TELLURIDE HEALTH & WELLNESS PLAN SEEKS INPUT

03 Jun TELLURIDE HEALTH & WELLNESS PLAN SEEKS INPUT

Visit new crowd-sourcing website now to fill out survey that will help shape healthcare in the Telluride region

Blue Lakes hiker

The Telluride Health and Wellness Initiative recently announced the launch of its new public engagement website, www.telluridehealthideas.org. The highly interactive, crowd-sourcing site is seeking people to provide input on key questions surrounding the Initiative. Three sets of interactive sessions will run now through late summer 2013. The first set of questions seeking public input is posted on the site now and will run for 2+ weeks, ending Friday, June 21.

Based on the successful Colorado Governor-led “TBD Colorado”, the new website will allow for input and interaction from and with the public on critical questions regarding health and wellness in Telluride. Everyone is encouraged to visit www.telluridehealthideas.org, submit feedback, and respond to the questions.

Across the country, Americans are realizing the life-long values and benefits of health and wellness. The Telluride community is no different and, as a result of its location and myriad of outdoor recreational activities, is in many ways uniquely positioned to take advantage of the coming revolution in health care. Today there is a growing focus not just on understanding, treating and preventing disease, but also on the things that are keeping us well. Health, health care and wellness are fundamentally shifting toward an increased focus on awareness and prevention, technology, and improved access to treatment and facilities.

“Health care paradigms are changing,” said Davis Fansler, former Mayor of Mountain Village. “Telluride, like the nation, is at a cross roads in terms of health care. We believe this provides a unique opportunity for Telluride area residents to engage in a comprehensive wellness planning process to determine the future of health care in the greater Telluride region.”

Currently Telluride’s primary local medical service is the Telluride Medical Center (TMC), which provides 24/7 emergency and trauma services and primary care professionals. TMC is the sole provider of primary care services in the Telluride region and is the only emergency room within 65 miles. It is housed in an outdated and undersized facility, and its surging patient volumes and diverse aged population require additional services. Over the past few years the Telluride Hospital District (THD), a special regional taxing district that owns and operates the TMC, has pursued replacing its existing facility to upgrade its care delivery and to meet current licensing standards.

Recognizing that the healthcare needs of the community are evolving and are broader than the primary and emergency care TMC currently provides, a small group of community leaders has recently stepped forward to steward a new process to define and plan for Telluride’s future health care needs. They are working to engage the public in a discussion of future needs and opportunities and identify additional medical services that could be located in the Telluride region.

This group of 14 community leaders includes the former Mayors of Telluride and Mountain Village, John Pryor and Davis Fansler; the Chairman of the Telluride Hospital District, Bill Grun; and Paul Major, President of the Telluride Foundation. Together, they have developed a collaborative decision-making process designed to engage the public to define the future needs of the community and ultimately determine what type of facility is needed to meet those needs now and into the future.

“Over the years many residents and homeowners have argued that this community could support additional medical services,” said John Pryor, former Mayor of Telluride. “The potential to locate these additional services in the same facility and/or campus as TMC could provide many advantages, including cost savings as well as an expanded selection of medical/health services available locally.”

“TMC believes that attempting to be the owner and/or developer of a medical facility that offers services beyond primary and emergency care is outside its expertise and mandate” said Bill Grun, the Chairman of the Telluride Hospital District.“However, now is the time to thoroughly explore our future needs and wants to maximize the potential for synergy among services before TMC moves ahead with a new facility.”

The objective of the Telluride Health and Wellness Initiative is to determine the viability of expanding health and wellness services and building a new facility. The results of this Initiative will be based on public input, land and market analysis, and a sustainable business plan.

There are several easy ways to find out more information about the Telluride Health & Wellness Initiative, as follows:

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• Listen to Susan Viebrock’s conversation with Paul Major.