From Concept to Reality: Centerfield Innovation Clinic Celebrates Its First Anniversary

 A few of Centerfield’s providers (left to right): Sara Tisherman, MD; Hannah Inman, MD; Jonathan Lale, PA-C, and Kevin M. Bundy, MD.

The CU Medicine Family Medicine - Centerfield clinic celebrated a major milestone this summer! In August, they rang in one full year of delivering comprehensive primary care to the Central Park/Stapelton community. Since opening its doors, the clinic has expanded its team, strengthened access to evidence-based care, and continued advancing Family Medicine's commitment to innovative, patient-centered care.

To mark their first anniversary, the clinic hosted an Open House on August 27, welcoming colleagues, department members, and community partners to meet the Centerfield team and tour the state-of-the-art facility. The event featured refreshments, congratulations, and plenty of laughter as attendees reflected on the clinic's first year and cheered for a bright future ahead.

A Dream in the Making

More than a decade in the making, Centerfield was never envisioned as simply “another clinic.” Instead, it was designed to expand the CU Anschutz Department of Family Medicine's (DFM) primary care footprint while creating a space for innovation, education, and growth. The clinic serves as a place to pilot new models of care, train residents and learners, and explore innovative approaches to delivering high-quality patient care.

Centerfield also represents a new model of operation for the DFM as a department-owned clinic. While this model is common in some specialties, it’s the first of its kind for the DFM—offering greater flexibility to rapidly test and implement new ideas and serve as a "living laboratory" for innovation and continuous improvement.

Beyond its role as an innovation hub, Centerfield was created to serve as a medical home for the Central Park community, an area with a growing need for primary care providers and healthcare access. The clinic was envisioned as a place where both knowledge and people could thrive, supporting the development of future physicians while delivering comprehensive care to patients and families.

“I think it is important to acknowledge that the current version of Centerfield exists because of the
‘origin story’ vision of a DFM clinic that started with Colleen Conry, MD, and Venus Mann, who created various pro-forma’s over the years for various versions of clinics. The ability to move forward blossomed with Myra Muramoto’s, MD, MPH, FAAFP hire as Chair. Her vision was built on prior dreams, while incorporating her own innovative ideas, backed by the inclusion of Centerfield in her ‘Chair’s funding package,’” said Brian Bacak, MD, FAAFP, Executive Vice Chair and Interim Vice Chair of Research.

Dr. Bacak noted that creating a new care practice "from scratch" is no small feat and often involves complexities that are not immediately visible.

The journey to opening Centerfield faced several challenges, including pandemic-related delays, construction hurdles, leadership transitions, and visits to innovation clinics in other states to inspire the clinic's design and approach. Despite those obstacles, the vision of the clinic held strong and ultimately came to fruition when Centerfield officially opened in July of 2025.

Reflecting on Their First Year

As Centerfield opened its doors to colleagues and community partners during its Open House celebration, the event also offered a moment to pause and reflect on the clinic's remarkable first year. Venus Mann, Associate Director of Clinical Administration for the DFM, played a key role in bringing the clinic to life. She reflected on the years of planning and hard work that made this milestone possible.

“I feel very fortunate to be part of this. It’s my third major program, or as I like to call it ‘my third baby’ with the DFM. Building something from scratch, especially in primary care, is so important to me but also important to our community and ensuring people have primary care physicians,” said Venus. “The most rewarding thing about seeing the clinic in action is exactly that; having the clinic see and serve patients and finally be open in my neighborhood. I’m also excited to still be around to see it in action.”

She also expressed gratitude to the many colleagues and leaders whose support helped turn the vision into reality.

“Dr. Muramoto's support in bringing this vision to life, in concert with the CU Medicine Integration team and the DFM Clinical Affairs' leadership have been the backbone of the DFM’s new innovation practice. Their commitment was exhaustive, spanning from the initial search for clinic space and the finalization of the lease to the complex coordination required to bring a ‘flagship’ concept to life.”

Matt Yeager, Medical Director of CU Medicine Centerfield and Senior Instructor of Family Medicine, playfully joked that if he could offer advice to his past self before opening the clinic, it would be: "You're going to need a lot of coffee."

Humor aside, Dr. Yeager said he is especially proud of the team's accomplishments during its inaugural year, highlighting the clinic's growth from six team members to sixteen.

“We certainly had some surprises and stumbles throughout the past year (as one would expect in starting a new clinic), but I am proud of the way our team has worked together to address various issues and make the clinic a success.”

Megan Dohn, BSN, RN, CEN, TCRN, Practice Manager of CU Medicine Centerfield also shared excitement about the clinic’s growth, mentioning they will be adding a behavioral health clinician in September. “Since we opened, we have offered general family medicine/primary care services, serving patients of all ages. One of our providers, Dr. Sara Tisherman, also offers Sports Medicine. We will soon have pharmacist and behavioral health services as well.”

From walking through unfinished hallways in hard hats as construction crews built the clinic, to now celebrating a thriving and expanding practice, the Centerfield team has come a long way.

 Progress photo on left and finished check-in on the right.

The Community’s Response

Staff, faculty, and clinicians are not the only ones celebrating Centerfield's first anniversary—patients from across the Denver metro area and beyond have embraced the clinic as a trusted place to receive primary care.

Centerfield has reported that they have had over 3,000 patient encounters in their first year and have become the medical home for a large range of patients who previously did not have access to care.

“There is a huge need for primary care in the Denver metro region. We have new patients who travel from as far away as Fort Collins and Colorado Springs in order to establish care with one of our primary care providers,” said Megan Dohn. “I feel proud that we have been able to offer care to patients who have been unable to access care previously. We have been able to connect patients with community and in-network specialists. Many patients have commented that they finally feel they have both a doctor and a clinic that they really feel cared for at.” 

While some patients travel to the clinic, the majority come from the Central Park community, including some who live just around the corner from Dr. Yeager. 

“In getting to know my patients, I have learned that several live within a couple blocks of my home. Our kids go to the same schools, we attend the same events, and I bump into patients and their families at the market or other places around town. As someone who is fairly new to the area, it has made me feel connected to my new home.” 

 Over the past year, those patient relationships have also helped shape the clinic's approach to care. As Centerfield's patient population has grown, the team has gained a deeper understanding of the community's healthcare needs and has used those insights to guide improvement efforts.

“When building a new patient community to care for in a new location, it is not always clear which types of patients a provider will encounter and if there will be any common themes within that population. Now that we have been open for one year, we have identified several illnesses or ailments that affect a significant portion of our patient population. In developing innovation projects, I place an emphasis on interventions in these areas to provide the greatest impact for our patients.”

Looking Ahead

Centerfield has already established itself as an important part of the Department's mission to provide innovative, patient-centered care and become an integral part of the community. As the clinic team looks ahead, they are excited about continued growth, new partnerships, expanded services, and opportunities to shape the future of primary care.

“I think that over the next year, the real work begins,” said Dr. Bacak, “Centerfield has to do all the basic things well. But, beyond that, I see a few things that will likely start more in earnest. I’m anticipating focused training for staff and providers in process change, quality improvement, and how to innovate. I’m expecting that we will partner with some campus partners on clinic workflows and technology that will allow us to evaluate ideas (both good and bad) and pivot as needed. And I’m expecting the clinic to continue to grow through the addition of providers and ancillary support. I’m for sure expecting things to be very exciting in the year to come!”

Dr. Yeager echoed that sense of growth and possibility, particularly as it relates to improving the patient experience. “I am most excited to see the clinic grow to full capacity. With each clinician or staff member we add, we gain new perspectives, prior experiences, and ideas. I hope by adding more voices, we can have more robust conversations related to how we can improve the outpatient Family Medicine experience… It also excites me to add additional services for our patients in the future as we continue to grow.” 

From a vision on paper to a thriving clinic serving thousands of patients, Centerfield's first year has been marked by growth, innovation, and a deep commitment to the community. As the team builds on that momentum, the clinic continues to embody one of the DFM’s core goals: advancing the health of patients and families while creating new opportunities to educate and inspire the next generation of physicians. If the first year is any indication, Centerfield's story is only just beginning.

(Photos by Lisa Martinez)