New Lakewood Medical Offices welcome first members

The new offices sit right next door to the old building on Alameda Avenue. But for Schmidt — who said he’s always been a fan of his Kaiser Permanente care — the experience felt a world away.

“It's got a view, and you can see the whole city of Lakewood, so I really like it,” said Schmidt. “It's got a modern vibe to it.”

Beyond art and architecture, the new Lakewood Medical Offices also offer state-of-the-art care.

“It's so much new technology,” said Patricia Ortiz, a Kaiser Permanente medical assistant who cared for Schmidt during his visit. “It's amazing — it looks very classy.”

Celebrating with the community

About 300 community members, Kaiser Permanente physicians, staff, and their families got a sneak peek at the new offices at an open house on January 11.

Linda Sherman said she has been a Kaiser Permanente member for most of the last 50 years. She attended the open house with her brother, Jerry Handley.

As they toured the offices, Handley and Sherman spotted some longtime friends.

“I had no idea that Special Olympics would be here!” said Sherman.

Handley, who is also a Kaiser Permanente member, is a former Special Olympics Colorado Athlete of the Year. He’s competed in numerous sports for nearly 4 decades, including track and field, power lifting, bowling, and skiing.

“For Jerry to walk in and see somebody that he has known through his involvement in Special Olympics — that was such an affirming thing for him,” Sherman said.

Special Olympics Colorado was one of several Kaiser Permanente community partners that set up tables with information and interactive exhibits, including The Action Center, RecoveryWorks, Jefferson County Public Health, Butterfly Pavilion, and the Colorado Green Business Network.

Representatives from the organizations talked to attendees about their connections to Kaiser Permanente and the Lakewood community.

On January 12, several of those organizations joined Kaiser Permanente again for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Local officials, customer groups, and community organizations heard more about the new offices. They toured the larger exam rooms, expanded urgent care, and experienced more services under one roof.

They also heard about first-of-their-kind sustainability features, which Wendi Strom, mayor of Lakewood, said the city appreciated.

“Our city council and our residents have shared that sustainability is something that is very important to them,” she said.

Teams collaborating to make big moves

For more than a year, local and national Kaiser Permanente staff collaborated on planning the move to minimize patient impacts, said Omid Tehrani, interim medical offices administrator.

Over the last several weeks, teams packed up one of Kaiser Permanente’s busiest medical offices in Colorado.

Then over 6 days, 2 moving trucks carried medical equipment, office supplies, and more from the old offices to the new.

Tehrani said it was a great exercise in teamwork that included individual staff members to department managers.

Then physicians and staff began learning the building’s new features.

“It was a matter of how we incorporate all of this new technology, all of these new applications into the great care that this Lakewood team has been providing this community for decades,” he said.

Emily McGarvey — the outgoing medical offices administrator, who oversaw much of the planning — said physicians and staff were proud to see the final product.

“We have taken care of this community for the last 50 years,” said McGarvey. “And this is our commitment to continue to care for this community.”