A few years back, the Board and Management leadership of Yampa Valley Medical Center had the insight and inspiration to explore various living models across the country to apply towards creating a special living environment for seniors in Steamboat Springs and surrounding areas. The concept was to introduce the idea to local adult children in hopes that they would embrace by promoting their senior parents to consider such a community and to bring their families geographically and socially closer.

Research soon supplemented inspiration and we began to ask questions about what's important in later life to seniors, families, health care practitioners, and also to ourselves. Where will we want to live as we age, and, how can we invigorate our lives and support our aging processes? We learned that while "home is where the heart is", home also needs to be accommodating to support our physical needs as well as be socially engaging.  With encouragement from the local community, we have embarked on the design of Colorado's newest and most exciting senior living community, Casey's Pond, and we anticipate groundbreaking in 2012.

Casey’s Pond is a private, tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization and will become a member of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aged (AAHSA), the association for not-for-profit organizations providing senior living and long term care. According to AAHSA, a review of government statistics shows not-for-profit organizations provide greater quality of service and care compared to  for-profit organizations. Not-for-profit organizations were found to offer more hours of care per patient per day, invest more resources in patient care and average significantly fewer deficiencies than for-profit homes. As we move forward, we will keep the surrounding community informed as to our progress as well as continue to listen to comments and suggestions from the local community. This combination of a much needed senior living community and our commitment to excellence will no doubt open the doors to a whole new experience that Steamboat Springs will be able to offer.