Gunnison Valley Health Suspends Community Events

To our community,

After much deliberation and with shared disappointment, we have made the difficult decision to suspend all of our community events for the month of January, including the blood draw events in both Gunnison and Crested Butte. This was an extremely difficult decision to make, but given the spread of the Omicron variant in Gunnison County and the negative impact it is having on the staffing of critical healthcare services, it is a decision we had to make.

As of Monday, Gunnison County was experiencing a 44 percent positivity rate and Gunnison Valley Health is dealing with approximately 6-7 percent of the workforce calling out each day. While this unprecedented spike in cases is not translating into increased COVID-related hospitalizations, we remain busy and at risk of staffing shortages that could have serious implications for the community. The decision to suspend events is part of a proactive strategy to ensure that we are able to keep all operations functioning normally. Thankfully, we are effectively managing the staffing shortages and all services remain available and are operating normally.

While not a part of day-to-day operations, we do understand the importance of the blood draw events and are currently working with our contractor to reschedule for later in 2022. We will send updated event information as soon as it is available.

We would like to thank our community for their continued patience and understanding as we work through the Omicron surge and continuing COVID-19 pandemic alongside of you. We are grateful to be a part of this valley and thank you for your support of our amazing staff.

If you have any questions about Gunnison Valley Health’s community events, please contact Joelle Ashley at 970-642-8417 or jashley@gvh-colorado.org.