User:Vvmcweb/Vail Valley Medical Center

Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC) serves local and regional patients, as well as destination travelers from around the world. Services include cardiology, endocrinology, internal medicine, emergency/urgent care, surgery, wound care, pharmacies, plastic surgery, childbirth, and occupational health. In addition, VVMC is home to Howard Head Sports Medicine and the internationally renowned Steadman Clinic, Steadman Philippon Research Institute and Vail-Summit Orthopaedics. Shaw Regional Cancer Center, the region's only fully accredited cancer treatment center and comprehensive breast center, is a service of Vail Valley Medical Center.

History
As the Vail ski area opened in 1962, the founders of the resort contracted a doctor for the winter months to provide medical care to skiers, setting up an office in what is now the kitchen at the Red Lion restaurant. Dr. Tom Steinberg was hired as Vail's first full-time doctor in 1965, opening a small clinic in the Mill Creek Court Building. In 1967, the clinic moved to West Meadow Drive and fundraising began to accommodate the growing needs of the hospital as it served an ever-increasing population. By 1979, construction allowed for service line expansion including obstetrics, general surgery and orthopaedics. In 1980, Vail's clinic was named Vail Valley Medical Center. In the first year as a full service hospital, 350 surgical operations were performed with 25 full-time physicians on staff. Today, VVMC has 58 beds and provides a wide array of medical services in Vail, Avon, Beaver Creek, Edwards, Eagle and Gypsum. Accredited by the Joint Commission and designated by the State of Colorado as a Level III Trauma Center, VVMC has received quality awards from Avatar International and HealthGrades.