Exempla Healthcare Unveils Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center
LAFAYETTE, Colo., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Exempla Healthcare will unveil its newest hospital, Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, during a public open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 21. Public tours, food, exhibits and entertainment will greet visitors of Lafayette's first and eagerly awaited full-service hospital, located at 200 Exempla Circle.
"We have received an outpouring of community support and excitement for the new hospital," said Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center's President and Chief Executive Officer, David Hamm. "The campus -- including the new hospital and two medical office buildings -- was designed specifically for, and with the input from, patients and their families to foster healing and health of this community."
The 172-licensed bed, full-service hospital, located on 77 acres just north of Denver on Highway 287, offers surgical services, obstetrics, cardiovascular services, orthopedics, pediatrics and a 24-hour emergency department with urgent care. The philosophy of healing has been incorporated into the selection of the staff, campus architecture, layout and design, with patient and family amenities, easy access to physician's offices and park-like landscaping.
"Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center will continue the legacy of healing established by its sister hospitals, Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital and Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, two of the oldest and most respected hospitals in Colorado," said Jeffrey D. Selberg, president and chief executive officer of Exempla Healthcare. "Our newest hospital combines the best of both of these hospitals and continues Exempla Healthcare's tradition of care, quality and concern for the communities we serve."
Meeting Northwest Metro Healthcare Demands
Exempla Healthcare selected the location northwest of Denver to meet the healthcare needs of the fast-growing population in Boulder County and the northwest corridor. The Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority predicts 177,000 new jobs will be created in the corridor between I-25 and US Highway 36, generating 110,000 new households by the year 2020. The hospital expects to draw patients from Lafayette, Louisville, Broomfield, Erie, Westminster and east Boulder County.
"More than half of these residents currently have to drive south of Interstate 70 for inpatient services," said Hamm. "Our location will enable our neighbors to receive all their medical care at a regional hospital located closer to home."
Local municipal officials believe Exempla Good Samaritan's presence in the northern community will serve area residents well.
"The opening of Exempla Good Samaritan is a unique and exciting event in Lafayette, and one that is going to make a huge difference in our town," said Chris Berry, mayor of Lafayette. "From the beautiful, state-of-the-art facilities, to the positive impact this will have on our economy, Exempla Good Samaritan's opening is a great benefit for the entire Lafayette community."
Gary Klaphake, Lafayette city administrator, concurs. "The opening of Exempla Good Samaritan will provide the most outstanding, top-of-the-line medical services to our community. It also will provide jobs, payroll and a huge economic stimulus to the area."
Revolutionary Technology
The facility will offer some of the most technologically advanced features being used in medicine today to support its goals of being one of the safest hospitals in the country. Exempla Good Samaritan is the second hospital in the country to implement Epic, an electronic patient record system that automates the clinical team and serves as the foundation to be Colorado's first "paperless" hospital. The electronic support system will allow physician order entry, bar-coded bracelets that indicate a patient's medicine regiment and a computerized warning system that cautions staff about adverse medical interactions.
"Our use of 'evidence-based medicine' will provide our clinicians with established guidelines for treating diseases and injuries using 'best practices' to reduce human error," said Dr. Steve Lowenthal, vice president and chief medical officer. "Our ultimate commitment is to provide the best care possible and improve patient outcomes."
Healing Environment
Two medical office buildings are attached to the hospital. The Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center Community Physicians Pavilion for community physicians and the Kaiser Permanente Rock Creek Medical Offices provide convenient access to the patient for outpatient and inpatient visits, and for the physicians and their staffs.
The hospital is supported by an environment designed to facilitate a healing sanctuary for patients, featuring all-private patient rooms, most with mountain views, landscaping that includes a healing garden reflecting the agricultural heritage of the area, water features and 900 new trees. An ecumenical chapel will provide an environment for prayer and meditation. Colorado artists created all of the original art in the hospital.
Exempla Good Samaritan will offer patients the choice of "integrated care" to augment traditional medical care. Integrated care combines traditional Western medicine with other "holistic" forms of therapy to promote health and healing. Patients will be provided a list of services including massage therapy, acupuncture and pet therapy, to name a few. Physicians will order the therapies that they and their patients feel will enhance healing and make the patients' stay more comfortable. Additionally, Exempla Good Samaritan hired a nationally recognized, Boulder-based composer to create original music that will be played in waiting areas and staff areas. The hospital will serve as a national research site to look at how sound and music affects the work environment.
Staffing
Scheduled to begin caring for patients on December 1, 2004, Exempla Good Samaritan will become Lafayette's largest employer.
"Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center will positively impact the economic vitality of Lafayette because the employees there will support our businesses, thus increasing our sales tax base and allowing us to provide more services to our residents," said Vicki Trumbo, executive director of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce. "This facility helps Lafayette become a full-service community."
The hospital has generated significant interest from prospective employees, receiving more than 20,000 job applications for its staff of 800. The medical staff is comprised of 900 private-practice physicians from six counties in the north-metro area and Kaiser Permanente physicians.
"We recruited an amazingly talented staff," Dr. Lowenthal said. "Our recruitment has not been effected by the worker shortages in the healthcare industry, the hospital is fully staffed."
Volunteers
The hospital also will open with a team of 100 volunteers ranging in age from 14 to 81 who proactively contacted the hospital to offer their services.
"There has been a tremendous amount of support from this community for this hospital," said Lori Geres, director of Volunteer Services. "Our committed staff and volunteers will help us fulfill our commitment to truly being Good Samaritans. They will do everything possible to make patients and families comfortable and cared for, with the ultimate goal of fostering health and healing."
Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center is owned and managed by Exempla Healthcare, a not-for-profit, community-based health care system that manages two of Denver, Colorado's most respected hospitals, Exempla Lutheran Medical Center and Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital. Exempla is sponsored by the LMC Community Foundation and the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, and is dedicated to fostering healing and health to the people and communities it serves.
PUBLIC GRAND OPENING EVENT INFORMATION
The community is invited to meet the staff and tour the new hospital at a grand-opening celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 21 at 200 Exempla Circle. Free parking is provided near the main entrance on the east side of the campus and in the south parking lot. For more information, call 303-689-4000.
Exempla Good SamaritanCONTACT: Chuck Montera, +1-303-778-8355, chuck@siglerinc.com, forExempla Good Samaritan