Telluride Med Center: Eric Adolphi, He Sees Everything – But Patients!

10 May Telluride Med Center: Eric Adolphi, He Sees Everything – But Patients!

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There are no overnight beds at the Telluride Regional Medical Center and yet there are nights when one person never leaves.

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 technology at the heart of the clinic beating.

During the first tense weeks of the pandemic, when the local clinic rose to create new protocols and systems to handle a separate stream of respiratory patients, Adolphi worked between 60 and 80 hours a week.

Those long weeks stretched into months as Adolphi moved on from creating new negative air-flow exam rooms and an outdoor clinic to the massive project of transitioning the nearby Depot building into an adjacent medical facility.

The technological systems Adolphi oversees, which are vital to keeping the medical center open under any circumstances, are an unseen pillar in the community’s safety net, according to staff at the med center.

“I’m convinced Eric can’t be daunted. He has a profound integrity and commitment to his job, our medical staff, and to the community at large,” said Dr. Sharon Grundy, who has worked alongside Adolphi for now nearly two decades.

Adolphi keeps his eyes on everything from the antennas clear down to the soil, every computer, much of the medical technology, drinking fountains, electrical, drains, cabinets, servers, building security, email systems. This list could go on.

“He basically sees everything, but the patients here,” said Dr. Grundy.

To do that, Adolphi is on call every single day of the year. 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,” said Adolphi.

Eric’s value is as crucial as ever, according to Karen Winkelmann, CEO:“We rely on Eric — in fact the whole community does, whether they know it or not!”