A new name and look will better reflect the work of Northwest Colorado Health, formerly known as the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, staff announced last week.

The organization unveiled the new name during a ribbon cutting and reception Wednesday at its Steamboat offices adjacent to Yampa Valley Medical Center and at a Chamber mixer Thursday in Craig.

“Northwest Colorado Health is everything we do,” said CEO Lisa Brown.

---

---

Brown said when the Visiting Nurse Association opened in 1964, primary services involved nurses visiting patients in a home healthcare setting and staff going out into the community and educating people about public health.

“It was primarily going into people’s homes and the community,” Brown said.

---

---

Over the last 50-plus years, the organization has expanded its reach, including through Community Health Centers in Steamboat Springs and Craig.

The organization aims to offer affordable care, including through assistance in obtaining insurance and low-cost prescriptions. Northwest Colorado Health also has two dental hygienists on staff now to help provide low-cost dental care.

“We see anybody, regardless of their ability to pay,” Brown said. “We believe everybody deserves the opportunity to achieve their best health.”

A current and future focus of Northwest Colorado Health is also prevention and wellness programs in Routt, Moffat and Grand counties.

“Health is so much more than healthcare,” Brown said. “It’s how we live. It’s what our environment is.”

Northwest Colorado Health also runs numerous support groups, provides hospice services and owns and operates The Haven assisted living center in Hayden and Rollingstone Respite House in Steamboat Springs.

Overall, the organization employees 150 employees among the offices in Steamboat Springs, Craig and Hot Sulphur Springs, and operates on a budget of $11 million annually, with funding generated from patient fees, county, state and federal contracts, local and state foundations and strong local support from individual donors through annual giving and special events.

The new name does not change the organization’s affiliation with the National Visiting Nurse Association of America, of which it is a member.

Brown said the organization and its board had discussed a desire to update the name for years, but the efforts to become Northwest Colorado Health officially began about a year ago.

Learn more about the services offered through Northwest Colorado Health by visiting the organization’s new website, northwestcoloradohealth.orgnorthwestcoloradohealth.org. .

northwestcoloradohealth.org.

To reach Teresa Ristow, call 970-871-4206, email To reach Teresa Ristow, call 970-871-4206, email tristow@SteamboatToday.com or follow her on Twitter @TeresaRistowTo reach Teresa Ristow, call 970-871-4206, email tristow@SteamboatToday.com or follow her on Twitter @TeresaRistow