of the labor and delivery unit, neonatal intensive care unit, emergency room and main lobby. Guests also enjoyed entertainment in the parking lot along with educational booths from various hospital departments and the Intermountain Health Medical Group.
The new hospital campus replaces the current Intermountain Lutheran Medical Center, located about three miles to the east. That hospital campus was originally founded in 1905 as a tuberculosis sanitorium. As the community of Wheat Ridge grew, a new hospital was built in 1961, with buildings added over the years.
“The truth is that even a renovation would not have brought us the same benefits as starting from scratch and building the hospital over,” Burch said at the Saturday event. Burch also noted the improved access to Lutheran, which currently has one of Colorado’s busiest emergency departments. The original campus, once surrounded by farmland, is now amid homes and businesses, with increased traffic. The new hospital, located off Interstate 70 and 40th Avenue, will provide easier access for emergency medical services transporting patients.
The new hospital will have 226 licensed beds, similar to the current number. Lutheran will maintain its Level II trauma designation and continue to be the only hospital in Jefferson County to deliver babies. Burch expressed particular pride in the hospital’s art project, stating that a committee chose over 600 pieces of art, nearly all created by residents of Wheat Ridge or from throughout Colorado.
The new hospital also features a helipad on its roof with direct access to trauma rooms, labor and delivery and stroke care. The design is more efficient, with procedural areas close together and the heart catheter lab near the emergency department. “This is better for patients and staff,” Burch said.