Byline: Michele Conklin Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Centura Health is trying to break into the fast-growing Aurora and southeast metro market but faces opposition from neighbors and other health care providers.
Centura, the state's largest hospital system, has purchased 20 acres at the southeast corner of East Quincy Avenue and Reservoir Road, where it plans to build a health care campus. The sprawling facility will include offices for about 50 physicians, an outpatient and short-stay surgery center, a birthing center, outpatient diagnostic services, a community center, an alternative medicine center and a fitness center, said Karolyn Scheneman, Centura's project director for Aurora.
The land now sits in Arapahoe County, but next week Centura will ask Aurora to annex it so the company can take advantage of city services.
But all is not going smoothly for Centura. Neighborhood groups have opposed the project, worrying about noise from medical helicopters and traffic and whether the center could someday become a full-service hospital.
The state's largest managed care plan also has reservations about Centura's plan. Val Dean, chief operating officer for Pacificare of Colorado, applauded the move to bring more primary care physicians to growing areas of the state but said he worried that the other services will duplicate nearby facilities and drive up costs. He also worries that the center may not have the necessary back-up services.
``For example, birthing centers need 24-hour capacity and staff to do emergency C-sections and if they don't have it, we wouldn't want to contract with them,'' he said. ``To the extent they will be duplicating services and cost more, we're not going to be particularly sympathetic. To the extent they shut down services at their inpatient hospitals and offer the same or lower costs, then we would definitely support it.''
And despite Columbia / HealthOne's holding a monopoly by owning both hospitals in Aurora, prices have stayed the same or even dropped slightly because the health systems contract for all their hospitals as one, Dean said.
``Centura probably feels locked out of Aurora, so they may see a competitive advantage they need. But we don't see that,'' he said.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado, the state's largest overall health insurer, is more supportive.
``Our members are very into choice and convenience and geographic proximity to their homes is important,'' said Jackie Driscoll, vice president of provider integration. ``This may add cost to the system but then it becomes a value issue. Is this adding value and is the value worth the cost?''
The planned health care campus, which Centura officials have not yet priced, will be similar to a proposed project at Denver West in Lakewood. The strategy is to create a center that focuses on keeping patients healthy, Scheneman said.
For instance, if a patient came in for a physical and the doctor found he had high cholesterol, the patient could be referred to education and cooking classes on the campus as well as go to the fitness center for exercise.
``This is a facility for the 21st century,'' Scheneman said. ``It will be a high-level outpatient facility. We won't be duplicating acute-care beds in the city.''
Centura's main competitor, Columbia / HealthOne, is skeptical. To perform the types of procedures Centura is discussing, it will need to obtain a full-service hospital license, said Jeff Dorsey, president of Columbia / HealthOne. The size of the campus, about 10 times that of a typical ambulatory surgery center, also ``flies in the face of what they're saying.''
``My belief is they're going to build a hospital there,'' Dorsey said. ``For them to say they need this to be competitive, I'm not sure they can validate that. Maybe they want to dominate the other two systems in town. They're the only system expanding, I can tell you that.''
