Southeast Colorado Hospital District Case Study

Project Background

After serving Springfield and Baca County for more than 50 years, the community’s needs had begun to outgrow the Southeast Colorado Hospital District (SECHD), and it was time to expand and modernize. In 2018, hospital district leaders held a public-facing planning session focused on key areas for gain. Outpatient services such as rehabilitation, observation, laboratory, imaging, and respiratory therapy/cardiopulmonary were constrained due to lack of space, in turn limiting staffing and hospital efficiency. Infection control was a growing concern with double-occupancy patient rooms. Business functions were fragmented throughout the hospital, and many of the patient, physician, and staff spaces were due for an upgrade in design and functionality to enable the superior care the hospital was committed to providing. 

Stroudwater Capital’s Role

Stroudwater Capital Partners was involved from the beginning of the planning process to evaluate the feasibility of expanding SECHD’s existing facility to a Critical Access Hospital that could provide the community with a full spectrum of care. We helped build the project team by assisting in interviews with third-party experts, participating in community planning meetings, coordinating the financing process, and assisting in securing the USDA financing adherence.

Legacy

The phased approach of the project will allow SECHD to continue operating in its current facility while enhancing care services through a series of proven healthcare design concept additions and renovations. Each update will improve safety, infection control, hospital efficiency, and patient and staff experience at every turn. 

Key improvements include an expanded and relocated rehabilitation department, the addition of an emergency entry waiting area and ambulance canopy vestibule, a large central nurses station, a fully modernized single-room patient care unit, a new and increased capacity ED with a controlled public waiting area, and a state-of-the-art laboratory. Designed with flexibility and the latest industry standards in mind, every update will function to reduce health disparities and meet the unique needs of Springfield and Baca County—now and in the years to come.