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Page 10 — Health Care Properties Quarterly — January 2018
System Spotlight
A s Colorado expects to gain 3
million new residents between
now and 2050, Aurora-based
UCHealth is bringing board-
certified family and internal
medicine providers to communities
where growth is prompting the need
for more primary care physicians.
The strategy centers around the goals
of bringing high-quality care closer to
home. In the southeast metro Denver
community of Castle Rock, UCHealth
Castle Rock Medical Center already is
providing patients with primary care,
urgent care, occupational medicine
and physical therapy. In southwest
Denver, UCHealth Sterling Ranch Medi-
cal Center is being built – part of a new
residential master-planned community
in Douglas County to which more than
30,000 people are expected to move to
within the next 20 years.The medical
center, which also will offer primary
care, urgent care, occupational medi-
cine and physical therapy, is located
next to the community’s welcome
center and will offer Sterling Ranch
residents access to all the leading-edge
care associated with the UCHealth sys-
temwhen it opens later this year.
Also on the horizon is UCHealth
Highlands Ranch Hospital, set to open
in early 2019. Mortenson Construc-
tion is the general contractor on the
project. Located near Lucent Boulevard
and C-470, the full-
service hospital will
feature a Level III
NICU, cancer center,
advanced cardiac
services, women’s
services and an
intensive care unit.
It will offer patients
being seen at Castle
Rock and Sterling
Ranch medical cen-
ters – as well as at a
number of other pri-
mary care locations
nearby – access to advanced medicine
and clinical trials not offered anywhere
else along the Front Range.
And, right in the Cherry Creek
neighborhood of metro Denver,
UCHealth is building a specialty
care facility that will open in late
2019. UCHealth Cherry Creek Medi-
cal Center will offer services close
to home for patients already seeing
primary care and urgent care pro-
viders at nearby UCHealth Steele
Street Medical Center and else-
where.
In addition, the health system is
welcoming new providers either as
new hires or as independent prac-
tices choosing to join UCHealth.
Providers may be a part of UCHealth
Medical Group or the University of
Colorado School of Medicine faculty.
Since February, nine UCHealth pri-
mary care practices – with multiple
providers – have come on line or
are about to – and that’s just in the
Denver metro area alone. UCHealth
is investing in additional practice
opportunities in Greenwood Village,
Broomfield, Highlands Ranch, Park-
er and Littleton, to name a few.
Additional clinics have on-board-
ed and continue to do so in both
Southern and Northern Colorado.
The challenge is just keeping up
with the growth of neighborhoods.
“We know that it is difficult in vari-
ous areas for patients to find primary
care doctors and find practices that
are accepting new patients,” said
UCHealth University of Colorado Hos-
pital President and CEOWill Cook. “It
is important for UCHealth to bring
highly qualified primary care provid-
ers to these communities – specifically
inside the communities – where our
patients live, work and play. And our
electronic medical record system inte-
gration provides a seamless transition
of care when patients are referred to a
UCHealth specialist.”
• Why are primary care physicians
so crucial? “Routine visits with a
primary care doctor are the key to
maintaining your health,” said Dr.
Mihir Patel, a Castle Rock resident
and family medicine physician
who is caring for the community’s
patients at UCHealth Castle Rock
Medical Center.
“Through regular preventive care
screenings and physicals, we assist
patients in learning how to lead a
healthier life. We coordinate care
with specialists as needed, keep
an eye on all medications that a
patient might be using, and recom-
mend changes in diet or lifestyle to
promote longevity and wellness.”
Through UCHealth Integrated Net-
work, dozens of facilities and over
2,000 providers have come together
to advance the health of people
throughout Colorado.
“We focus on developing mod-
els of delivering care that better
the health of the entire patient
population while improving health
outcomes, patient experience, pro-
vider and staff satisfaction, and the
affordability of health care. This
allows our participating providers
to focus on putting their patients
first,” said Jean Haynes, UCHealth
chief population health officer.
The clinically integrated network
of providers and health care facili-
ties, which formed in 2016, aims to
improve care coordination among
its partners to manage costs and
improve the quality of care for
patients.
“Our mission and the mission of
population health really is to help
manage the health of our patients
so they are healthy – so they are
staying out of the hospital and
living extraordinary,” Cook said.
“Patients are excited that they don’t
have to drive hours and hours to
get to UCH for care we are now pro-
viding in their communities.”▲
Diane Cookson
President,
UCHealth
Highlands Ranch
Hospital
UCHealth Highlands Ranch will open in early 2019.
UCHealth also is building a specialty facility in Cherry Creek.
‘Our mission and the mission of
population health really is to help
manage the health of our patients
so they are healthy – so they are
staying out of the hospital and living
extraordinary.’
-Will Cook, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital