The Hopeful Impact of the Vaccine on COVID-19 | A Message from CEO Dave Ressler

I’m bullish on vaccines, and our immediate future.

Aspen Valley Hospital serves as a shining example of the impact vaccines are starting to have on our community. In the past several weeks, we have had very few employees out ill with the virus. While some of this reduction is certainly related to lower incidence in the community, and our continued adherence to the Five Commitments to Containment at AVH, much of our improving trend of illness among our physicians and staff started before the incidence rate started to fall in the community. Now, we are starting to see the same benefits among our older and vulnerable populations, among our teachers and the schools, and our essential workers. While our community is fortunate to have the strength of our Public Health services, and our highly efficient mass vaccination program managed by the Pitkin County Incident Management Team, other communities and states are also finding ways to get our increasing national vaccine supply into arms. And now we have the Johnson & Johnson “one shot” vaccine added to the arsenal in the fight against the virus. While the variants are spreading, the timing of our vaccination advances couldn’t be better.

With our COVID-19 battle plan in full swing, we turn our attention to recovery and resuming our lives. This month’s enewsletter will share some of our ideas and the work we are doing to help our community move forward. First, we acknowledge we have all been emotionally impacted by the past 12 months, if not also mentally and physically. The winter season plays a role, too, compounding the effects of pandemic fatigue. This is why we are sharing some important mental health resources in this edition. Earlier this winter, we partnered with Aspen Strong to create a forum for discussion called “Failure to Launch?,” during which our own experts provided insights into what many are feeling and experiencing, and how we can practice some good mental hygiene. If you missed it, you can watch the event in its entirety by clicking here.

Many of us have postponed dental and health examinations and screening, which can have long-term consequences for our health and well-being. We encourage our community to not put these important services off any longer, to contact your physician or dentist, or other practitioners, and get back in the swing of routine healthcare and prevention.

And for the droves of us that have been taking to the hills and the trails as a means of maintaining our physical health and our healthy perspectives, we know our bodies need routine maintenance, and we sometimes need repairs. Maintaining our musculoskeletal health is an important part of maintaining our active lifestyles, and this issue provides an update on how our partnership with The Steadman Clinic is serving our community with evidence- and research-based advanced orthopedic care. You can hear from our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Eric Stahl, a respected orthopedic surgeon and athlete himself, about his role in and observations about our historic partnership.

Thanks for tuning in again this month, and please be sure to get a vaccine when it is your turn, to cut yourself some slack and take care of your mental health, to catch-up on your preventive care, and let us know how we can help you maintain the lifestyle you want to have.

Dave