Vanguard Skin Specialists broke ground in February on a new 9,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center and medical specialty suites. The project enlarges one of the practice’s busiest locations — the 6,300-square-foot Pueblo facility, which opened in 2017.
Project partners are Colarelli Construction and YOW Architects, and the new space is expected to open in 2027, with the new surgery center being available to physicians seeking space for specialized surgeries.
“Our primary goal with building the Ambulatory Surgery Center is to keep Pueblo residents in Pueblo. We currently offer dermatology, Mohs surgery and plastic surgery,” says Dr. Vinh Chung, Vanguard’s founding physician.
After the surgery center opens, Chung says he hopes to welcome other medical specialists who want to serve Pueblo patients locally.
Leisle Chung is CEO of the practice and Dr. Chung’s wife. The practice has grown to 10 clinic locations and 150 employees since the couple co-founded it in 2009. She says that, as demand has continued to grow from Pueblo and surrounding communities, patients in Pueblo and even as far away as New Mexico end up driving to Colorado Springs for medical treatment and surgery.
“If there is a doctor in Pueblo and they are looking for a place to operate, then we want to provide that for them,” she says. “If we can just be closer to patients, I think that would be valuable for the community.”
The Southern Colorado dermatology and plastic surgery practice has a reputation for genuinely caring about its patients and about the community at large. This new expansion project supports that reputation, as does the group’s dedication to supporting nonprofits in the areas where they work.
In Pueblo, Vanguard supports Posada, A Caring Pregnancy Center, Pueblo Cooperative Care Center, Pueblo Children’s Chorale and Pueblo Children’s Advocacy Center.
Tying into the community focus is the fact that Vanguard is somewhat of a rarity these days as a physician-owned, independent medical practice. Vanguard’s 24 medical providers have more autonomy to care for their patients than what large private equity-backed physician groups might offer.
“There is continued growing need for non-acute specialty care. As a local physician-led, physician-owned practice group, we can better care for our community than any national chain could. We are in the community for the community,” says Kevin Hoffmann, Vanguard’s newly appointed chief operating officer.
More Information: vanguardskin.com