When I started working as a health care reporter on Capitol Hill, there was no Medicare Part D drug benefit. Nearly 50 million people were uninsured. There was no such thing as telehealth. The Institute of Medicine’s groundbreaking 2001 report Crossing the Quality Chasm had not yet been published.

When I think of Hospital Week, I think of all the progress we’ve made since then: the seniors who no longer worry about affording their medication; the low-income families with reliable insurance; the patients who can now consult a physician through their computer screen; and the amazing work hospitals have led to improve outcomes, reduce readmissions, and keep people healthy.

And of course, I think of the central and critical role hospitals played during the pandemic. In those frightening few months and well beyond, hospitals stepped up to treat the sick and educate the public. They worked hand-in-hand with government and private-sector partners to protect our communities. Most importantly, health care providers kept going to work in the face of unknown danger.

They did that because it is their mission, their purpose. I’ve seen it for the three decades I’ve been in this field. It is no exaggeration that nearly every time I visit one of our hospitals, a staff member tells me that I am in the best hospital in the state. A nurse leader, a physical therapist, an admissions representative, an electrician, a chef. Their passion and pride are so clear – and so vital.

As we commemorate Hospital Week, it is important to remember that hospitals are more than buildings or businesses. They are the heart of our health care system, an engine for public health and an incubator for tomorrow’s clinical and administrative leaders.

Unfortunately, they are also struggling. In Colorado, more than two-thirds of our hospitals operate with a margin that leaves precious if any room to improve facilities, add services, buy new equipment, or expand outreach. Reimbursement from public and private payers doesn’t even closely match inflation or cost growth. Workforce issues – including the high cost and low availability of housing and childcare – further stress staff members and their employers.

In the face of these challenges, however, hospitals just keep stepping up. Every day and in every way. I see it all the time: they do more with less, meet need where they find it, and support an amazingly committed group of caregivers.

I am so grateful for all the staff members who tell me they work in the best hospital in Colorado. Because every one of them does. Happy Hospital Week!

Jeff Tieman
CHA President and CEO