Our new Lutheran Medical Center
Currently under construction at I-70 and 40th Avenue
Introducing our new location
SCL Health Lutheran Medical Center has served the Wheat Ridge and surrounding communities for more than 100 years. It has evolved from humble beginnings as a tuberculosis sanitarium into one of the best hospitals in the country, including its new Level II trauma designation. Careful analysis of the community's future healthcare needs shows demand for a more flexible and patient-centered hospital that delivers high-quality, advanced care more efficiently.
Maximizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity, residents have asked SCL Health to build the "hospital of the future" in Wheat Ridge. SCL Health's board of directors has approved a Lutheran Medical Center replacement at the Clear Creek Crossing development on a 26-acre parcel at I-70 and 40th Avenue, approximately 3.5 miles from the existing campus.
SCL Health leadership did a thorough cost-benefit review. It determined it made the most sense to construct a new replacement hospital rather than attempt to stay on its current campus and modernize all of the existing medical center's facilities.
The new SCL Health Lutheran Medical Center (replacement) hospital will:
- Expand access to emergency and critical care for families up and down the Jefferson County and West Denver suburbs, with easy and quick access from I-70, Hwy. 93, and U.S. 6/Sixth Avenue.
- Elevate health care in the region with a well-designed, efficient, and flexible facility designed with the patient and staff top of mind. All rooms will have the ability to be converted to ICU standards if needed.
- Provide new and distinct particular areas in the hospital to find respite - including a beautiful new atrium where patients and caregivers can find peace.
- Be one of the most energy-efficient facilities in the region.
- Be the most staff-efficient facility in the region. We've looked at workplace efficiencies with a decentralized design so nurses are closer to the bedside. Each unit is also designed with a focus on keeping volume and noises down. These 16-bed units have distributed nursing stations - focused on keeping volume and noises down. Each unit has four beds.
- Provide more comfort for patients and families, with all rooms being more significant and brighter with floor-to-ceiling glass, making for more natural light in the room.
- Help drive economic growth in Jefferson County and West Denver, employing 2,000 people in well-paying jobs and contributing more than $1.1 billion in annual local economic impact. Lutheran remains Wheat Ridge's largest employer.
The move to the I-70 corridor will expand access to life-saving emergency care in the areas of:
- Trauma
- Stroke
- Heart Attack
- Neurosurgery
- Interventional neurology
- Neuroscience critical care
Serving our community
Our new location working to meet the needs of our ever changing community
Emergency
The move to the I-70 corridor will expand access to life-saving emergency care in:
- Trauma: our Level II trauma center
- Stroke Center: one of Colorado’s newest comprehensive stroke centers
- Heart attack: our speed in getting a patient from arrival to expert care beats the national average
- Neurosurgery: 24/7 surgical care for traumatic brain injuries and brain tumors using the most advanced equipment
- Interventional neurology: expertise in diagnosing and treating brain aneurysm, thrombosis and epilepsy
- Neuroscience Critical Care Unit: one of the only dedicated units to care for patients with the most serious neurology needs
Maternity
Lutheran Medical Center is the only maternity hospital serving Jefferson County and West Denver neighborhoods, and the move will expand access to:
- Neonatal care: advanced Level III NICU on site to care for the smallest and sickest of newborns
- Support for new mothers: international recognition as a designated Baby Friendly hospital and preparing for the whole family through education and support programs for first-time parents, siblings and the entire family
- Personalized birth experiences: all-private birthing suites with hotel-like amenities
Heart and vascular
Lutheran’s Heart and Vascular Institute will be enhanced and able to support patients by continuing to offer:
- Emergency heart and vascular care: recognized excellence as an accredited chest pain center for heart attack and stroke care and recovery, achieving better outcomes and saving lives
- Management of heart disease: specialized care for heart rhythm issues, heart disease, and heart valve disorders
- Healthy heart care: whole-person care to manage high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, addiction, and other illnesses that can damage the heart
- Cardiac rehabilitation: providing education, monitored exercise, medication management and nutrition counseling
Cancer
Jefferson County’s most comprehensive oncology care will be enhanced by continuing to offer excellence in:
- Surgical oncology
- Comprehensive Breast Center
- Lung Cancer Screening and Treatment
- Neuro Oncology Program Clinical trials
SCL Health Lutheran Medical Center Construction Timelapse
Watch our progress
We're working to build a new hospital with the help of our local businesses, contractors, and partners. Watch videos and see images of the construction of our new Lutheran Medical Center.
Our legacy campus
SCL Health Lutheran Medical Center will stop acute hospital operations at its current site once the replacement facility is open. SCL Health will maintain its hospice program at the existing campus; the majority of the rest of the land will likely be redeveloped.
SCL Health and the City of Wheat Ridge partnered with a consultant to undertake a master planning process earlier this year to ensure a well-defined, coordinated redevelopment strategy.
After extensive community input and public meetings, final approval was given in October for the Lutheran Legacy Campus master plan. The master plan was designed with flexibility, to help to establish a long-range vision for the site, and it will guide how the property can be reused in the future.