The only thing capable of putting a dent in the Pikes Peak region’s years-long hospital construction boom appears to be the coronavirus pandemic.

Penrose-St. Francis Health Services is pausing expansion plans at its sprawling campus on Colorado Springs’ northeast side and Children’s Hospital Colorado is re-evaluating the timing of two new clinics. Together, they mark the latest casualties of a mushrooming pandemic and ensuing economic downturn.

Penrose-St. Francis’ other planned expansion projects remain on track, though they too could face delays without the quick reversal of an unprecedented drop in appointments, procedures and surgeries not related to the coronavirus, said Dr. Brian Erling, Penrose-St. Francis’ president and CEO.

“People have this impression that hospitals are full of sick patients,” Erling said Friday. “My goodness, we’re in just as bad of shape as a lot of other industries. And in some cases worse.

“We’ll get through it obviously. But it’s just been a really tough couple months for everybody.”

The delay comes as hospitals across the state and nation grapple with an unprecedented situation — entire floors transformed into makeshift pandemic wards, while many other forms of care are placed on hold or in rapid decline.

Penrose-St. Francis’ emergency rooms are at about 50% capacity, while procedures are being done at 15% of their previous rate, Erling said.

Through it all, about one-third of the hospital’s workforce has been idled, though it has managed to avoid furloughs and layoffs so far by asking employees to use up vacation time. Those without any vacation time left are allowed to borrow some before receiving a flat rate of $15 an hour.

Much of that decrease in patient volume is owed to a statewide ban on elective and non-essential surgeries and procedures, which was implemented March 23 and runs through Sunday .

The measure was implemented by Gov. Jared Polis to make sure hospital beds are free for coronavirus patients and that protective gear is saved for people on the pandemic’s front lines.

UCHealth Memorial Hospital said its expansions remain on track.

They include UCHealth’s Eastview Medical Center, a 122,000-square-foot building on a 24-acre campus just northwest of Powers Boulevard and North Carefree Circle. UCHealth also is building a sports medicine and orthopedic rehabilitation center near its boutique Grandview Hospital.

Children’s said in a statement that “in light of COVID-19 planning and response efforts, we are reassessing the time frames of the new planned locations at 421 S. Tejon St. and 2375 Telstar Drive.” The pediatric hospital operator planned to open a third outpatient location offering urgent care in the downtown area late this year and replace its Printers Park outpatient clinic with a therapy clinic in Briargate that was to open in mid-2021 and offer daytime behavioral health and developmental pediatric services.

Children’s is continuing construction on 16 unfinished patient rooms at its hospital on the UCHealth Memorial North campus in Briargate and expanding its Briargate outpatient and specialty care clinic with 27 additional exam rooms. 

The hospital system has avoided layoffs or furloughs, Children’s said in the statement, by taking “strategic and deliberate efforts to maintain their (employee) hours and, as needed, reallocated their efforts to other programs and services during this pandemic response.”

Penrose-St. Francis’ recent plans were more ambitious and — with an estimated $750 million price tag — more expensive.

In October, the hospital system said it planned on adding a fifth and sixth floor to St. Francis Medical Center for intensive and intermediate care wards, and the other is expected to have general purpose inpatient beds.

Its other projects remain on track. Architects are still working on plans for a third campus near Interstate 25 and Interquest Parkway, Erling said. It is expected to have 50 beds and 10 operating rooms while specializing in orthopedic and spine care.

Also, construction will continue on a parking expansion at Penrose Hospital, Erling said.

It was all part of a bid to expand along the city’s north and east sides, chasing the growing number of subdivisions and new housing developments in those areas.

Erling said that the pandemic’s initial peak appears to have passed at Penrose-St. Francis, and that “we’re way on the back side of it.”

Still, layoffs, furloughs and delays in other construction projects are possible with an extended ban on elective surgeries and procedures, Erling said.

He declined to say how much money the hospital system has lost due to the pandemic. But in just a 10-day stretch in March, the hospital system lost $7 million.

“The big question is going to be when can we start to get back to some level of normalcy in our hospital,” Erling said. “If we’re able to start doing some procedures by (April) 27th, I’m confident that we can avoid layoffs.

“But that’s the real question — if we go months and months just running a continual loss, then who knows?”

Penrose-St. Francis Health Services has delayed plans to further expand St. Francis Medical Center on Colorado Springs’ northeast side.

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