Young athletes in Highlands Ranch now have a single building where they can get an X-ray, see a sports medicine doctor and then walk downstairs to train on a full-sized basketball court. Children's Hospital Colorado opened its new Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center there Wednesday, and the facility began seeing patients and athletes at 7 a.m. Mountain Time.
The announcement, made in a PR Newswire release from Children's Hospital Colorado, describes the center as combining clinical care, therapy, imaging services and sports medicine under one roof. The hospital says the building is designed as a one-stop facility for both pediatric orthopedic patients and competitive youth athletes, giving families access to a full continuum of orthopedic, sports medicine and sports performance services in a single location.
The layout splits the building by function. Orthopedic and sports medicine clinics occupy the center's upper level, while the lower level features a full-sized gym, basketball court and sports field, according to the release. Those lower-level facilities are designed to support training, therapy and performance goals, and the hospital says the expanded space and specialized equipment are meant to help young athletes improve strength, movement and endurance.
A Long List of Specialty Programs Under One Roof
The new center folds in a wide range of pediatric orthopedic specialties, including general orthopedics, fracture care, hand and upper extremity treatment, hip care, spine care, foot and ankle treatment and a cerebral palsy program, per the release. It also houses a Sports Medicine Physical Therapy Program, a sports nutrition program and what the hospital calls a flagship Sports Performance Program, billed as a new addition.
Children's Hospital Colorado's own sports medicine pages add further detail about what families can expect at its sports medicine locations generally, including fracture management with same-day X-rays, splinting and casting, and sports nutrition consultations with a board-certified sports dietitian, according to Children's Hospital Colorado. The hospital system says its sports medicine specialists work across several Colorado locations and offer same-day or next-day appointments.
Consolidating Care From Two Nearby Campuses
The Highlands Ranch center effectively merges services that used to be split between two nearby sites. The release states that the new center combines offerings previously provided at Children's Colorado's Centennial and South Campus locations.
That consolidation is meant to simplify the path to care. The center offers a streamlined referral process and same-day appointments, the release states, aiming to cut down on the back-and-forth families often face when a child's injury requires imaging, a specialist visit and physical therapy in different places.
Hospital Leaders on Why the Center Matters
Suzy Jaeger, senior vice president and chief patient experience and access officer at Children's Colorado, said the new facility is meant to keep care connected as kids grow and stay active. “By bringing together orthopedic and sports medicine physicians, therapists and performance specialists under one roof, we can provide a seamless experience that supports children through every stage of their active lives,” Jaeger said, according to the release.
Jay Albright, MD, surgical director of Sports Medicine at Children's Colorado, framed the opening around access. He said expanding services closer to families' homes can help more children stay active and healthy and reach their potential, per the same account. Construction records for the hospital's South Campus facility, a separate 182,000-square-foot building that included its own sports medicine program and a surgery center with four operating rooms, show how extensively Children's Colorado has built out sports medicine infrastructure in the Highlands Ranch area over time, according to Saunders Construction.
About Children's Hospital Colorado
Children's Hospital Colorado describes itself as a nonprofit pediatric healthcare system founded in 1908, with a mission to improve children's health through patient care, education, research and advocacy. The system says it operates hospitals in Colorado Springs, Highlands Ranch and Broomfield, along with an academic medical center on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, and maintains outreach clinics across the region offering family-centered urgent, emergency and specialty care throughout Colorado.
