Earlier this week, the University of Colorado Hospital ceremoniously began construction on a $20 million expansion of its Anschutz Cancer Pavilion on the Aurora medical campus, where more than 100,000 patients a year receive treatment. 

Just after the shovels broke ground, the hospital received news that it has been ranked among the top academic medical centers in the nation by the University HealthSystem Consortium (via the Denver Business Journal). CU hospital comes in at number eight on the consortium's Quality and Accountability Performance Scorecard.

Meanwhile, the hospital is also improving the paperwork glut for patients, according to The Denver Post. Changes in health-care technology and demands from patients have prompted the University of Colorado Hospital to integrate more than 120 programs into one database. "Medical consumers are savvy," says hospital spokeswoman Erika Matich. "They want access to their information now. They don't want to wait."

Discerning locals also now have access to 5280's latest annual Top Doctors list, as well as a new survey of more than 400 Coloradans who divulge the details of their everyday health habits.