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I just did it when I typed in the date for this newsletter; I wrote “2022” instead of “2023.” Fortunately, I rarely write checks anymore, so that won’t be a problem. But everywhere else I write or reference the year we are now in, 2023, I am at risk for not acknowledging the change. Call it a force of habit, as they say, but the fact is that most of us don’t like change, a condition that seems to harden the older we get. And yet change occurs in our world and our lives at warp speed. Fortunately, some things never change, such as the warmth of human contact; the joy of children laughing and playing; the love of and for pets; the beauty of our mountains and our valley; and the world-class reputation of our resort community.
In the January newsletter, we focus on some other timeless truths. These include our first baby of the year born at AVH. Every year we celebrate the occasion, because a new life in a new year represents hope and the promise that life goes on, despite all that seems to be wrong with our world at any given time. Of course, once the child grows, life seems to hit warp speed again, and the next thing you know, your little one is headed off to college. But that, too, is a constant in our world: we all grow older. AVH has been here for our community, through all phases of our lives, for the past 131 years, and we will continue to have the services to meet the needs and challenges of each age and stage of life along the way.
Another constant has been our high-quality patient care. In this issue, we celebrate the Guardian of Excellence Award that we have received for our emergency services being consistently ranked among the top 5% of hospitals in the country. In fact, we have been the top-ranked hospital (99th percentile) on many occasions. The same holds true for our inpatient services, which are ranked and publicly reported as consistently among the top 10% of hospitals in the country. This is a truth you can count on, that our community has counted on for decades – that the staff and physicians at AVH provide the highest-quality and safest patient care.
While change does and will occur all around us, you can count on AVH to be steadfast in our commitment to provide the services our community needs to maintain active, healthy lifestyles, and to be there for our community and visitors when they fall to injury or illness. That’s a constant in the Hospital’s history and will be for our future, whatever it takes. Our staff, our physicians, our technologies and our partnerships will consistently and reliably evolve and innovate over time to maintain the highest level of care. That you can count on.
Happy New Year!
Dave
