New Lutheran Hospital Ready to Serve Jefferson County and Beyond

For anyone who has carried weights or used resistance bands in their workout routine, the experience is completely different once the burden is removed. Not only is it easier, lighter, and faster, but ideally, the muscles are strengthened as a result.

Intermountain Health staff members expect something similar to happen once they move into the new hospital near Interstate 70 and 32nd Avenue.

On July 20, Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital held an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony, as local officials, staff, patients and other supporters toured the new campus.

The hospital will officially open on August 3. The emergency room will open at 6 a.m. and patients will be transferred from the current campus later in the day.

Lutheran Medical Center, a Level II trauma center at 8300 38th Ave., has served Wheat Ridge and surrounding communities for more than 100 years. Because it was built over the years, the campus has many inefficiencies, officials said.

For example, the helipad is located away from the main building, patient rooms are not uniform in size, and it is difficult to get internet service due to the structure of the buildings.

Lutheran Hospital’s new campus at 13155 West 40th Ave., located within the Wheat Ridge city limits but adjacent to the unincorporated Applewood area of ​​Jefferson County, was designed with modern and upcoming technologies in mind.

Andrea Burch, president of Lutheran Hospital, said its layout and features were designed to maximize staff efficiency and improve patient experience and outcomes.

All patient rooms will be at least 340 square feet. The helipad is on the roof, from which patients can easily be transported to the emergency room. Burch added that because much of the design process took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials made sure Lutheran Hospital would meet the demands of the next pandemic.

Lutheran Hospital is also located in a more central location for patients, especially those in mountain communities. Its location is close to several major highways, including I-70, providing more convenient access for emergency responders and patients.

In total, the hospital will have 226 approved hospital beds spread over six floors, with the helipad located on the seventh floor.

“Our community needs this”

Dr. Kathy Crabtree, associate chief medical officer, has worked at Lutheran Medical Center for more than two decades, starting as an emergency room technician when she was 18. So she said leaving the current campus will be “bittersweet” because of the memories she’s made there.

She was, however, delighted to see the new hospital open, saying: “Our community needs it.”

Crabtree expected staff and patients to appreciate the spacious rooms, technology upgrades, state-of-the-art operating rooms and other features. Overall, she expected care to be more efficient and faster.

She added that Lutheran Medical Center already has a very low staff turnover rate, which she said translates into better patient care. So once it opens, Lutheran Hospital would reach new heights in that regard.

At the July 20 ribbon-cutting ceremony, Wheat Ridge Mayor Bud Starker said Lutheran Medical Center has been a vital part of the city for more than a century. He said community members have ideas for the current campus once it is decommissioned, describing how it could help address housing and other community needs.

As for Lutheran Hospital, Starker said the Wheat Ridge community is excited to begin a new chapter there on Aug. 3.

Burch said Lutheran Hospital would not have been possible without the collaboration of thousands of people, from Intermountain Health employees to local officials to community members. The project has been underway for five years, including three years of construction, and has cost about $680 million.

She thanked everyone for their continued support, saying: “You can’t achieve something like this alone.”

Click for additional photos from the July 20 event:

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