New hospital tower, 2-7-19

Dear colleagues,

The growth curve of this campus as a world-class medical destination is about to get steeper, with today’s announcement​ by UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) of plans to build a new tower. The 11-story addition on the west side of the hospital, at 17th and Racine, will meet growing clinical demand and capacity challenges. 

Because our campus provides access to innovative clinical trials and complex treatments often unavailable anywhere else, patients are seeking advanced care here in rising numbers. UCH accepted over 4,000 transfers from other hospitals across our multi-state region last year alone. The new tower will provide specialized operating rooms for many of our high-demand, nationally ranked specialized treatments and services, from organ transplants to oncology and neurosurgery. Initially, 103 additional inpatient beds will help meet capacity needs and our state’s continuing population growth. Construction will start later this year, and the tower is expected to open in 2022. 

The trajectory of growth on this campus may be unmatched by any other academic medical campus in North America. And while we’re delighted to see its physical manifestation, we must acknowledge that its fuel is your consistently outstanding work and continued breakthroughs in the programs you have created and nurtured. Together, we are poised to reach our goal to provide the finest medical care in the world, to push the science behind that care to new horizons, and to train those who will deliver that care in the future.​

Don Elliman - Chancellor

John J. Reilly, Jr. - Chancellor Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs​  ​ ​Dean, School of Medicine