The new Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital will open on Saturday, August 3. Construction on the six-story replacement hospital started in 2021 and will provide a state-of-the-art care site in the West Denver suburbs. All patients will be moved in one day from the existing Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, to the new campus, three and a half miles away along I-70. Caregivers have contributed at each step of this process — providing input on the design, testing their workflows, and participating in mock moves. More than 175 volunteers will help create a smooth transition on opening day. "We offer excellent patient care services and quality of care found at Lutheran today and are excited to move into this new, beautiful space, which reflects our commitment to the well-being of our patients," said Andrea Burch, Lutheran president. Learn more about how the innovative design of this new hospital will benefit patients, caregivers, and the community in the article below.
Last week, Natalie Ashby, president of St. George Regional Hospital in St. George, Utah, and president of the Southwest Utah Market of Intermountain Health's Desert Region, addressed the future healthcare professionals at the Rocky Vista University White Coat Ceremony. Her speech highlighted the power of teamwork in medicine and the importance of each role in patient care. "You are not alone. In medicine, you are never alone. You are part of a team—a team where each member plays an integral role in the care of patients," said Natalie. Thank you Rocky Vista University for letting us be a part of your day. Congratulations to those who received their white coats! 🎓
When the new Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge, Colorado opens next month, it will feature a sculpture created by Kevin Robb, whose life was saved by Lutheran 20 years earlier. Kevin is hopeful his sculpture will help spark joy for others at the hospital.
Two years ago, Stephanie Loy’s life looked radically different. Today, she’s a medical assistant at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver thanks to a workforce development program and collaboration between a Denver nonprofit, CrossPurpose, and Intermountain Health. “I always wanted to be in healthcare, but after I graduated high school, I was told I couldn’t go to college because I didn’t have the money,” Stephanie says. She worked two security jobs in downtown Denver; it wasn’t enough to pay her bills, nor did it give her purpose. “I wanted something better,” she says. Learn more about how this collaboration is allowing people without a college degree to work in healthcare by offering development opportunities.
Congratulations to Heidi Wald, MD, chief quality and safety officer at Intermountain Health, for being recognized as one of Becker's Healthcare's 90 patient safety experts to know for 2024! 🎊 Dr. Wald leads the clinical excellence function at Intermountain, overseeing quality, safety and experience across three regions and seven states, including 33 hospitals and over 400 ambulatory sites. She heads an integrated team of over 400 professionals following the merger of Intermountain and SCL Health in 2022. Dr. Wald has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed articles on patient safety and quality for older adults in hospitals and nursing homes. She has played a crucial role in enhancing employee engagement by respecting the cultures and approaches of the quality teams throughout the merger process. Under her leadership, we've expanded our clinical programs in 2023 to standardize clinical best practices systemwide.
As we celebrate National Therapeutic Recreation Week, let's take a moment to recognize the incredible impact of therapeutic recreation services on individuals' health and well-being. These services provide essential support, helping people to recover and regain their independence through recreational activities. A big shout-out to all the dedicated professionals who make this possible! 🌟🏥🎗️ #NationalTherapeuticRecreationWeek
Congratulations to Natalie Darro, DO, comprehensive care at Primary Children's Hospital (in partnership with the University of Utah Health), for being awarded Medical Partner of the Year for 2024 by The United Angels Foundation! Dr. Darro was recognized with this award for “valuable contributions and making a positive difference in the lives of others in the special needs community.” The United Angels Foundation is a non-profit, parent-to-parent support group for parents and families of children with special needs.
Select Health's chief medical officer, Dr. Heather O'Toole, keeps a busy work schedule. Despite her meeting-filled workdays, Dr. O’Toole finds time for some of her favorite hobbies. She enjoys cooking and learning to prepare a variety of culturally diverse foods. During the pandemic, she took virtual cooking classes that ranged from pasta to soul food. These varied cooking classes were right up her alley, she loves to try new types of foods from all over the world. This seems to be a character trait of Dr. O’Toole; she seeks to learn and try new things. One of the greatest influences in her life is her father. Dr. O’Toole credits her father, a retired Air Force pilot, for instilling in her a strong work ethic. After his career in the Air Force, her father retired to the family farm and worked long days. She learned from him during this time that there will never be a smooth road in life, and to expect obstacles. Whether it is a hailstorm that destroys the crops, a disease passing through the livestock, or farm equipment that breaks down, she learned from her father to think creatively and differently about problems. Dr. O’Toole’s father was influential in her decision to join the Air Force after completing her family medicine residency. As a military officer and primary care physician, she cared for active duty, dependents, and retirees at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for three years.
If you hear growling coming from Riverton Hospital’s NICU these days, it’s not cause for concern; it’s probably just a caregiver demonstrating a lion’s roar or an elephant’s trumpet. Little Rori was born in March, but had lingering health issues and hasn’t been released to go home yet. Most infants in newborn intensive care units don’t stay long, but Rori has spent more than three months in Riverton’s NICU. That has given caregivers there a unique opportunity to watch her develop, and they have gone out of their way to foster that development and bond with her. Nurse coordinator Leanna Immenschuh said she tries to visit Rori daily, whether or not she is assigned to her care. On one beautiful spring day, Leanna asked if she could take Rori to the zoo. It wasn’t possible to leave the care site, so Leanna decided to bring the zoo to the hospital by cutting out and laminating pictures of animals to put up around the baby’s crib. Leanna rotates in new animals for variety, and caregivers take turns introducing Rori to the new animals and teaching her what sounds they make. AnnJanette Jenson, the Riverton NICU nurse manager, said that her staff members have essentially adopted Rori. It is not, however, the first time AnnJanette’s team has made special efforts for a patient. With 19 beds, a staff of 42 nurses, and an average daily census of 10 (and rising), Riverton’s NICU is somewhere between small and medium, but its impact on patients and families is large.
As a clinical communications manager at Intermountain Health, Jef Otte gets to talk to a lot of caregivers who are doing extraordinary, life-saving work. But it’s not that often he gets to talk to the doctor who saved his own life. In early February, Jef was in a bicycle crash that crushed his helmet and fractured his skull in three places. A runner found him and called an ambulance, and the ambulance took him to Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, Colorado. Around midnight, Jef's condition took a turn for the worse. Neurosurgeon Chih-Ta Lin, MD, was on call that night. Within the hour, he performed a procedure he’s done dozens of times – one Jef needed to survive. A few months later, he was kind enough to chat with Jef about how he became a neurosurgeon, what he remembers about that night, and why neurosurgery is really a team sport.
