Hospital continues to Keep the Dream Alive

By Lyndsie Ferrell
DEL NORTE— There is something different about the Rio Grande Hospital and it is something that can be found along their hallways, patient rooms and beyond, in events like the Keeping the Dream Alive fundraiser; it’s a sense of community.
The 2018 Keeping the Dream Alive event kicked off Saturday, Aug. 11 at the Del Norte bus barn located next to the high school. The event was catered by Ronnie Martinez with the Mountain View Restaurant in Monte Vista. “Ronnie donated the food for our event and it was wonderful. We couldn’t be more thankful for his donation,” said Harms.
During the event, Rio Grande Hospital staff gathered with community members, sponsors, business owners and the hospital board for a delicious meal and fun while raising money for the hospital. “We even had the executive team from Park View Hospital join us for the evening and what a great bunch of supporters. It was Park View’s COO’s birthday and we made sure to celebrate with him. We played ‘So You’re Having a Birthday’ by the Beetles and gave him a proper welcome. The entire team has been a driving force in our growth and we wanted to say thank you,” said hospital CEO Arlene Harms.
For the entire event the hospital sold a staggering 507 tickets, 425 of which came to enjoy a meal. The night was a huge success with $34,536 donated by hospital and Rio Grande Clinic staff, $24,639 donated by the general public and $9,158 generated through the donations made from local businesses for the auction items, $11,500 through sponsor donations, $6,092 from ticket sales and $205 from book sales donated by local author Jack Bilak.
“This community never ceases to amaze me. We live in a rural community and reached almost $100,000 in donations for our cause. I kept telling everyone that we are in the business of making people better, before they have the chance to experience our wonderful services. That is what we do. We are headed towards making people well,” said Harms.
Auction items included tickets from Creede Repertory Theatre, quilts made by various quilting guilds throughout the county and several items donated by businesses from Creede, South Fork, Del Norte and Monte Vista. “We are on our way, and it is so amazing to see the community support us on this journey,” said Harms.
Construction at the hospital is on time and on budget. Harms stated that they hope to have the emergency room and physical therapy areas open by the first of September. “We have a ways to go, but things are running along as they should. We plan to have small celebrations as we open each of the areas, but we will have one big grand opening, hopefully by November.”
Harms also stated that several nurses and doctors have been undergoing rigorous training in preparation for the cardiac and bariatric wound care centers. “I am so proud of our doctors and nurses for going the extra mile to be trained in these areas of care. It has been like getting hit in the face with a fire hydrant hose. All of the information they have learned in the last few months is amazing and when we decided to open these clinics, we always said that if we could save one life with this new service it would all be worth it.”
At the event, Harms emphasized, “We have some of the best doctors, practitioners and staff here at Rio Grande Hospital, but above all of that, we have an amazing community that supports us.” A huge thank you goes out to everyone who donated time money and material to the event. The hospital is on its way up with the help of the community.