More Kaiser Permanente members in Colorado will soon be able to visit CommonSpirit Health hospitals for their inpatient and emergency care, the nonprofit giants announced Tuesday.
Beginning “in early 2025,” Kaiser will integrate physicians and other employees into four Metro Denver area hospitals—St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, St. Anthony North Hospital in Westminster, Longmont United Hospital in Longmont and OrthoColorado Hospital (an orthopedic and spine specialty hospital) in Lakewood.
Physicians who will be working at these centers under the strategic partnership will include hospitalists and surgeons alongside specialists such as cardiologists and pulmonologists, according to the announcement.
"We regularly assess our relationships with hospitals and community providers to ensure we provide our members and patients with the right care at the right time and right place," Jeff Krawcek, M.D., executive medical director and president of Colorado Permanente Medical Group, said in a release. "As we deepen our relationship with CommonSpirit Health, we remain dedicated to delivering exceptional patient care while optimizing our unique care delivery model and exploring new ways to keep health care high-quality and affordable."
Both of the systems have a presence and standing relationship in the region. Kaiser Permanente members have long been able to seek care at five Southern Colorado hospitals located in Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Cañon City.
More broadly, Kaiser Permanente serves more than half a million members in the state through 33 medical offices and about 6,800 physicians and employees, per its website. The organization invested almost $100 million into community health support, partnerships, coverage and other programs in 2023, including a $10 million commitment to prop up the struggling Denver Health safety net system.
Tuesday’s announcement also came with word that Kaiser Permanente would be making “significant investments to build new, state-of-the-art replacement medical offices in Lakewood, Parker, and Pueblo, and renovate many of its 29 medical offices across the Front Range.”
CommonSpirit operates 12 hospitals in the state, all of which fall within its Mountain Region division of 20 hospitals and over 240 care sites across Utah, Colorado and Kansas.
"By combining our medical expertise and commitment to compassionate care, CommonSpirit Health and Kaiser Permanente are building a comprehensive, long-term relationship that will reshape how and where healing can happen," Andrew Gaasch, CommonSpirit's Mountain Region president, said in a statement. "We know healing close to home is important to every patient, and through this collaboration, we look forward to welcoming Kaiser Permanente members and ensuring every patient experiences outstanding care and service when they need us most."