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 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 Intermountain Health to build the "hospital of the future" in Wheat Ridge. Our board of directors approved a Lutheran Medical Center replacement hospital 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.

The new Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital will:

• Expand access to emergency and critical care for families in Jefferson County and the 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. Most rooms will have the ability to be converted to ICU standards if needed.
• Provide new and distinct 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 looked at workplace efficiencies with a decentralized design so nurses are closer to the bedside. These 16-bed units were designed with have distributed nursing stations - focused on keeping volume and noises down.
• Provide more comfort for patients and families, with all rooms being more significant and brighter with floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing for more natural light in the room.

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

Lutheran Medical Center will stop acute hospital operations at its current site once the replacement facility is open. Intermountain Health will maintain its hospice program at the existing campus; the majority of the rest of the land will likely be redeveloped.

Intermountain Health and the City of Wheat Ridge partnered with a consultant to complete a master plan in 2021 to ensure a well-defined, coordinated redevelopment strategy.

After extensive community input and public meetings, final approval was given in 2021 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.