Master Plan

Health care in Telluride has come a long way from the frontier days of medical treatment in a saloon and is now entering a new frontier of health care in the 21st century. As the Town of Telluride celebrates its 130th anniversary in 2008, the Hospital District celebrates its 30th, and we find ourselves bursting at the seams.  Our ability to continue to improve the quality of health care into the future in Telluride, hinges upon the expansion of the Telluride Medical Center into a new, larger, state-of-the-art facility. Leading this project is The Telluride Hospital District’s Board of Directors and our Executive Director, Gordon Reichard.

In 1978 The Telluride region created a tax district to ensure continuity in health care, which became part of the foundation of our community. The Telluride Hospital District extends from the top of Dallas Divide in the North to San Bernardo in the South. Through this tax subsidy, the Emergency Department is able to provide 24 hour emergency care, digital radiology and CT services. The Medical Center also houses premier primary care services, The Institute for High Altitude Medicine and visiting specialists from orthopedics to dermatology and cardiology. The Hospital District is supervised by an elected board of community members who each serve four year terms. In the past decade the board has begun laying the groundwork for the future by steering the Medical Center towards financial solvency, creating an institution able to stand on its own and developing a formal strategic plan to guide us in the years to come.

The strategic plan focuses on finding a new home for TMC’s expanded medical services.  Today the Medical Center sits on land that is neither owned by the Hospital District nor the Town of Telluride, but is leased from the Idarado Mining Company for $1 a year and it cannot meet the demands of a growing population for much longer. The Medical Center includes on its list of intended improvements the expansion and modernization of ER facilities, radiology, cardiology and respiratory services, continued research in high altitude medicine, the integration of a wellness center and the addition of an outpatient surgical center.

Securing a piece of land in an accessible location that will allow for this growth over the next 20 years is paramount and it is the greatest challenge facing the board today. Fortunately, in 2007 the Town of Telluride offered the Medical Center the opportunity to maintain its facilities in town by moving to include us in its Master Plan.  The end of the south Pearl property, currently the “RV Parking Lot”, could sustain a 30,000 sq. foot facility that would accommodate the increased demand for health care services and provide a central location without encroaching upon existing wetlands.

A new facility will ensure that TMC has the space and technologies to pursue new frontiers of medicine while continuing to provide exceptional, personalized care to our patients. With additions and improvements built into a new facility, we will literally cement TMC’s leadership role in health care delivery for years to come.

History: Frontier Medicine and the Evolution of Doctoring

The Doctors

Master Plan