Health care expansions continue in region
As Colorado’s population eclipses 6 million people, with 13.8% of them older than age 65 — up from 10% in the year 2000 — the demand for health care services and the workers that go with them is clearly on the rise.
It’s no understatement to note that the health care sector is among the top contributors to the state’s economic picture. In Northern Colorado, rarely does a week go by without some health care organization adding a clinic or adding onto a hospital or merging with another entity in order to reposition for the demand to come.
The Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado reported in its 2024 Business Economic Outlook that the sector employs about 308,100 workers and is expected to increase to 328,400 by the end of this year. That is, of course, if educational institutions can turn out new professionals and if health care institutions are able to retain existing workforces, which are still feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Community colleges in the region have ramped up nursing programs to help meet front-line care needs, including offering four-year degrees in nursing.”
Fortunately, Colorado ranks in the upper 20% of states for the health of its population, despite the increases in older residents. In fact, the health status of the state’s older residents in one study was ranked as third healthiest overall among the states.
The need for health care workers continues unabated, and several things are afoot in the region to help lessen the demand.
The University of Northern Colorado will launch a medical school to train osteopathic doctors. It received $127.5 million in a state appropriation this year to get the school underway, with a target of enrolling its first class of 150 prospective ODs in 2026.
Community colleges in the region have ramped up nursing programs to help meet front-line care needs, including offering four-year degrees in nursing.
Naropa University in Boulder will offer a certificate program in psychedelic-assisted therapies — a response to statewide acceptance of and decriminalization of five psychedelic drugs.
Banner Health and Intermountain Health have both received grants to expand jobs programs that move workers from entry-level positions to more-skilled positions with on-the-job training.
Meanwhile, on the front lines, health care services are expanding.
UCHealth’s Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland has broken ground on a $280 million expansion of the hospital that sits along Interstate 25. MCR also recently gained Level 1 Trauma Center designation for its emergency services.
Longmont United Hospital, a division of the CommonSpirit health care system, has expanded its cancer treatment center.
The Orthopaedic and Spine Center of Northern Colorado has opened a facility in Greeley.
PAM Health, a provider of rehabilitation services, opened a Greeley hospital and filled its beds.
LIV Health, a Cheyenne-based organization, has opened a mental health urgent care center in Fort Collins. Also in Fort Collins, the county-supported SummitStone Health Partners Crisis/Acute Care Facility at the Longview Campus is nearing capacity with its crisis intervention and ongoing behavioral health services.
Boulder County, seeing the success in Larimer, is considering a behavioral health tax of its own to expand services available to its residents.
As the region’s population continues to expand, residents can expect continued health care expansions, likely at the same pace.