Mercy Hospital leaders and regional partners gathered on the north edge of the hospital’s campus Thursday to break ground on a new ambulatory surgery and office building, which was first announced last summer.
“We want to continue to improve access to care,” Mercy CEO Brandon Mencini told the assembled crowd. “Our medical office buildings are full here on the campus, we’re incredibly busy in our (operating rooms).”
The Three Springs Surgery Center will be a 13,500 square-foot space with three operating rooms and two procedure rooms. It will not be connected to a nearby three-story 80,000 square-foot office building proposed last year.
Thursday’s event included a groundbreaking blessing performed by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe Sun Dance Chief Matthew Box, who was joined by his parents.
The development is the product of a partnership between Mercy, United Surgical Partners and private physician investments, Mercy’s Acting Chief of Surgery Dr. Matthew Smith said.
“While for many years we’ve been able to provide excellent surgical care at Mercy Hospital at the main hospital, the surgery center is going to allow us to provide more efficient patient care in an outpatient setting,” he said.
The building will meet the expanding growth of the community and its needs, Mencini said. Operating rooms in the existing facility are nearing capacity, he said, and demand would likely exceed the current availability in the coming years.
The additional two procedure rooms and office space will increase the availability of care across a range of specialties, including spine care, orthopedics, pain, podiatry, gastrointestinal and urology, according to a news release.
“That basically doubles the amount of screening colonoscopies and other GI procedures that we’ll be able to do,” Mencini said.
The executive cited an increase in staff, including some physicians who left the hospital and are now slated to return, as one piece of Mercy’s effort to meet growing regional demand for health care. Expanding the infrastructure available in which to practice is another, he said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
