WESTMINSTER, Colo. — In just under two years of construction, Centura Health opened its new $177-million St. Anthony North Health Campus in Westminster, Colorado, on March 3. The 350,000-foot facility was conceived, designed and built with an emphasis on wellness, prevention and advanced medical care for residents of north metro Denver.
The new health campus is sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and is part of Centura Health. The new St. Anthony North Health Campus, located at 144th Avenue and Interstate 25, will provide 92 inpatient rooms, including a 20-room intensive care unit; inpatient and outpatient surgery; a 12-room birthing center; diagnostics and imaging and an emergency room that operates 24 hours a day. The facility will employ about 1,350 people.
The use of natural stone, woods, floor-to-ceiling windows and an aspen grove in the lobby atrium give the facility the look of a Colorado resort.
Centerpiece of a new approach
St. Anthony North Health Campus is a centerpiece of Centura Health’s new neighborhood health approach that aligns with larger trends of moving care outside of traditional hospital walls. Not only will the health campus offer inpatient and outpatient services in the same location, but also it is in close proximity to a network of connected neighborhood health centers.
One of the campus’ main features is the new Orchard Neighborhood Health Center, which is located within the hospital and home to more than 50 primary and specialty care medical practices. Those medical practitioners and their patients will have direct access to diagnostics, outpatient surgery, pharmacy and wellness classes. Providers will walk down a hall instead of driving across town to care for their patients at the hospital.
Nearby, Centura Health’s Dacono and Thornton Neighborhood Health Centers recently opened. These freestanding outpatient clinics are two of 11 that are or soon to open in the Centura Health network. These centers offer family medicine and women’s healthcare services, including routine physicals, immunizations, prenatal care and well-baby care.
Finally, St. Anthony North Hospital will remain open as the 84th Avenue Neighborhood Health Center. The center will continue operating a 24-hour ER and many outpatient services. The 84thAvenue Neighborhood Health Center also will offer several important new services, including a mental health crisis unit operated in partnership with Community Reach Center. Additionally, routine dental care will be available for Medicaid patients beginning October 2015.
Together, St. Anthony North Health Campus and its nearby Neighborhood Health Centers offer a network of convenient, affordable care for the residents of Westminster, Thornton, Broomfield, Brighton, Erie and Dacono.
A focus on convenience
The new health campus will offer a range of amenities that provide convenience and aid wellness. These include drop-in childcare for patients; an on-site pharmacy; private discharge elevators and exits for patients; a demonstration kitchen with classes on healthy cooking and a walking path and three gardens – community, healing and prayer. Patients can attend classes on diabetes prevention, goal setting and healthy weight and stress reduction, to name a few.
“We designed the health campus directly in response to community feedback,” said Peet. “When we began planning, the community told us they wanted a beautiful, relaxing environment with services to keep them healthy as well as to treat them when they are sick. When they think of health, they focus on wellness, convenience and outstanding service – and that is what we have provided.”
The St. Anthony North Health Campus project team included G.E. Johnson, contractor;Eric Taylor, landscape architect with studioINSITE and ESa Architects, architect.
Rendering source: GE Johnson Construction Company.
