A pathway of
success, A habit of
excellence
When an organization receives an honor for the first time, it’s an
accomplishment to be proud of, something worth celebrating. When that
same organization receives an honor for the fifth time, it’s a sign
that something big is happening, something that is part of a culture,
something that is a habit. Recently, Gunnison Valley Health was recognized as
one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation*
for the fifth time. But we’re not resting on our laurels, we’re using them as
a foundation to build bigger and better things. We’re working hard
to foster our culture of excellence and serve our community with the highest
quality healthcare possible.
Our community is diverse and active and vibrant and it deserves a healthcare
system with those same qualities. That habit of excellence hasn’t
just given us a pathway of success, it has set us well on our way down
that path. We are proud of our accomplishments and what they mean for
our community.
1. We recently purchased a new 64 slice CT scanner enabling stronger trauma
treatment through higher quality imagery for our technicians and doctors
as well as a better patient experience.
2. With the help of the Gunnison Valley Health Foundation we have added
two new state-of-the-art ambulances to our EMS fleet that provide the
highest quality emergency treatment possible to one of the largest service
areas in the country. In addition, our talented EMS crew achieved the
highest certification for patient care transportation.
3. In coordination with Dr. Stephania Timothy and thanks to the support
of Tough Enough to Wear Pink, Gunnison Valley Health now offers stereotactic
and sentinel node biopsies further advancing our stellar breast care capabilities.
4. We are only the third hospital in western Colorado to be certified by
the STAR® program. The STAR® program is a cancer rehabilitation
curriculum that enables us to better serve our oncology patients into
their survivorship.
5. With the topic of behavioral health at the national forefront we have
taken the lead to provide a new model of care by hiring Lorie Fuller as
a behavioral health professional in partnership with the Center for Mental
Health. We can now better recognize and treat behavioral health considerations
thanks to Lorie’s expertise.
6. In partnership with the Gunnison County Rural Transportation Authority
we now offer senior transportation 7 days a week scheduled via a new dispatch center.
7. Home Medical Services now has a wound-care certified nurse, Aline Jatulis, who is
offering wound care not just through HMS but to the entire health system.
8. Once again we have been College of American Pathologists (CAP) certified,
a rigorous inspection that is the gold standard for laboratories throughout
the country. It’s an impressive distinction we have attained biennally
for 22 years.
9. Gunnison Valley Health Assisted Living received a zero-deficiency survey
from the Colorado Department of Public Health, something the surveyor
had only given out 6 times in her 15 year career.
10. We forged new ground by starting an ongoing partnership with hospitals
in Montrose, Delta, and Aspen to create an accountable care organization
for Medicare patients.
Despite such an impressive list of accomplishments we don’t plan
to slow down. Looking to the future, we have a lot of exciting projects
in the works to improve the health of our community.
1. A new neighborhood model Senior Care Center to better serve residents.
2. A Center for Orthopedic Excellence involving a wide range of partnerships
within the care community encompassing a variety of services from sports
medicine to rehabilitation to training to world-class orthopedic care.
3. Continued partnership with Tough Enough to Wear Pink and other cancer support
organizations in our community to further our diagnostic and treatment services.
4. A coordinated Community Needs Assessment to help us better understand
how we can serve our community.
We are excited for what the future holds. And we are proud of what we are
doing today. But more than that, we are proud to be able to serve this
community. We do it because we love what we do and we love who we’re
doing it for. This is an amazing community, and it deserves amazing healthcare.
We’re in the habit of offering that. We are committed to success,
committed to excellence, and committed to you.
Enjoy your fall
-Rob Santilli, CEO
Gunnison Valley Health System
*we are proud to be an iVantage Health Analytics Top 100 Hospital