Denver Health next year is expected to open a new family health center in southeast Denver, officials announced this week.

Officials have signed a letter of intent to lease a space in the Tiffany Plaza, a strip mall off Hampden Avenue.

“Denver Health’s presence in the southeast neighborhoods is new for our health system,” Donna Lynne, CEO of Denver Health, said in a statement. “It’s also a chance for us to introduce a new concept where primary and specialty care are together in one place.”

As the city’s “safety net” hospital, Denver Health is partially funded by Denver taxpayers supported 0.34-point sales-tax increase to generate $70 million in additional revenue to alleviate the financial strain from rising uncompensated costs.

The new health center will operate a full-service outpatient facility — with a laboratory, radiology and pharmacy services — for primary and specialty care which includes cardiology, orthopedics and dermatology, according to Denver Health.

“These providers will offer extensive resources that fit the needs of our neighborhood,” Denver City Councilwoman Diana Romero Campbell said in a statement.

Campbell represents southeast Denver.

The first patients are expected to be seen late next year.

Expanding access to primary care services, Denver Health officials said, honors commitments made as part of the ballot measure Denver voters passed on Election Day.

Hospital officials said earlier this year that the health system had experienced a 700% increase in patients from South and Central America over the past 14 months

The increase coincides with the influx of immigrants — particularly from South and Central America — to Denver since 2022.

“Overall, these patients don’t have medical insurance,” Dr. Taylor McCormick, associate director of Pediatrics Emergency Medicine at Denver Health, has said. “Denver Health is eating the cost for many of these visits.”

Editor’s note: Healthy Bites is a recurring update on health care related topics by health reporter Nicole C. Brambila.