Telluride Med Center: CEO Gardner’s “Overheard Around Town”

09 Jul Telluride Med Center: CEO Gardner’s “Overheard Around Town”

Meet for coffee & conversation…Med Center Matters: Wednesday, July 13, 9 a.m. at Between the Cover’s High Alpine Coffee. Meet John Gardner, the Telluride Regional Medical Center’s new CEO to share ideas and learn about the new facility envisioned for the community. And, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns: jgardner@tellmed.org

John Gardner CEO,FACHE, Telluride Medical Center.

As new members to this community, my wife Jeannie and I have taken to attending nearly every event from Senior Lunches to the Free Concert Series in Mountain Village. As we are still enjoying relative anonymity we’ve found ourselves inadvertently overhearing how many truly feel about the Telluride Regional Medical Center.

I have to tell you; it’s been gratifying to overhear so many positive stories about the incredible care people receive here. People have shared their lifesaving experiences at the Medical Center and I hear glowing reports about how wonderful all of our staff are.

And sometimes we hear things that just aren’t true.

For example, we recently overheard someone explaining how the med center’s vision is to build a hospital in Mountain Village that is larger than the one in Montrose and to hire “a bunch of specialists from outside the region.”

Well, that’s just not true, and as I work to understand all the misnomers about our new facility in Mountain Village and where misinformation comes from, I think it would be most prudent for me to start here, on my blog, to dispel this particular myth.

Our goal is to develop a facility that provides greater access to basic health services, the same high quality of primary care services we offer now, and improved diagnostic capabilities. Because we have adopted the Patient Centered Medical Home model of care, we also expect to designate space for our mental health counseling staff and our Healthy Lifestyles training.

We also envision space for limited surgical capacity, which will provide access to simple surgical procedures and colonoscopies. We do intend to partner with regional medical and surgical specialists to come to the medical center. We expect those visits once, maybe twice, per month to hold specialty clinics and perform surgeries as appropriate.

Continue reading here.