Located in the beautiful Grand Valley of the Western Slope, the Grand Junction VAMC serves a veteran population of 37,000 residing in western Colorado and southeastern Utah. The VAMC provides primary and secondary care including acute medical, surgical and psychiatric inpatient services as well as a full range of outpatient services. Specialized programs include a Mental Health Care Center, same day surgery, observation beds, mobile MRI imaging. Patients requiring tertiary care are referred to the Salt Lake City VA Health Care System, Utah or the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System at Denver, Colorado. When necessary and appropriate, care is provided locally on a contract or a fee-for-services basis. Through local agreements, the VAMC obtains radiation therapy and other specialized procedures. Scarce medical specialty agreements with community specialists make it possible to offer patients urology, orthopedics, neurology, ENT, ophthalmology and podiatry services. In 1999 the VAMC opened a community based outpatient clinic in Montrose, Colorado, located 65 miles southeast of Grand Junction. The clinic serves a surrounding five county area and provides basic preventive, primary medical and mental health care.   In 2007, the VAMC opened a Telehealth outreach clinic in Craig, Colorado, serving northwest Colorado veterans.  In 1999, the VAMC was the recipient of the prestigious Robert W. Carey Quality Award and in 2001, earned the Presidential Award for Quality.

AFFILIATIONS

The Grand Junction VAMC has academic affiliation agreements with colleges and universities in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina and New Mexico. These agreements provide work experience opportunities for students from a wide variety of technical and professional disciplines that include the following:
 
Medicine
Nursing
Pharmacy
Social Work
Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Recreation Therapy
Dental Hygiene
Radiologic Technology

OPERATING BEDS

23 Acute Medicine, Surgery and Psychiatry Beds
30 Transitional Care Unit Beds

 TYPE OF FACILITY

General Medical & Surgical

SPECIAL PROGRAMS
 
Transitional Care Unit
Intensive Care Unit
Ambulatory Surgery
Inpatient Psychiatry Care Unit
Mental Health Intensive Case Management

Community Based Outpatient Clinic for this facility:

Montrose, Colorado
VA Outpatient Clinic
4 Hillcrest Plaza Way
Montrose, CO 81401
Phone: (970) 249-7791

Craig, Colorado
VA Outpatient Clinic
551 Tucker Street
Craig, CO  81625
Phone: (970) 824-9721

Achievements of Note
 
The Grand Junction VAMC is a classic example of the old saying "good things come in small packages."  The Medical Center is blessed with employees and volunteers, who are dedicated to the mission, have an excellent work ethic and take great pride in serving veterans.

The Primary Care Model, now in place throughout the VHA, was conceived and implemented at the Grand Junction VAMC in 1988. Dr. William R. Berryman, Medical Center Chief of Staff, pioneered the model and is considered THE source of expertise on its applications and benefits. In recognition, Dr. Berryman was the 1998 winner of the prestigious Mark Wolcott Award for Clinical Excellence.

The National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic was conceived and developed in 1986 by Sandy Trombetta, Medical Center Chief of Recreation Therapy. The week long annual clinic, co-sponsored by VA and DAV and hosted by the Grand Junction VAMC and VA Rocky Mountain Network, offers disabled veterans opportunities to experience and learn alpine and cross country skiing, rock climbing, scuba diving and various other sports and educational activities. The clinic, now in its 21st year, has touched the lives of thousands of disabled veterans as well as their family members and friends. Through a process of guided self-discovery, participants develop new skills and abilities they never thought possible, allowing them to rise above the limits imposed by their disabilities. The event draws nationwide acclaim and provides VA with very positive media exposure. Thanks to the Winter Sports Clinic, the Grand Junction VAMC is known throughout VA as a national center for adaptive sports.

Results of the cyclical surveys conducted by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) stand as testament to this Medical Center's claims of high quality care and dedicated employees. Continuous efforts to provide high quality care once again resulted in full accreditation in 2007. 

The Medical Center conducted its first ever local Creative Arts Festival in 1998. The festival was a huge success and has now become an annual event. Encouraged by this success, the Medical Center was selected to be the host of the 1999 National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, which was held October 11-17, 1999. This was a notable achievement for a VA facility to be the host for two of the four annual national VA special events, and in succession!

The Medical Center continues to see a growth in demand for health care resources.  The number of users reached 10,788 in FY 2006 of which 1,469 were new to the Va system or had not otherwise been seen in the past three year period.  Most importantly, these "new" users, who for various reasons had not accessed VA care, were provided with the care and service they so richly deserve.