New Name. Your Trusted Network of Care | A Message from CEO Dave Ressler

Aspen Valley Health. Does it resonate? It is only a one-word change (from hospital), but it marks a momentous occasion in the 134-year story of our community organization. It denotes our evolution from that of a trusted hospital when you suffer illness and injury, to a network of care responsible for your overall health and wellbeing. As many have noted, our familiar acronym (AVH) remains the same.

So far, the community feedback indicates our new name is being embraced for what it means, which I explained in an op-ed piece with some additional background about how our history and future have intersected on this occasion, and how it coincides with the completion of our fourth and final phase of our facility’s expansion and modernization. Our employees and physicians, who are central to who we are and what we do, have likewise embraced the change.

Over the past couple weeks, I have enjoyed the conversations prompted by our celebrations, often involving observations about how our history brought us to this point, and how each of us has been a part of it. During one such discussion, I was speaking with a physician who commented that she was born at AVH, after which another staff member chimed in with her own similar story, and then another, and another. We now plan to identify all our “native AVHers” to exemplify the deep connection between AVH and our community.

Another line of discussion over these past couple weeks has been the connections between our staff of various years of tenure, and the changes in our expanding facility over the years. There are many of us who worked in the old building before the expansion began with the first phase (our Birth Center) in 2006, and who remember what it was like and how vastly different it was in terms of size (one-third) and how it functioned very differently. There are many in our community who also remember our “middle” hospital (until we moved to the current campus in 1977) and a few even recall our original “Citizens” hospital, dating back to 1891. My feelings prompted by this reminiscence are at once nostalgic and grateful for our supportive community and a visionary board of directors.

Finally, our new logo has been an engaging topic, which is particularly exciting for Jennifer Slaughter and her team who led the redesign. More than just a new graphic, the logo has multiple dimensions and a deeper meaning. At its root, the logo mark, which we call our “bonded leaves,” signifies the union between our caring organization and the community we serve. But the logo can also be seen as the A (for Aspen) and the V (in Valley). Some also see the shape of a stethoscope. What do you see?

AVH will continue to grow and evolve over the next century, as we serve future generations with the same level of commitment we always have. As our logo signifies, we are united with our community, inseparable and synergistic. We are part of our community’s past, present and future, and our community is our purpose. We are here for you. For life.

Dave