Banner Health has announced a new phase in its ongoing investment plan to reshape health care services in Northern Colorado. The organization will transition Banner McKee Medical Center in Loveland into a specialty hospital, which will become part of the Banner North Colorado Medical Center and be anchored by Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The change follows Banner’s recent acquisition of Village Medical’s Northern Colorado primary care network and its 200 employees. The Loveland campus will offer a range of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services, including rehabilitation, cardiac catheterization, cardiac rehabilitation, interventional radiology, mammography, and specialty clinics. Emergency services at the Loveland site will end on November 5, 2025. However, emergency care will remain available at four other regional hospitals: Banner North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, Banner Fort Collins Medical Center, Banner East Morgan County Hospital in Brush, and Banner Sterling Regional MedCenter. Additionally, urgent care remains accessible at a location 1.4 miles from the hospital.
Alan Qualls, CEO of Banner’s Northern Colorado hospitals said: “The transition of Banner McKee is driven by community demand. Our emergency room volumes at McKee have declined each of the last four years and we’re only using 25% of our hospital beds. The vast majority – 88% – of all surgeries performed there today are outpatient procedures. We are responding to the community and making the best use of this facility by prioritizing convenient and accessible health care services.”
Future plans for Northern Colorado include additional service expansions and new sites within the region; further details are expected to be released later.
Todd Werner, President of Care Delivery for Banner Health stated: “The communities of Northern Colorado are among the fastest growing in the country and Banner is planning to make significant capital investments in the next three years to best meet the health care needs of this region. Northern Colorado is instrumental to Banner’s 10-year strategic growth plan which includes reimagining where and how we offer services to modernize care delivery using the latest technology to improve access and affordability.”
Over the past year, several specialists have joined Banner Health’s clinical programs in Colorado:
– Kirk Kindsfater, MD now leads joint replacement efforts after joining in 2024 with more than three decades’ experience.
– Michael Robich, MD became regional medical director for cardiovascular services after arriving from Johns Hopkins.
– Sam Haider, MD; William McKay, MD; and Jacob Bernstein, MD were recruited to develop brain and spine surgery programs through a partnership with CarePoint medical group.
– Tim Fuller, MD leads vascular services focusing on minimally invasive carotid artery procedures.
– David Schnur, MD directs plastic and micro-vascular surgery offerings with reconstructive surgery through collaboration with Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Also on November 5th this year, both the freestanding emergency department and urgent care center in Greeley will close. Similar emergency services remain available five miles away at another regional facility as well as walk-in clinic options nearby. OB/GYN practices currently based at Summitview Medical Commons will relocate alongside existing Larimer County OB/GYN services while family medicine obstetrics providers continue their work locally.
Banner Health says employees affected by these changes will receive comprehensive transition support including priority consideration for open positions across its system—which employs more than 3,000 people locally out of nearly 60,000 nationwide—as well as career counseling resources.
Since its founding in Greeley in 1952 with what is now known as North Colorado Medical Center—and through expansion into Fort Collins plus over thirty clinics—Banner Health has established itself as a major provider throughout Northern Colorado. Its clinical achievements include robotic surgeries (such as Aquabeam aquablation for prostate patients), advanced neurosurgical mapping techniques (neuromapping/tractography), minimally invasive vascular interventions (fenestrated aortic repair), sutureless heart valves (LivaNova), specialized cancer therapies (DIEP flap program) among others via partnerships like that with Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center.
For more information about these changes or available medical technologies offered by Banner Health visit bannerhealth.com.
