Maintaining Healthy Community Roots

Healthcare facilities are essential to communities and are embedded into their very fabric. The new Intermountain Health Lutheran Medical Center Replacement Hospital in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, exemplifies this by replacing an outdated facility and marking the merger of the local SCL Health system with the larger Intermountain Health network. This new hospital draws inspiration from the local environment, creating a healing space that honors the region’s history while offering advanced medical services. 

In a new article, HDR's Andrew Schwabe and Cherie Dice discuss how they integrated modern design principles to enhance patient care and operational efficiency. The project exemplifies a collaborative approach, utilizing an integrated project delivery model that fosters teamwork among diverse stakeholders. This method not only enhances communication but also ensures that a variety of perspectives shape the final design. They discuss how the approach helped the project team overcome challenges it faced during its development, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlight the importance of community engagement and trust-building in healthcare design.

Read the full article, "A New Era for Lutheran Hospital," in the September issue of Colorado Real Estate Journal.