Editorial: Hospital expansions could be boon for growing populations

Anyone seeking an example of rapid growth in the region need only look at a particular sector: hospitals. As population increases — particularly in Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties — hospital systems are eying new opportunities to serve those new residents, and sometimes come to similar conclusions in terms of location.

At the Interstate 25 and Colorado Highway 7 (Baseline Road) interchange, proposals from UCHealth and AdventHealth would place two large hospitals across the road from one another. Both systems frame their projects as responses to population growth and the need to keep patients from traveling farther afield for specialty care. UCHealth’s vision includes housing and retail amenities, while AdventHealth’s plan complements a broader repositioning of services along the U.S. Highway 36 corridor.

Meanwhile, in Boulder, Boulder Community Health is launching a plan to expand in place, with a 29,630-square-foot addition to its Foothills campus. That expansion will relieve pressure points in its emergency department, surgical suites and inpatient rooms. Leadership says that volumes that once grew by 1% to 2% annually are now climbing at 5% to 10% in some areas, with emergency and surgical services frequently at capacity.

Northern Colorado has seen numerous hospital expansions over the years, including in Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland.

In Broomfield, systems are planting new regional flags along a major transportation corridor, betting on long-term market share. In Boulder, a community-based nonprofit hospital is responding to immediate operational strain and more-complex patient needs by threading new space into an existing campus.

Both approaches have merit. Northern Colorado’s aging population and continued in-migration are driving higher demand, especially for emergency, surgical and specialty services. Modern facilities can improve care environments, recruit clinicians and reduce travel times for patients and families.

But the regional picture also raises hard questions. Two full-service hospitals across from one another could intensify competition for nurses, physicians and support staff in a labor market that already is tight. And it will be essential for the two systems to avoid duplication of services.

But the potential is great. UCHealth and AdventHealth — along with Children’s Hospital’s North Campus just to the west — would create a health care cluster that could drive research, innovation and quality care — not unlike what’s seen at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

The City and County of Broomfield, of course, must weigh in on architectural renderings, job counts, traffic impacts, housing for health care workers and more.

But done thoughtfully, these hospital expansions can create enormous good, improving the availability of health care services for all.

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