** About Saint Joseph Hospital **
Owned and operated by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas, since 1883, Saint Joseph Hospital is one of the largest non-profit hospitals in the region. Licensed for 577 beds, Saint Joseph is the major admitting hospital for Colorado Kaiser Permanente and maintains contacts with most of the major health plans in the Denver metropolitan area. Its occupancy rate is among the highest in Denver. The Hospital receives referrals throughout the Rocky Mountain West for maternity/newborn, cardiovascular, orthopedic, oncological, neurosurgical, gastrointestinal, urological, and other medical/surgical subspecialties. It has received national recognition for its quality of care and three times has been ranked nationally among the Top 100 Teaching Hospitals by Mercer Management Consulting, Inc., and HICA, Inc( the last time being 1998).
In March 1997 the Russell Pavilion opened at Saint Joseph Hospital. This 100,000 square-foot addition houses two of the Hospital's busiest ambulatory services - Radiation Oncology and the Emergency Department - and the Medical Education Center. The education center, which was built with funds donated by supporters of Saint Joseph Hospital, includes the Kaiser Permanente Conference Center (with eight conference rooms), the 150 seat W. Gerald and Lois S. Rainer Auditorium, the Medical Library and the William V. Gervasini Memorial Library for Patients and Families. Also in 1997 St. Joseph Hospital merged with Lutheran Hospital, on the west side of town, and the primary care physician network Primera to form Exempla Healthcare. The benefits of this relationship continue to be discovered.
