Photo by Lindsay Ferrell Rio Grande Hospital CEO Arlene Harms cut the ribbon during the grand opening ceremony for the hospital’s Wellness Center on Saturday, June 22.
DEL NORTE – Rio Grande Hospital rolled out the red carpet Saturday, welcoming more than 200 people to their new Wellness Center in Del Norte. The project has been in the works since 2017 and is dear to the hearts of many who work and support the hospital.
Attendees were greeted at the door by local artist Casey McCoy, who painted a stunning drywall mural in the building’s main lobby. The piece captures the essence of what the Wellness Center will be for the community, bringing to life the vision that Rio Grande Hospital CEO Arlene Harms envisioned for the Rio Grande County community and surrounding areas.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony began with short statements from Rio Grande Hospital Board of Directors Vice Chair and Secretary Emily Brown and Board Chairman Tyler Off.
“This is truly a great event and I want to welcome everyone to this really exciting ceremony. The hospital and the board have been talking about this since 2017. This is the result of an initiative that Arlene had been listening to, but it really was a very large community that came together to make this a reality. Rio Grande Hospital is a community hospital and the reason this hospital exists is to give back to the community,” Brown said.
The vision for the Wellness Center was to provide the community with another resource that would model health and wellness and serve the community as a preventative health care tool.
Off spoke next, and he focused on how the project got started.
“I just want to expand on what Arlene said on this. She was the driving force behind this even when there was some resistance from the board. We had a vision, but it wasn’t as clear as hers. She turned it into a passion and a goal. It’s really inspiring how it’s turned out and where we are today,” Off said.
Harms emulated cultures where longevity is the norm in places known as Blue Zones. These places are spread across the world, and people who live in these areas tend to live past 100 years old, thanks to concepts of preventative health, wellness, and community.
Harms took the stage next and said the idea for the wellness center began during a 2016 conference where the keynote speaker spoke about the commonalities of the Blue Zones.
“The Blue Zones are rural, they have a lot of community, they have context, they’re very family-oriented, and I thought a place like that would really be a good fit in the Valley,” Harms said.
Harms said he didn’t take on this project alone, but through passion and perseverance, funding came from the Rio Grande Hospital Board, private donations, local organizations such as the Outcalt Foundation, the LOR Foundation, local banks such as Del Norte Bank and RG Bank, and several other organizations and businesses.
Harms expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the project, including Owner’s Representative Joe Aldrich, Phipps Construction, Keys & Lauer Architects, and the many others who worked together to make it happen. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by refreshments and a tour of the facility.
