By Healthcare Facilities Today

For the staff at Estes Park Medical Center every day is a reminder of the rains and flooding that damaged parts of Colorado two months ago  according to an article on the Health Facilities Management magazine website.

Severe rains in September washed out large stretches of most roads that lead Estes Park, causing the hospital to get creative with basic needs for staff, the article said.

One road into Estes Park remains drivable, but it is a circuitous route down the mountain that turns a 45-minute trip into a few hours for patients who need additional care at hospitals in the larger towns of Longmont and Loveland and for staff who live there, Bobbi Swenson, interim CEO, said in the article.

Swenson calls the looming transportation challenges "highly concerning" as the snow nears. The facility shuttles staff who live in towns outside Estes Park and provides shelter and free meals at local housing it owns, so staff can stay in town for stretches at a time.

Read the article.