UCHealth Greeley Hospital expands to meet growing health care needs

Additional capacity will help patients access care close to home.
By:
March 22, 2023
Two nurses walk down the hospital hallway
UCHealth nurses Brittany Frantz and Rashawn Brewington walk through the new progressive care unit at Greeley Hospital on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. Photos by Kelly Tracer, UCHealth.

Almost four years after the opening of UCHealth Greeley Hospital, leaders and staff celebrated the opening of an expansion project that created a 12-bed progressive care unit and a 20-bed acute care unit on the fourth floor.

About the expansion

The yearlong project increases the hospital’s original inpatient bed capacity by almost 70 percent, growing from 51 beds to 87 beds.

The project also includes two intensive care unit beds added during the pandemic as well as an expansion to the cafeteria, two additional labor, recovery and postpartum beds and a second trauma room in the emergency department that opened late last year.

“More and more patients are choosing to receive their care here every day,” said hospital president Marilyn Schock. “This will enable us to care for even more patients right here, close to home.”

UCHealth built Greeley Hospital (GH) to bring its high quality inpatient care closer to the many Greeley and Weld County patients who were previously receiving care at the system’s Loveland and Fort Collins hospitals. The hospital was designed to easily accommodate growth when needed with little disruption to daily operations. This included a shelled fourth-floor, where the new units were built.

UCHealth Greeley Hospital opened two new inpatient units, a progressive care unit and and acute care unit.

Growing needs

Since the hospital opened on July 3, 2019, it has been very busy and operating near or at full capacity every day, Schock said.

  • In its first year, GH cared for 4,428 inpatients. That number is expected to reach just over 5,300 by the end of June 2023.
  • Surgeries performed at GH have about doubled, from 1,544 in the first year to 3,175 expected by the end of June 2023.
  • The emergency department now sees an average of 100 patients per day, up from 60 per day when the hospital first opened.
UCHealth nurses Andrea Tovanche, left, and Arlett Montalvo work together at the nurses station on one of the new inpatient units at Greeley Hospital.

‘You are the blessing’

At a pre-opening gathering of hospital leaders and staff on March 21 in the new space, chaplain Ryan Wooley invited everyone to reflect upon the many lives they have touched and will touch.

“Every time you walk on this floor, every time you come into this building, know that you are the blessing that comes here. You are the blessing that interacts with every single patient, with every single loved one and family member, and you are the blessing that makes the impact here,” he said.

Suzie Schwery, the manager of rehabilitative services at Greeley Hospital, orientates physical therapist Laura Byrd on one of the new units before the official opening.
UCHealth Greeley Hospital

About the author

Kelly Tracer is a media relations specialist at UCHealth, based in northern Colorado. For nearly 20 years, she worked as a newspaper reporter, editor and designer before diving into the world of health care communications.

She believes there is an amazing story inside everyone and considers it an honor to get to meet and work with so many extraordinary people – patients, families, providers, volunteers and staff – every day. She is also fascinated by health care innovation and programs that empower and inspire people and families to live healthier lives.

A native of Nebraska, Kelly received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She and her husband have two children and enjoy paddle boarding all summer and skiing all winter.