1-Color
May 1, 2014
75 cents Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 125, Issue 40 A publication of
littletonindependent.net
Mineral Station options explored City at beginning of long, hard look By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
ELEVATING HIS GAME
Heritage pole vaulter Otto Lucas clears the bar during the April 26 event at the Liberty Bell Invitational Track and Field Meet. Lucas finished 18th in the event, clearing the bar at 10 feet. A total of 51 teams took part in the two-day meet at Littleton Public Schools Stadium. For more coverage, turn to Page 25. Photo by Tom Munds
Hospital celebrates 25th with a face-lift $30 million investment in services, lobby
announced by CEO
By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, Littleton Adventist Hospital announced on April 24 a $30 million project that will renovate the atrium, expand cardiac services and add parking. “Our community continues to grow, and unfortunately there are some disease states that continue to grow,” CEO Brett Spenst told a group of community leaders attending a meeting of the Littleton Business Coalition. “What we’re trying to do is prepare for the future.” Spenst explained that the hospital will go forward with a focus on “population health,” defined as the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of those outcomes. He noted that the age group of 55 to 85 is the most rapidly growing in the south-metro area, and they are most in need of medical services. To that end, the hospital is expanding cancer care, cardiac and surgical services and radiology. There will also be added “hybrid” operating rooms, which Spenst called a less expensive environment than a traditional OR. Earlier, the group heard from the hospital’s Dr. David Vansickle, a leading expert in deep-brain stimulation. It’s a process of inserting electrodes into the brain to control symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, essential tremors and similar neurological disorders. POSTAL ADDRESS
Littleton Adventist Hospital announced on April 24 a $30 million project that will renovate the atrium, expand cardiac services and add parking. Photo by Mike DiFerdinando He explained that the very first such procedure done robotically was performed at Littleton Adventist, allowing the patient to sleep through it for the first time. “It was sort of the holy grail,” said Vansickle. Jason Dunkel, the hospital’s director of business development, said it’s a great example of the hospital’s positive presence in the medical community. “Clearly we have grown up, and we’re proud of our hospital and the service we offer,” he said. He said this round of renovations will be lean projects designed to improve efficiencies rather than big, obvious additions as in the past.
“We will need a parking structure eventually,” he said. Most obvious to the general public will be a modernized lobby and more conference space, often used by outside groups like LBC. He noted that the health of the community is an important consideration for business leaders, affecting sick time and cost of benefits. “Our mission is around spiritual care,” he said of the hospital’s Adventist affiliation. “… There are many patients who come into our care with diseases that can’t be cured, but they can leave healed. Our highest priority is making sure we hire people who are a good cultural fit.”
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT
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The City of Littleton has begun to lay the groundwork for the future of the 17acre Mineral Station, recruiting a team from the Urban Land Institute to visualize what the light-rail station parking lot and the surrounding area could someday be. “We took a look at how the site could redevelop, and some of the nuts and bolts of how that could happen,” Renee Martinez-Stone told members of city council and the planning board during a joint meeting at Littleton Museum on April 22. The panel’s work is a precursor to a more major study the city will undertake this summer, funded by a grant from DRCOG. It could result in the area being designated “blighted” and ripe for attention from the city’s newly rejuvenated urban-renewal authority. The ULI panel envisions a coordinated effort among RTD, the city, Aspen Grove and the owners of the 111 acres south of the RTD lot at Mineral Avenue and Santa Fe Drive known as the Ensor property, which might result in what Bill Sirois of RTD said is that entity’s new philosophy around light rail. “Transit-oriented communities are better than just surface parking lots,” he said. The panel suggests the area can support more small retailers and a grocery. It could also help fill a growing demand for multifamily housing, say the members, adding that the city should offer financial incentives of some sort to attract those uses. Doug Elenowitz, a managing partner at investment firm Raindrop Partners, said forming a metropolitan district that might encompass everything from the future Breckenridge Brewery site at Briarwood Avenue south to the county line could incentivize uniformity and a sense of community throughout the area. “If you could get that 17-acre site connected to Aspen Grove, that would be good for everybody,” agreed developer Stephen Clarke, president of Prime West. “There’s an even bigger opportunity with Ensor. You could conceptually go all the way south to the (Wolhurst) trailer park.” Steve Wilensky, a principal with civilengineering firm AECOM, envisions a normal city-block street grid over at least the RTD site and the undeveloped overflow lot. Since metro districts can own Mineral continues on Page 7
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