WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — After 64 years at its current location, Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge will officially move into a brand new building in August. The new Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital will incorporate new technology and designs to better serve patients.
Lutheran Hospital President Andrea Burch said, while the new facility is smaller than the old one, it’s more efficient.
“What you'll see is that our nurses’ stations are centralized to where the patients are, they're not going to be located far away or down distant hallways,” Burch explained.
Burch said hundreds of of front-line caregivers and providers were involved in the building design and layout.
Plans for the new hospital began in 2014, as leaders realized the old Lutheran location would need an extensive renovation to keep up with new technology and community needs. The hospital’s ownership — SCL at the time — was able to purchase land in the Clear Creek development near Interstate 70 and W 40th Ave.
Burch said Lutheran has one of the busiest emergency rooms in the state and access has become a challenge as the community grew around the old hospital location.
The helipad on top of the new hospital will allow for airlifted patients to be quickly transported into the emergency room, operating room or labor and delivery room. There are 11 labor and delivery rooms at Jefferson County’s only labor and delivery hospital.
Educating the community about the change has been critical. When the new Lutheran Hospital opens Aug. 3, all patients will be moved from the old location to the new location in one day. The emergency room at the old location will close at 6:00 am — right as the new emergency room opens.
The community is invited to tour the new Lutheran Hospital Saturday, July 20 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
