Kara Leach, MD
Dr. Kara Leach serves as a Hospitalist at the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders and Severe Malnutrition. She began at ACUTE part-time in 2018 while also working at Eating Recovery Center, transitioning to full-time at Denver Health in 2020. In her role, she delivers expert medical care to patients and collaborates with the multidisciplinary team to provide comprehensive, individualized treatment.
Dr. Leach earned her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology & Biomedical Sciences from Colorado State University and her MD from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed her Family Medicine residency at Swedish Family Medicine in Englewood, Colorado, and is board-certified in Family Medicine.
Her research includes studies on the medical and psychiatric features of patients hospitalized at ACUTE, including Zinc Levels in Severe Eating Disorders and Shiver Me Timbers: A Modern Case Report of Scurvy. She also serves on ACUTE’s Schwartz Rounds Committee, which implements structured forums for staff to discuss the caregiver experience, helping reduce burnout and enhance compassionate care delivery.
She finds working at ACUTE deeply rewarding due to the creativity required to address the biopsychosocial complexity of severe eating disorders and the opportunity to work alongside skilled, dedicated colleagues.
Outside of work, Dr. Leach conducts asylum evaluations through Physicians for Human Rights and works in scuba diving medicine privately and with Denver Adaptive Divers, helping people with disabilities experience the benefits of diving.
