WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — The new Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge officially opened Saturday morning, ending a decades-long run for the former hospital on 38th Avenue near Wadsworth Boulevard.
At 6 a.m., the old facility officially closed its doors, diverting patients to the new hospital near Interstate 70 and Youngfield Street.
Mattie Hall and her husband Nick welcomed their daughter Charlie into the world Friday night at the old hospital and had to be transported to the new facility Saturday.
“We heard there was one day that if we had her we’d transfer hospitals and go to both, so we just knew that was going to happen to us,” joked Mattie Hall. “So, we do get the ambulance ride, the first for both of us.”
One by one, paramedics loaded up patients into ambulances and moved them the roughly three miles to the new hospital.
For the Hall family, it was a memorable moment in an already memorable 24 hours.
“We’ve definitely been waiting for this our whole lives, so it’s definitely crazy for this to be the scenario,” said Hall. “This is our first baby, so we’ve never been through any of this, so the birth itself is pretty crazy, but to add the hospital ride to the new hospital is pretty crazy on top of that too.”
Hall said the trip to the new hospital was smooth, and said the new facility is a significant upgrade.
“We’re happy to be here, and it’ll be good to get settled in now in our final spot,” she said. “We’re excited to be here, but we’re excited to get to our final destination tomorrow and get her home.”
In total, Intermountain Health had to move around 160 patients from the old hospital to the new one.
Dr. Kathy Crabtree said it was an emotional day for staff too, as they said goodbye to the facility that opened in 1961.
“I’ve had all of my family taken care of there, my kids were born there, so it’s bittersweet,” she said. “But in the same breath, it’s the right thing to do. The rooms are much nicer, much bigger, but the people are the same, they’ll get great care regardless.”
