Denver Health Medical Center
Encyclopedia
Denver Health Medical Center was founded on 1860, and is one of four Level I Trauma Centers
in Colorado
. The hospital is located near Cherry Creek
, in Denver
.
Denver Health is one of the primary teaching hospitals in Denver and is affiliated with the University of Colorado Denver
.
Denver Health is a integrated health care system that consists of:
Denver's Department of Environmental Health(DEH), a City and County of Denver agency, manages and oversees the operating agreement to contract with Denver Health and Hospital Authority (DHHA) to provide services related to the medical investigations and medical services for disease control (including clinics)and the administration of vital birth and death records.
DEH and Denver Public Health work together to conduct communicable disease reporting, investigation, and control for Denver. Public and environmental health functions and regulatory authority remains with DEH. DHHA provides communicable disease surveillance and medically-oriented public health functions through their Denver Public Health (DPH) department.
Through numerous grant-funded programs, DPH conducts important research on infectious diseases, including hepatitis surveillance; tuberculosis clinical trials; HIV/AIDS prevention, counseling, testing and treatment; and vaccine trials.
The hospital was well known for founding the first nursing school west of the Mississippi and for being one of the earliest facilities for treating Tuberculosis.
The hospital employed many health care visionaries, including, Florence Sabin, who was instrumental in creating a functional Public Health department.
On January 1, 1997, Denver General became a quasi-state agency and was renamed Denver Health Medical Center.
In 1989 a book was written about The Denver General ER, The Knife and Gun Club, Scenes from an Emergency Room by photographer Eugene Richards
which received an Award of Excellence from the American College of Emergency Physicians. The book is a collection of stories taken from the Emergency Room and ambulances.
is a hospital based paramedic service that is based out of Denver Health. Denver Paramedics are contracted to provide the 911 medical services to The City and County of Denver
, The City of Glendale
, and Denver International Airport
.
The Denver Health Paramedic Division has a fleet of 31 ambulances.At peak times Denver Paramedics has 14 Advance Life support Ambulances available, that are staffed by two Paramedics. and 6 Basic Life Support Ambulances available, that are staffed by two Basic EMT's.
Denver Paramedics respond to an average of 80,000 calls for service a year, an average of 219 calls a day. More than 46,000 patients are transported to Denver area hospitals a year by Denver Paramedics.
The largest number of emergency calls that Denver Paramedics respond to are auto accidents, alcohol intoxication, altered mental status, psychiatric emergencies, falls, chest pain, and shortness of breath, followed by assaults, abdominal pain, seizure, and overdose. Cardiac arrest calls account for one half of one percent of all emergency calls.
Trauma center
A trauma center is a hospital equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries. Trauma centers grew into existence out of the realization that traumatic injury is a disease process unto itself requiring specialized and experienced...
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The hospital is located near Cherry Creek
Cherry Creek (Colorado)
Cherry Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, long, in Colorado in the United States.-Location:Cherry Creek rises in the high plateau, east of the Front Range, in northwestern El Paso County...
, in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
.
Denver Health is one of the primary teaching hospitals in Denver and is affiliated with the University of Colorado Denver
University of Colorado Denver
The University of Colorado Denver, shortened as CU Denver, UC Denver, or UCD, is a public university in the United States state of Colorado. It is one of three schools of the University of Colorado system. The university has two campuses — one in downtown Denver at the Auraria Campus, and the other...
.
Denver Health is a integrated health care system that consists of:
- The main Hospital that houses the Rocky Mountain Regional Level 1 Trauma Center (RMRTC) and 477 beds. In 2008, the RMRTC was recognized by the American College of SurgeonsAmerican College of SurgeonsThe American College of Surgeons is an educational association of surgeons created in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice.-Membership:...
as the best trauma center in the United States, based on survival rates. - Denver Health operates the 911 medical response system for the City and County of Denver, to include Denver Paramedics, 911 operators, and dispatchers. In 2008, Denver Health paramedics responded to more than 84,000 calls for emergency medical assistance.
Denver's Department of Environmental Health(DEH), a City and County of Denver agency, manages and oversees the operating agreement to contract with Denver Health and Hospital Authority (DHHA) to provide services related to the medical investigations and medical services for disease control (including clinics)and the administration of vital birth and death records.
DEH and Denver Public Health work together to conduct communicable disease reporting, investigation, and control for Denver. Public and environmental health functions and regulatory authority remains with DEH. DHHA provides communicable disease surveillance and medically-oriented public health functions through their Denver Public Health (DPH) department.
Through numerous grant-funded programs, DPH conducts important research on infectious diseases, including hepatitis surveillance; tuberculosis clinical trials; HIV/AIDS prevention, counseling, testing and treatment; and vaccine trials.
- The Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center (RMPDC) handles most minor poisoning emergencies by telephone. In addition the Center’s staff of toxicologists cares for seriously ill patients in the hospital. Through Denver Health’s 24-hour NurseLine (housed in the RMPDC), patients can get free and confidential answers to health-related questions, possibly avoiding costly Emergency Room visits.
- An 8 clinic network of Family health centers throughout Denver.
- 12 school based clinics in the Denver Public Schools
- Denver CARES detoxification services.
- Correctional care. The main Hospital is equipped with ward capable to care for inmates from the county jails and Colorado Department of Corrections inmates.
- The Rocky Mountain Center for Medical Response to Terrorism, Mass Casualties and Epidemics.
History
Denver General was established in 1860. The hospital was originally founded near 11th and Wazee, but in 1873, a new medical center was built at the corner of 6th Avenue and Cherokee; this is where Denver Health is located to this day.The hospital was well known for founding the first nursing school west of the Mississippi and for being one of the earliest facilities for treating Tuberculosis.
The hospital employed many health care visionaries, including, Florence Sabin, who was instrumental in creating a functional Public Health department.
On January 1, 1997, Denver General became a quasi-state agency and was renamed Denver Health Medical Center.
In 1989 a book was written about The Denver General ER, The Knife and Gun Club, Scenes from an Emergency Room by photographer Eugene Richards
Eugene Richards
Eugene Richards is a noted American documentary photographer.During the 1960s, Richards was a civil rights activist and VISTA volunteer...
which received an Award of Excellence from the American College of Emergency Physicians. The book is a collection of stories taken from the Emergency Room and ambulances.
Denver Paramedics
Denver ParamedicsDenver Paramedics
Denver Paramedics is a public, hospital-based paramedic service based at Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, in the United States....
is a hospital based paramedic service that is based out of Denver Health. Denver Paramedics are contracted to provide the 911 medical services to The City and County of Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, The City of Glendale
Glendale, Colorado
The city of Glendale is a Home Rule Municipality located in an exclave of Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The population was 4,547 at the 2000 census. The entire city is surrounded on all sides by the City and County of Denver. Therefore, as a municipal entity, it is also an enclave...
, and Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...
.
The Denver Health Paramedic Division has a fleet of 31 ambulances.At peak times Denver Paramedics has 14 Advance Life support Ambulances available, that are staffed by two Paramedics. and 6 Basic Life Support Ambulances available, that are staffed by two Basic EMT's.
Denver Paramedics respond to an average of 80,000 calls for service a year, an average of 219 calls a day. More than 46,000 patients are transported to Denver area hospitals a year by Denver Paramedics.
The largest number of emergency calls that Denver Paramedics respond to are auto accidents, alcohol intoxication, altered mental status, psychiatric emergencies, falls, chest pain, and shortness of breath, followed by assaults, abdominal pain, seizure, and overdose. Cardiac arrest calls account for one half of one percent of all emergency calls.
See also
- St. Anthony Central HospitalSt. Anthony Central HospitalSt. Anthony Hospital, previously known as St. Anthony Central Hospital, is one of four Level I Trauma Center's in Colorado. The Hospital is currently located at W. 2nd Pl and Routt St near the Denver Federal Center, in the Lakewood. The Hospital was previously located at W...
- Swedish Medical Center (Colorado)Swedish Medical Center (Colorado)Swedish Medical Center is a 368 bed acute care hospital located in Englewood, Colorado, United States.It is operated by HealthONE Colorado, a joint venture between Hospital Corporation of America and The Colorado Health Foundation....
- Denver ParamedicsDenver ParamedicsDenver Paramedics is a public, hospital-based paramedic service based at Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, in the United States....