[Stolas Mares-Cluff]

Dear Mayor Hall,

I'm not a resident of Estes, but I'm emailing because I have deep family ties to this beautiful town. 

If you'll allow me, I'll tell you a story. 

A boy was born in a small house on the prairies of Nebraska in 1922. He grew up as a farmer, always carrying a deep love of the land in his heart through the dust bowl, world war II, and finally, finding work that would sustain his family. He gave up farming (he was never very good at it to begin with), and moved to Golden, where he worked for the Coors family, back when Adolf Coors would walk the lines so he could get to know the people who made his beer. 

That boy, now a man, would take his family for vacations all across Colorado, but he especially loved Estes. Back then it was a dusty, forgotten town full of cabins with sagging floors and drafty windows, but seeing the glittering peaks of the Rockies and the roar of Big Thom whispered an old song to him that made him fall in love with this place. His two sons heard it too, and after many years, both made their homes here. One chose to live in Allen's Park, while the other took a more circuitous route through Boulder, but eventually buying a home in a place where people still lived with bobcats and elk in relative harmony. 

However, Estes was eventually "discovered" by the outside world. The high peaks and groaning of pines drew millions from around the world to this quiet valley, and the town began to grow anew, and as it did, the town began to change. It welcomed all who wanted to breathe it's crystalline air and feel ancient ground beneath their feet, and all who came were welcomed. But as happens in nature, eventually the new growth forgot that the old made it possible, and so the old growth began to die out. First slowly, imperceptibly, but then quickly, and a forest fire of expansion began. 

The reason I'm writing to you Sir, my family has loved this town and found their place both in the community of Estes and in the calls of Stellar's Jays and elk. However, the town no longer seems to prioritize the old growth community of folks who loved this town before it found itself on the world's stage, and as my family ages, they see clearly that, should the unthinkable happen to them, the critical services they would need are no longer available. 

They're looking at leaving the town because the elder care they now and will need are no longer available, and I can't blame them. I want my Aunt and Uncles around for years to come, even if that means they leave. And it breaks my heart to see the town choose newcomers over folks who have been here for decades.

To be sure, the governance of a town is a fine balance, just like anything else in nature, and that's the purpose of my epistle. As you know, Estes is so much more than the Stanley or the people who come to enjoy the numinous beauty of the high Rockies. Like any healthy tree, it's also the deep roots of people who have lived here long before it was a tourist destination and loved it when there were only saggy floors and drafty windows. 

Estes is better than some excoriating email, and so I'll simply ask, as you lead this beautiful town, please consider providing support to the old folks (my uncles are about 80 now) so that they can continue to live in the community where they have built their lives. If they experience a major health event, they need to go to Boulder, which is less than ideal for such occasions. 

I know the only constant in nature is change, so if there's any room in the budget to fund medical care for the elderly, please advocate for it. The folks who've loved and cared for this community deserve more than having to choose between their healthcare or leaving the valley where they hear the songs of nature. And again, I understand the pragmatism that leaders such as we must exercise. 

Thank you for reading such a long email, and I wish you a blessed new year and wisdom to carry the load of governance. 

With Gratitude, 

Stolas Mares-Cluff They|Them Adjunct Professor Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service

It is normal for me to take 2 days to read my emails and 1 more day to reflect on the matter and respond calmly. The culture of immediacy and the constant fragmentation of time are not very compatible with the kind of life I lead. 

[Gary Hall]

What a fascinating and heartfelt note, Professor Mares-Cluff. 

I certainly understand the desire and emotion of your letter; family bonds are generally the strongest of bonds, and the hope to have your elder family members get temporary or long-term medical care or assistance comes from a place of deep compassion. 

Health care in Estes has had some major challenges in recent years, with the closure of Estes Park Health's nursing home and their shutdown of Home Health/Hospice services. In the years since the HH/H closure, we've seen other providers in town (usually from the Front Range) filling the gap on some of those services. Also, some of those who provided home care or other nursing services at the former EPH have offered contracted services locally. So we've some flow to the ebb of those closures. 

And we certainly will continue to encourage UCHealth, now the owner of our local hospital (now called UCHealth-Estes Valley Medical Center), to consider adding and expanding home care (RN and non-medical) and such services. 

Meanwhile, the outpatient clinic continues to operate apace at EVMC, as does the ER, the inpatient unit, the surgery suite, the lab, radiology, physical therapy, pharmacy, and most all of the support services. I'm 70 and I received great care there the last three days of November. So we still do have the core services in town. Much of my care for my longer term issues is down the hill, out of necessity for certain special treatments and conditions, so I do understand well the challenges of traveling for health care. 

Other challenges are the financial issues with Salud, though that may not impact your relatives, since it's for low/no-income patients. We are hoping that Salud management finds a way through the current financial thickets to get long-term stability at Salud. 

We also have the great work that Mary Mesropian, Peter Sinnott, and others are doing to create Dementia Day Services. They're making good progress, and if they bring this to fruition, the program and facility would allow family caregivers to continue their employment opportunities during daylight hours, knowing that their elderly relatives are being cared for well. 

So, that's some of the thoughts I have on the topic of elder care. I'm thinking you were perhaps primarily talking about home care, hospice, assisted living, nursing-home care. We do have the excellent Good Samaritan's facility that provides graduated care to those in need, and that is certainly a great in-town option. 

The Town budget funds staffing, equipment, facilities, maintenance, and all the other key infrastructure needs, and does not have a lot of wiggle in recent years, with the revenue pressures aggravated by some of the great financial, cultural, generational, pandemic-related, and other changes in our society in the last five or six years. Finding substantial revenues for supporting broad healthcare programs from Town revenues seems unlikely, in my opinion, in the foreseeable future. 

This lends even more urgency to continuing to try to influence and advocate for a stable Salud, dementia services, UCHealth consideration of home health or other elder care options, etc. 

One last thought: Estes is already the oldest town in Colorado, with 40% of the population over 65, compared to a statewide and Front Range average of around 14% - 16%. We're quite a mature population. Part of the challenge with that is the very infrastructure of which I spoke -- where are the employees to provide all the work and services? Many commute, some live up here (often doing two or more jobs), and all of that leads to the Town's concern for having housing that is affordable to the younger families. Our school attendance continues to drop, the percentage of older residents continues to grow, and so some of the focus on trying to attract younger families is to keep the town's workforce present and accounted for. 

Thanks again for the very good insights and for your concerns. I hope I've shed some light with my perspective on some of these issues. As an elder citizen myself, I want to live here for a long time to come, hopefully to the end of my days. And so I'll advocate for those services as mentioned above, for my family, for yours, for all. Take care and Happy New Year. 

Gary M. Hall

Mayor of the Town of Estes Park

Office phone: 970-577-3706

Email: gh...@estes.org