CU, Colorado Springs community celebrate Lane Center opening

CU dignitaries, partners and guests on Wednesday celebrated the launch of the Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

The center is the result of a $4 million gift from the John E. and Margaret L. Lane Foundation to UCCS and Peak Vista Community Health. It is the first UCCS building in the North Nevada urban renewal zone and the lead for a long-term project that involves performing arts, athletics and additional health-related facilities on the west side of its campus.

Many CU leaders -- including all members of the CU Board of Regents, CU President Bruce Benson, UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak -- took part, as well as Peak Vista Community Health Centers President and CEO Pam McManus, and Lane Center benefactor Margot Lane, who lauded how the center will "enhance and enrich our community." The program celebrated the innovative partnership and the completion of the integrated health care facility.

“This is the culmination of an incredible collaboration,” Shockley-Zalabak said.  “It signifies the beginning of a new way to view and provide health care to the greater Colorado Springs community.”

Said McManus, “This partnership will have a tremendous impact on the Pikes Peak region. The sharing of expertise among health care providers will allow improved access to wellness services for the growing population of seniors.”

Housed in the new Lane Center will be five clinics operating under the banner of UCCS HealthCircle. Services will include a primary care clinic as well as specialized services in nutrition, aging, physical activity and behavioral health.

Peak Vista’s Lane Family Senior Health Center also will be located on the second floor in the state-of-the-art facility. Peak Vista will provide primary care focused on wellness and prevention for people 55 and up.

A branch of the CU School of Medicine will also occupy space on the fourth floor of the facility.

“This represents the health care model of the future,” said Sara Qualls, UCCS Kramer Family Professor of Aging. “By having a diverse group of health care professionals in one location such as nutritionists, mental health specialists, gerontologists and primary care physicians working cooperatively together and sharing information, we can maximize care for the ‘whole’ person.”

The public is invited to tour the facility at its community open house scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The clinics will officially be open and operating on March 3.

All photos courtesy Tom Kimmell

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