Reaching New Heights | A Message from CEO Dave Ressler

This just in! Pitkin County has improved its ranking, according to the just-released U.S. News & World Report Healthiest Communities study, to the #1 healthiest rural community in the state of Colorado, and the 3^rd healthiest rural community in the nation. How cool is that!? Of course, the persistent factor that continues to hold us back from being #1 overall is…(drum roll)…you guessed it: the lack of affordable housing. However, one of our greatest strengths is our population’s health.

We and our Board of Directors were joyous at hearing this great news. After all, it represents a couple notches higher toward realizing our Board’s vision of being the healthiest community in the nation. Why would we not celebrate? That said, we are also aware AVH does not deserve the credit, and that we are simply a strong and passionate contributor to our community’s health. There are many contributors, in fact—the greatest of which is our community’s unwavering quest for excellent health. We see this in our community’s recreational pursuits, including an obsession with Strava and ever-improving personal records (PRs), in our healthy diet preferences, and in our DNA that is descended from the Paepcke’s mind/body/spirit vision that has guided us through the decades.

But we do deserve some credit, starting with our world class orthopedics. Don’t take it from me though, check out U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals rankings in which both we and our partner, Vail Health, have received “high performing” ratings for orthopedic care. Mobility is your passion, and it is our purpose, to provide musculoskeletal support for whatever you choose to do. Whether it is from our Steadman Clinic surgeons, whose expertise continues to grow and include sports medicine, spine, total joint and foot and ankle surgeons; the physical medicine and rehabilitation expertise of Dr. Dusty Anderson; or our trusted AVH physical and occupational therapists. We are committed to your ability to move and perform, and we have delivered through our partnerships with The Steadman Clinic and Vail Health.

Good health is also related to strong prevention. Our primary care providers at Aspen Valley Primary Care, and the work we do with the Valley Health Alliance, focuses on whole-person health and preventive care. Our advanced primary care clinics (in Aspen and Basalt) provide team-based care that includes nutritionists, social workers and care coordinators. Our health fairs augment our excellent primary care with low-cost lab options for a host of prevention-oriented tests. And when we do need healthcare, which we all do, and will, our Network of Care has our community covered with specialists and walk-in care facilities in Basalt and Snowmass when you need us. Of course, as a small hospital, we focus on what we can do well with relatively low volumes, so we have partnerships with Valley View Hospital, UC Health and Swedish Medical Center for when you need more advanced specialty care. And we will do more as the science of longevity and lifestyle medicine evolves and our capabilities expand.

Congratulations to our community, and to our community members who strive for personal health and longevity! We are proud of you, and it is our privilege to support you in every way we can.

Dave