DENVER, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Metro Denver’s largest healthcare provider HCA-HealthONE LLC announced today it has approved more than $250 million to improve patient access and capacity at three hospitals. The quarter-billion-dollar projects are far-reaching, from downtown Denver to the fast-growing suburbs in the southwest and east -- and they mark the second in a three-phase capital investment plan to ensure HealthONE remains at the leading edge in patient safety, quality care and state-of-the-art technologies.
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In downtown Denver, plans include expanding Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center to bring existing and new pediatric services together under a new HealthONE Children’s Hospital at P/SL; consolidate and expand adult services within the current medical center; and provide new medical office space for physicians.
Additionally, at Swedish Medical Center and The Medical Center of Aurora, new projects will enhance space for state-of-the-art technologies and more comprehensive services to meet patient demand and physician needs -- while also providing the most modern private patient rooms.
“More than five years ago, HealthONE embarked on a farsighted plan to meet the growing needs of our communities and embrace the changes that healthcare would bring in the 21st Century,” said Jeff Dorsey, President and CEO of HealthONE and HCA Continental Division. “That included adding capacity where population is growing; ensuring that we have the latest technologies to keep us in the forefront of patient safety, medical care and research; and continually modernizing hospitals that have been in this community from 30 to 125 years.”
First Phase
Phase one of the strategy -- entailing more than $500 million in projects and new equipment from 2000 to 2005 -- included building Douglas County’s first hospital, Sky Ridge Medical Center; adding six ambulatory surgical centers to the system; expanding Rose Medical Center to accommodate increasing demand for services as other hospitals leave Denver; and building Swedish Southwest ER to provide southwest Jefferson County its first nearby access to emergency care, among other projects.
HealthONE also became first in the region to implement system-wide new technologies such as an electronic barcoding system to track and verify patient medications and create an electronic record to enhance patient safety; and a system-wide digital picture archiving system so doctors can review radiology images from their homes and offices. Other technologies added include a Gamma Knife at Swedish Medical Center and a new cardiac cath lab at North Suburban Medical Center.
Newest Projects
This second phase -- announced today -- will enhance patient care areas where HealthONE hospitals provide some of the most highly-sought specialized services: pediatric treatments and surgeries; one of the state’s largest cardiovascular centers; and patient care areas within a Level I Trauma hospital.
“What’s next? Once these projects get under way, our third phase will focus on providing new and needed services to the north, around North Suburban Medical Center, as well as the rapidly expanding southeast,” Dorsey said.
The new projects announced today are: * $84 million to upgrade four floors and construct two new units at Swedish Medical Center to complement the 2003 expansion of surgical services; convert to private patient rooms and other amenities; remodel and expand the neonatal intensive care unit; redesign the Emergency Department/Level I Trauma Center; and renovate the south parking garage. * $60 million to add a new, 140,000 square-foot tower to The Medical Center of Aurora to house private rooms, an expanded intensive care unit, and dedicated space for an enhanced Cardiovascular Center of Excellence to accommodate growing needs of the Baby Boomer population; additionally, work will be done to convert virtually all other patient areas to private rooms, build a new parking lot, and create a new front entrance to the hospital with a pedestrian plaza. * $111 million at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center includes creating a dedicated HealthONE Children’s Hospital at P/SL, renovating adult service areas within the existing hospital to expand high-demand services such as cancer care and the bone marrow transplant unit; and building a 120,000-square-foot medical office building. The HealthONE Children’s Hospital at P/SL will entail renovating existing areas and adding 100,000 square feet for a 54-bed pediatric center, pediatric intensive care unit, pediatric operating rooms, pediatric emergency department and pediatric diagnostic imaging area.
“Our mission is to do the right thing for our communities. These projects underscore the commitment HealthONE has always had to the people of Denver and the metro area,” said Charles Ferguson, Chairman of the HealthONE Board of Governors. “It’s a great way to mark the 10th anniversary of the successful joint venture between the nonprofit HealthONE Alliance and HCA to operate metro Denver’s finest hospitals.
“HealthONE has gone beyond expectations. In our first decade, we poured more than $775 million back into our hospitals and outpatient facilities; these latest projects will bring us over the $1 billion mark,” Ferguson added. “At the same time, HealthONE has consistently contributed to the community: in 2004 alone we provided more than $212 million in uncompensated medical care to the poor and under-insured; more than $5.7 million in charitable and in-kind donations; and paid $14.7 million in state and local taxes.”
HealthONE is the largest healthcare system in the metro Denver area with 8,700 employees and 3,000 affiliated physicians. Recently named Colorado’s “Best Company for Working Families -- large business category,” the health system was created in 1995 as a 50/50 joint venture between various affiliates of HCA and HealthONE Alliance, a Colorado nonprofit organization.
HealthONE includes: The Medical Center of Aurora and Centennial Medical Plaza; North Suburban Medical Center; Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center; Rose Medical Center; Sky Ridge Medical Center; Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital; Swedish Medical Center; nine surgical centers; more than 35 occupational medicine/rehabilitation, Broncos Sports Medicine, specialty, and outpatient diagnostic imaging clinics; and AIRLIFE, which provides critical care air and ground transportation for the HealthONE system.
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CONTACT: Linda Kanamine, VP Public Affairs of HealthONE, +1-303-788-2525
