26 Sep Telluride Med Center: Man Behind the Curtain
Although there are no overnight beds at the Telluride Regional Medical Center, there are nights when one particular person never leaves.
Eric Adolphi is the Man Behind the Curtain at the Telluride Medical Center.
Since 2002, Eric Adolphi has served the local Medical Center as the singular IT & Facilities Director, a job that requires a certain amount of midnight oil, dedication and grit to keep the the technology at the heart of the clinic’s efforts running.
For nearly 40 years, the Med Center has occupied a 10,000-square-foot facility, built in the 1960s, on the corner of Townsend Avenue and Pacific Street. In order to serve patient growth and the ever-changing healthcare technologies, the building itself requires a custodian willing to be intimate.
Adolphi is that person.
If there’s a system vital to keeping the Med Center open, it’s on Adolphi’s radar.
“From the antennas clear down to the soil; every computer; some of the medical technology; drinking fountains; electrical; drains; cabinets; the servers; building security; email systems,” said Adolphi. “If it’s under this roof, but not a patient, I’ll get the call to fix it.”
That’s a big job: Adolphi is on call every day of the year and has been for 14 years. When he does manage to get away with his wife and two young sons, he brings a satellite phone with him.
His qualifications for the role are a combination of on-the-job experience and the “ability to geek out on things,” according to Adolphi.
“I grew up around inventors, photographers and builders, and because of those influencers, I am driven myself to build, invent and figure out how things work,” he added.
“There’s a lot riding on Eric, a lot of his brainpower is required when thinking of the future of the medical center and the technology we need to use to run a modern facility that is both safe for patients and safe from an IT perspective,” said John Gardner, CEO, Telluride Med Center.
Naturally Adolphi also relies heavily on strong relationships with local subcontractors: “If not for those people, I could not do what I do.”
Adolphi’s first role within the Med center was Medical Assistant/EMT. He maintained the lab and worked in triage and, at one point during the transition to his current position, he was holding down both posts.
“This place is part of my soul and I’m honored this is where I get to plug into our community,” said Adolphi.
“If the building floods, or burns down, or something happens to the data center, within a few days, thanks to the disaster recovery system Eric created, we would be back up and running having lost almost no data whatsoever,” said Gardner.
Adolphi demurs: “I’m important, but I’m not that important.”
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