Gunnison Valley Health Announces the Opening of a Women’s Health Clinic

On July 12, 2023, the Gunnison Valley Health (GVH) Women’s Health Clinic will begin seeing patients in need of specialized women’s healthcare. The new clinic and the services offered by its providers were developed in direct response to the health system’s 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment. Clinic services will be provided by board-certified OB/GYN, Deborah Tozer, MD, and Joy McElyea, DNP, WHNP, who together will offer a comprehensive array of gynecological care.

Gunnison Valley Health CEO, Jason Amrich, said that this specialty clinic was designed with a large amount of input from the community.

“Access to women’s health services was identified as one of the major health needs in our Community Health Needs Assessment,” Amrich said. “Women’s health is a very broad category of specialized services and we wanted to ensure that we were developing a service line that was what the community wants and needs. To help clarify, we spent a lot of time conducting focus groups and talking to women in the community about their healthcare needs.”

The two providers at the GVH Women’s Health Clinic are specialists who can offer a broad continuum of care that will support women to access the services they need without leaving the community. The available services and care will encompass everything from prevention to surgery.

Dr. Tozer said that their combined skill sets will complement each other and give women broad options for their care.

“Together Joy and I will have the ability to offer evaluation, care and treatment for a diverse array of conditions and needs that are very specific to women and often beyond the scope of a primary care provider,” Tozer said. “Each of us brings unique skills to the clinic. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to launch this new service and work alongside Joy to continue evolving and growing this critical area of healthcare in the Gunnison Valley.”

Deborah Tozer, MD is a board-certified OB/GYN who most recently has been practicing in the Parker area. Dr. Tozer earned her degree from Indiana University School of Medicine and enjoys having the opportunity to provide continuity of care from adolescence and beyond. Dr. Tozer prides herself in high quality patient-centered care in both obstetrics and gynecology.

Joy McElyea, DNP, WHNP is a women’s health nurse practitioner who has been with Gunnison Valley Health since 2015. McElyea specializes in healthcare for women from adolescence through the post-menopausal period.

“I want everyone who calls the Gunnison Valley home to have the ability to access as much of their healthcare as possible without having to travel,” Amrich continued. “Dr. Tozer and Joy McElyea are going to fill a considerable gap in healthcare services, and I am thrilled that they have chosen to share their considerable talents with Gunnison Valley Health and the women in our community.”

The clinic will be open on Mondays and Wednesdays and is located inside of the specialty clinic at the hospital. Appointments are required and can be scheduled by calling 970-641-3927. More information about the specific services offered is available at www.gunnisonvalleyhealth.org/womenshealth.