Telluride Med Center: Extends Hours, Adds Provider

19 Nov Telluride Med Center: Extends Hours, Adds Provider

Earlier this month the Telluride Hospital District (THD) board of directors, who oversee the region’s medical center, approved the addition of new staff and extended hours to meet the growing demands on the primary care department.

Effective January, the Telluride Medical Center (TMC) will hire an additional board-certified Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner, two days a week, to bring TMC’s primary care team to a total of six board certified providers.

Adding another primary care provider into the daily rotation does mean less space at TMC for visiting specialists, according to TMC Executive Director, Gordon Reichard. TMC hosts 12 visiting specialists from around the region, collectively serving over 1,400 patients a year.

“We’ll remedy this in the short term by accommodating some visiting specialist’s appointments in our conference room,” said Reichard.

Modifications to the conference room are already underway to help ensure both doctor and patient are comfortable in the makeshift office.

THD is currently negotiating with Mountain Village for the site for a new regional medical center to accommodate the area’s needs.

As the only primary care provider in Telluride, TMC reported over 13,600 primary care patient visits in 2013. During the first quarter of 2014, primary care visits were up 6.4% over 2013.

Another area of growth, according to Reichard the number of patients seen at TMC between ages 65 – 74 were up 200% in 2013 over 2008.

“Our numbers are growing and changing and that’s reflected in our lobby here everyday,” said Gordon.

THD also moved to extend Saturday visiting hours for primary care patients. Effective January, patients can be seen until 3p.m. on Saturdays, two hours longer than the current office hours of 8a.m. – 1p.m.

“We’re basically doing everything we can to be available when our patients need us,” said Reichard.

TMC is the only 24-hour emergency, Level 5 Trauma Care Center in the region.