As Lake County approaches 25% of its population now vaccinated, Governor Polis has broadened the vaccine parameters this month. All Coloradans over the age of 16 are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, and all Coloradans over the age of 18 are eligible to receive the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The governor [...]
Janae Wright serves as St. Vincent Health’s Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). She earned her bachelor’s in nursing from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock and is currently enrolled in a master’s program in nursing administration through the University of Texas at Arlington. Janae will graduate in June 2021 and plans to pursue her [...]
As the new CEO of St. Vincent Health, I have seen firsthand that this community appreciates our long legacy of healthcare excellence. You have told me that you value having a choice in providers and services, and that you want us to continue growing and improving. With that in mind, I’m happy to announce it’s [...]
For 69-year-old Christine Whittington, life is good again thanks to the Physical Therapy department at St. Vincent Health. “I used to participate in half marathons as a speed walker,” Christine explains. “But, about a year ago, I started having severe pain in my buttocks and hamstrings. It got so bad that I couldn’t sleep at [...]
The St. Vincent Hospital Foundation is holding a raffle for a lot in Pan Ark Estates in Lake County, or, $10,000 cash; your choice. This treed, residential lot is almost a half-acre, on Juniper Drive and just minutes from Forebay at Twin Lakes. The raffle will be held on June 24, 2021, and all proceeds [...]
Like you, your friends at St. Vincent Health have historically looked forward to the annual 9 Health Fair. The event, which routinely occurred in April, will not take place again this year. We enthusiastically anticipate 2022, when hopefully, it will be back. If you were one of hundreds of people in Lake County who got [...]
Dr. Lisa Zwerdlinger is a board-certified, bilingual family practice physician with deep roots in Leadville and Lake County with her more than 20 years of service. She’s the owner/provider of Rocky Mountain Family Practice, public health officer for Lake County, and chief medical officer and hospitalist for St. Vincent Health. She also holds privileges at [...]
Many of our patients have been asking: Will the cost of medical services increase because of St. Vincent Health’s new hospital building? The short answer? No. Our priority is to continue providing healthcare that is attainable for all patients. The question is understandable. Normally, with other types of businesses when there is a new building or [...]
Consider the NEW St. Vincent Health and its blank and beautiful walls a canvas for your artwork. Read on for details here: SVH Seeking Artists
Getting Back on Your Feet at St. Vincent Health After stroke, injury, illness or surgery, rehabilitation is often essential. This is when a person might turn to Swing Bed care also known as inpatient rehabilitation. It’s a funny name—but basically means a person “swings” from acute care to rehab care in an inpatient setting. Inpatient [...]
Under the leadership of Lake County Public Health Agency, Lake County has become an exemplary success story for Colorado, and the nation, with its COVID vaccination roll-out. This unprecedented community vaccination program was a model of coordination, communication and ingenuity from the teams responsible for its creation and implementation. Dr. Lisa Zwerdlinger was the first [...]
Al Dawson had been feeling ill for several days. “I was tired and lethargic, just feeling yucky,” says the 81-year-old retired Spanish professor. Al finally went to see Dr. Lisa Zwerdlinger, a board-certified family practice physician who’s been Al’s doctor for more than 20 years. “She said right off that I didn’t look well and [...]
Summit County offers vaccinations to residents of surrounding counties Lake County Public Health Agency (LCPHA), St. Vincent Health (SVH) and Rocky Mountain Family Practice (RMFP) have experienced great success vaccinating the 70-plus age group. The 70-plus population, medical workers, and first responders continue to be prioritized. If you are in these groups in Lake County [...]
Tiered approach to vaccinations has begun in Lake County by age Lake County Public Health Agency (LCPHA), St. Vincent Health (SVH) and Rocky Mountain Family Practice (RMFP) are collaborating to increase safety and save lives by vaccinating county residents. To prioritize high-risk older residents and to follow the Governor’s directive to vaccinate Coloradans in prioritized [...]
Dr. Nick Tsipis is a board-certified emergency room physician at St. Vincent Health, treating acute illness, traumatic injuries and other health crises. He also serves the hospital as vice chief of staff. Dr. Tsipis comes to St. Vincent from CarePoint Health®, a multi-specialty physician group based in Denver. He splits his time between the Leadville [...]
Promoting health and preventing illness are core work at St. Vincent Health. With that viewpoint, we hope you’ll never need an emergency room visit. But if you do, rest assured you’ll be treated by a highly trained, board-certified emergency medicine provider, available to deliver top-notch care to you or a loved one any minute of [...]
There are new developments and advancements for COVID-19 testing in Lake County, resulting in a shorter turnaround time for test results. These new processes and procedures for faster testing came about with new equipment purchases by St. Vincent Health (SVH) and Rocky Mountain Family Practice (RMFP). In addition, rapid testing kits have been distributed to [...]
A year ago, coronavirus was not a household word. Face masks were for medical professionals. The Broncos played to a packed and cheering stadium full of people. Today, nearly a quarter million Coloradans have tested positive with COVID-19 and more than 3,000 have died. And many people around the world are experiencing what is known [...]
Primary care focuses on big-picture, interrelated components of physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. At St. Vincent Medical Clinic, it involves healthy lifestyle promotion, disease prevention education and medical treatment for patients of all ages. These services are delivered by two highly experienced nurse practitioners. In February 2021, St. Vincent Medical Clinic’s Joette Eyser, [...]
At St. Vincent Health, we acknowledge that protocols around COVID-19 and preventing its spread are often complex. These instructions clarify a variety of situations, including instructions for people awaiting test results, how to manage a positive result, what to do in the event of a negative test (but are still symptomatic), and how to manage [...]
Dr. Joe Assini is a fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopedic surgeon and the newest visiting physician at St. Vincent Health. He specializes in hip and knee replacement and reconstruction, and rapid-recovery total joint arthroplasty, at OrthoONE at Swedish Medical Center in the Denver metro area. He brings his surgical and orthopedic expertise and services to Leadville and [...]
What is Speech Therapy? Communication is a critical skill, vital to learning, working, and other daily interactions. When health conditions impact communication, a person called a speech-language pathologist or speech therapist can help. In this evolving healthcare specialty, speech therapists can teach patients how to manage speech clarity, comprehension—and mechanical aspects that impact communication—as well […]
Gratitude. For me, it’s often that contented and happy feeling when things go really well. But what if it could mean more than that? With our Thanksgiving holiday approaching, I reflect that gratitude is about awareness and acceptance of our world, how it changes and being grateful for belonging in it. I’m working on making […]
The St. Vincent General Hospital District (SVGHD) board of directors voted unanimously for Brett Antczak – MHA, CMPHE, to fill the top leadership role at St. Vincent Health at a meeting on Oct. 22. Antczak is expected to be on site soon to begin his new position as CEO. “I’m excited to join the team […]
Welcome to Week #6 of At-Home Winter Conditioning! Two Mini Circuits: Perform each exercise 15 times, and repeat each circuit three times before going onto the next circuit. Follow along with the video here. Renegade Row with band or weight x 15 Skull Crusher Bicycle x 15 Slider Lunges x5 in 3 different directions Lunge [...]
Physical therapy (PT) is hands-on, collaborative care between a patient and a practitioner that aims to ease pain and help a person function, move, and live better. It can both prevent and heal chronic or acute injury. At St. Vincent, PT is an essential clinic and offers traditional therapies along with some new innovations for […]
St. Vincent General Hospital District (SVGHD) was awarded a $535,297 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Fund (EIAF). The grant will be used to purchase large equipment items for the surgical suite in the new hospital, which is currently under construction and set to open in early […]
LETTER FROM THE INTERIM CEO, CORBIN LOGAN “The first wealth is health.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson If health is indeed wealth, the Sisters of Charity who founded St. Vincent Hospital in 1879 to care for fortune-seeking miners were unquestionably the thought leaders of the day. Since then, St. Vincent has been a constant in [...]
Paramedic Jeremiah Grantham leads the team prepared to respond to 911 calls and emergencies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in the 400-square-mile Lake County service area. He is uniquely qualified to run Ambulances Services, with his commitment to patient-centered care, wilderness skills, and Nationally Registered Paramedic (NRP) accreditation—the highest level of certification [...]
Health and happiness: these two things are top of mind for St. Vincent Health! Together with Lake County Build a Generation and Lake County Public Health, we’re collaborating on the countywide Health & Happiness Project and we’re seeking your partnership and participation. We’re asking residents to weigh in with a short online survey and/or community […]
Colorado is unfortunately at the forefront of the nation’s opioid epidemic, with the 12th highest rate of prescription opioid misuse and abuse in all 50 states. Opioids are drugs that are used to relieve acute pain. Their use carries significant risk of long-term abuse and dependence, even when taken exactly as prescribed. In the worst […]
Dr. Dylan Luyten brings two decades of emergency medicine and leadership experience to St. Vincent. In addition to being an emergency room physician, Dr. Luyten serves as medical director of St. Vincent’s emergency medical services. Dr. Luyten, who attended medical school at Tufts University in Boston, brings humility, optimism and pragmatism to his practice. “The […]
Arianna Palma is very visible on the front line and equally active behind the scenes at St. Vincent. Responsible for the day-to-day operation of several critical functions, Arianna is the Clinic Director and Director of Provider Services, and also the Front Desk Manager. In her roles she puts policies and procedures in place, looks critically […]
Check out the progress on St. Vincent’s new hospital at this YouTube link.
It’s the Cancer You Can See, So Look for It: July is UV Safety Month If we were to give you a pop quiz right now about how to prevent sun damage, we think you’d score 100 percent! (The answers, of course: apply 30+ SPF sunscreen often and liberally, seek shade, stay out of midday […]
Doctors of Physical Therapy David Cimino and Kelly Bergkessel lead workouts that you can do in the comfort of your own home! Follow along with three of their informative and fun videos below. Dave’s EMOM workout is here. Kelly’s spring conditioning workout, and, Dave’s AMRAP workout. Enjoy!
This month we’re celebrating dads and grads and reminding our community about the importance of the annual routine physical examination. Its role is to help men and women of all ages stay in tip-top health. Lots of people will see their physician or provider for acute or episodic medical issues but skip their annual exam. […]
As spring transitions to summer, and as June marks the halfway point in 2020, we have much to celebrate. Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has presented to our community and our organization, St. Vincent Health is steadily moving forward with new hospital construction, newly elected board members are seated, and we took delivery of our […]
St. Vincent Health is grateful to have received our new ambulance in mid-May 2020! The new ambulance was made possible by 50% funding from the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment EMTS provider grant. The project included an ambulance, safety equipment, Motorola and Kenwood communications equipment, a new Zoll heart rate monitor/defibrillator, a Stryker […]
It is with gratitude to all of our dedicated board members that we announce the 2020 SVGHD election results. The new directors for the SVGHD Board are: Aleta Bezzic -incumbent board chairman (Term, 2023) Jonathan Burk (Term, 2023) Saige Bertolas (Term, 2022) These results may change, we will accept UOCAVA ballots until May 13. Then [...]
Coronavirus Testing and Antibody Testing Costs Covered The Cares Act mandated that nearly all insurance companies cover 100% of testing related to COVID-19. This includes fees from the provider visit, the specimen collection, and laboratory test. Insured patients can expect that we will bill their insurance and that there will be no “out of pocket” [...]
