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Medical Center Of The Rockies Opens
at Centerra In Loveland Colorado
Medical
Center of the Rockies will open on Valentine’s Day in northern
Colorado with the goal of offering world-class care at the lowest
prices in the region.
“Patients treated at MCR will be very pleased to find that
it’s one of the best equipped and best staffed hospitals ever built,”
said Rulon Stacey, president and CEO of Poudre Valley Health System.
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“We’re
proud to say that MCR won’t drive up the cost of health care,” he
continued. “The new hospital will actually expand the opportunity for
patients to receive high quality care at the lowest prices, something
they have come to expect from our health system.” |
Stacey said the
high quality of services and charges for care at MCR will be the same as those
found at Poudre Valley Hospital, a regional acute care hospital operated by PVHS
in Fort Collins.
Poudre Valley Hospital is annually listed among the nation’s 100 top
hospitals by Solucient and other leading independent companies that track the
health care industry. In addition, Poudre Valley Hospital offers care at charges
that are the lowest in Colorado for most common ailments, according to annual
reports released over the last three years by Colorado Hospital Association.
In 2006, Poudre Valley Hospital experienced its busiest year ever. The
average daily census at the 235-bed hospital was 199 patients (6.5% more than
2005) and 18,077 patients were discharged (3.3% more than 2005). The busy times
have carried over into 2007, with the number of patients in January reaching 8
percent more than anticipated.
“MCR is opening exactly at the right time to meet the growing need for
more patient beds in our region,” Stacey said.
PVHS spent four years on the planning, designing and construction of MCR.
“Now begins our most important work at MCR: providing world-class health
care for our patients,” Stacey said.
PVHS, a Fort Collins-based nonprofit organization, built MCR in
partnership with Regional West Medical Center, Scottsbluff, Neb. PVHS owns 88
percent and will manage the new hospital. RWMC is a 12-percent owner.
While MCR will provide patient care services in multiple disciplines, the
hospital’s specialty emphases will be trauma care and cardiac care.
“Trauma care and cardiac services at PVH had grown to a point where a
majority of patients served by those programs came from outside of Fort
Collins,” Stacey said. “We wanted to grow trauma and cardiac care in a way that
best meets the needs of our customers. The convenient access to MCR from rural
and urban areas helps provide that.” |
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The
136-bed MCR will serve northern Colorado, Wyoming and southwestern
Nebraska. Located at I-25 and U.S. Highway 34 at the eastern edge of
Loveland, the 5-story hospital was built on schedule and within budget.
Construction cost $140 million and equipment $70 million, while $30
million were spent on purchasing the 91-acre site and developing
infrastructure.
Of the 684 employees at MCR, 306 will be nurses. A record number
of 40,000 persons applied for PVHS positions in 2006 when word spread
nationwide that the health system was building a new hospital.
The medical staff will have more than 250 physicians representing
a wide range of medical specialties.
MCR has the latest in medical technology, including the world’s
most advanced robotic-assisted surgical system and Colorado’s only
dedicated operating suite with in-room angiography that allows surgeons
to perform precise vascular surgery repairs.
The new hospital will offer comprehensive cardiovascular
services, including interventional cardiology and advanced cardiac
surgery; a regional trauma center; 21-bed emergency department with
adjoining chest pain center; and other core services such as 12-bed
cardiovascular and surgical/trauma intensive care units, 38-bed cardiac
telemetry unit, obstetrics and well-baby nursery, medical unit, and
advanced surgical services.
All patient rooms are private, an important feature that enhances
patient recovery and satisfaction. The rooms are spacious and have
operable windows so patients and family members can enjoy fresh air.
Most of MCR’s patient rooms face west and have grand views of Longs Peak
and other Front Range mountains, while east-facing rooms look down upon
beautiful interior courtyards and out at the High Plains of Colorado.
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The Sweetheart City