ARVADA, Colo. -- After Intermountain Health opened its new Lutheran Hospital a few months ago, the fate of the old facility and its medical supplies remained uncertain. But thanks to a creative solution, some of that equipment has found a new home at Arvada High School where it will be used to train the next generation of healthcare professionals.
The once-bustling hospital located off 38th Avenue in Wheat Ridge was recently left boarded up after the hospital moved to its new location. The old building, now empty, still contained a wide variety of medical equipment that was no longer needed.
Instead of letting the equipment go to waste, Arvada High School's health science program teacher Dave Feeney was given the opportunity to walk through the hospital and select items that Intermountain Health would donate for his students.
"It felt like Christmas walking through the hospital," he said. "Just surrounded by all the goodies."
On Friday, Feeney helped load the new gear into the school's classrooms, where it will be used to train students in a hands-on setting.
Feeney says the equipment will be crucial for the new program, which allows students to obtain various medical certifications before they even graduate high school.
"This equipment is just really going to put us leaps and bounds ahead," Frazee said. "It allows me to use my school budget to pay for the certification test for the students rather than paying for a medical bed."
"We can start doing a lot more practice compared to theory," Feeney said. "It's a lot less note-taking and discussing how to do things, and actually doing these things."
The donation is a full-circle moment for Tyler Shields, a project manager for Intermountain Health, who helped organize the equipment's relocation.
"It's really cool because I've been involved in a lot of coordinating moving and donating equipment," Shields said. "Actually being able to see its final landing spot and where it's going to be used for years is a good feeling."
Feeney is optimistic about the future of the health science program.
"Now that we have all this gear and all this support from community," Feeney said. "I can't see how this program doesn't explode in near future in all right ways."
In addition to donation Arvada High School more medical equipment sent Bear Creek High School hospital also plans donate approximately 100 beds Cameroon Africa coming weeks