Longmont, Colo. (Oct. 8, 2020) – Just after passing its third anniversary, UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital officials are excited to move forward on three projects that will expand services on the campus.
“The vision of this hospital has always been to meet the needs of our community today and for the future,” said Longs Peak Hospital President Lonnie Cramer. “With the three projects we now have underway, we will be able to offer more specialty care to the community closer to home.”
Two of the projects will boost the hospital’s capacity to care for critically ill and injured patients at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital. This includes an expansion to the intensive care unit and the addition of a second trauma bay in the emergency department.
Six new patient rooms will double the size of the ICU. Using shelled space that was designed and reserved for future growth, the unit will feature 12 rooms total once the project is complete in early 2021.
The ICU is where specially trained staff care for the sickest patients in the hospital. Many of these patients have had strokes, heart attacks or serious respiratory problems. Others have been injured in car crashes or severe falls. All of the ICU rooms at Longs Peak are equipped with advanced virtual ICU technology, an extra layer of safety where patient conditions and vitals are continuously monitored for improved outcomes. In recent months, ICU staff have cared for many patients who were critically ill with COVID-19, and at times, every ICU room was occupied.
“These are the patients who needed specialized care that only an ICU can provide. Our team of specialists delivered exceptional care to these patients during unprecedented times and saved many lives here. With additional rooms, we’ll be able to care for even more patients with complex conditions right here, close to home,” Cramer said.
A second trauma room will increase the hospital’s capacity to care for patients who need advanced, critical and trauma care immediately. Many of these patients are suffering from traumatic injuries, strokes, heart attacks, sepsis or other critical illnesses.
And as a designated Level III trauma center, more people have been seeking emergency care at Longs Peak Hospital every year. The number of emergency department visits has nearly doubled in the past three years – going from 11,137 patient visits in fiscal year 2018 to 21,591 in fiscal year 2020.
“As more patients and partners in the community have seen the high quality of care that we are offering at Longs Peak in some of the most critical and complex situations, our volume has continued to grow,” said Dr. Devin Rickett, medical director of the emergency department at Longs Peak. “This expansion will enable us to offer that exceptional care to even more patients and to save more lives in the future.”
The two hospital expansion projects are the latest in a series of projects on the Longs Peak Campus.
Construction on a 100,000-square-foot medical office building to the east of the hospital and surgery center is already underway and is expected to be completed in 2022. The four-floor building that will be named the UCHealth Longs Peak Medical Center, will house a number of outpatient clinics offering specialty care ranging from pulmonary, sleep medicine and women’s care to general surgery and cardiology. Many of these services are currently provided on the third floor of the hospital, which will free up patient bed areas to expand care in the hospital in the future if needed.
“Many of our physicians have been caring for patients in the Longmont and Carbon Valley area for many years,” said Dr. Mark Schane, a longtime pediatrician at UCHealth Longmont Clinic and the chief medical officer of Longs Peak Hospital. “This new medical office building is an extension of that tradition of comprehensive care that our patients and their families have relied upon for years and a way we can continue to meet the needs of our growing community for years to come.”
UCHealth Longs Peak Campus Projects Underway
- Intensive Care Unit: Addition of six rooms will double the unit. Approximately 4,600 square feet. Completion slated for early 2021.
- Trauma Bay: Addition of second trauma bay to emergency department at the hospital. Completion slated for early 2021.
- Longs Peak Medical Center: A four-floor medical office building that will house outpatient services. Approximately 100,000 square feet. Completion slated for 2022.