Sharing Our Rich History | A Message from CEO Dave Ressler

I often have the privilege to provide tours of the hospital now referred to as, Aspen Valley Health Medical Center. In fact, sharing our facility with members of our community and other stakeholders is one of my favorite perks of my job. It is truly a pleasure to provide these tours and to give those interested a chance to learn about our journey from humble beginnings, to the state-of-the art medical center they see today. 

Walking through our flagship facility provides a vivid understanding of just how much we have grown in our current location since 1977. I particularly enjoy the visual demonstration of the vast differences in patient privacy and comfort that have been afforded by additional space, such as in our patient examination and treatment rooms inside the Emergency Department, Same Day Surgery preparation and recovery spaces and, of course, our Inpatient Care rooms. Many times, these tours also bring about enjoyable discussions as attendees recount their own experiences with the former versions of our hospital.   

Far more important than our building is the discussion around our current service offerings and technological capabilities. The building is a physical manifestation of a community healthcare organization that can provide a vast array of specialties without the need for travel to larger communities and hospitals. In fact, with our award-winning quality services and talented professionals, our patients receive the highest level of care—right here at home. A tour also provides me with the golden opportunity to debunk the untrue notion that “bigger is always better”.

At the same time, a tour of our facility also invites a discussion about what we don’t offer, and why. In many ways, this is the reason for our past and present success, due to our ability to know our limits and when it is time for a patient to be referred outside our Network of Care for specialty offerings. The fact is, size doesn’t necessarily matter, but for certain procedures and services, repetition does.  For example, a patient who needs a high risk or complex surgery performed by an experienced neurosurgeon or cardiothoracic surgeon is best to be seen at a facility with a well-oiled machine, that sees these types of procedures frequently. That is why we stick to what we do often, and well, so that our patients experience the best possible outcomes. 

A tour must also include our primary care and specialty clinics, most of which didn’t exist a decade ago. This is an important part of why we are now Aspen Valley Health, because we are far more than a hospital that just provides acute care for illness and injury. However, many times, I am pleased to hear that tour attendees have already received care in our clinics and have positive personal experiences. First-hand experience is always the best lesson for understanding why we do what we do.

Finally, a tour evokes our robust history and, for many (me included), a sense of nostalgia about our past. When I step over an expansion joint, I can’t help but recall that the building once ended in that location with an exterior wall.  Many people and I vividly recall the original building and its features with fondness—even though we had completely outgrown it by the early 2000s. For some staff and community members, they can even recall the “middle hospital” that had been built in the 1950s in Hunter Creek, which was before we moved to the Castle Creek campus in 1977. Still more will mention, or are proud to say, they were patients in the Citizen’s Hospital before it was torn down in stages to make way for the middle hospital. As a reminder of our historical roots, the 1890 Citizen’s Hospital cornerstone was included in the low wall to the right of the new main entrance during the most recent phase of updates.

It is true that we have a robust past, and we are embarking on an exciting future! If you are interested in learning more, I hope you will consider joining us on September 18 for a joint presentation on the history of healthcare in Aspen, sponsored by Aspen Valley Health and the Aspen Historical Society (more details are in this newsletter). It will be a fun evening as we hear more about how healthcare has evolved over the past 134 years and multiple generations, from some of the people who witnessed it. And, if you’d still like a tour, just let me know—it is always a pleasure to share this space and our rich history with the community we serve. 

Dave