HopeWest Celebrates 30 Years on the Western Slope

Health care in the Grand Valley changed 30 years ago when HopeWest cared for its first patient in Grand Junction.

Then known as Grand Valley Hospice, the area’s first hospice program had only a small office in the VA hospital and served 117 patients in its first year. In 2022, the HopeWest team cared for more than 2,300 patients in hospice and palliative care, 80 PACE participants, 550 patients in the Ferris Care Center, 220 grieving adults, and more than 500 kids as they navigated coping with the death of someone they love. Services have grown to help families in Delta, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, and Rio Blanco counties. The organization has been recognized as a Modern Healthcare Best Place to Work, received repeated Hospice Honors awards for the highest quality care measured from the caregiver’s point of view, and is a Daily Sentinel Best of the West Gold winner.

“Thirty years of exceptional care shows what happens when local medical leaders, generous donors, dedicated volunteers, and our incredible team members come together in service for the greater good of our community. Our compassionate team offers miracles of human caring every day. They transform the way people experience aging, serious illness, and grief. This way, the HopeWest Way, is only possible because of the generosity of our community,” Cassie Mitchell, former HopeWest President and CEO, said. “I am incredibly grateful to our community for the unwavering trust and support.”

HopeWest will celebrate the anniversary at the annual HopeWest Gala on February 25 at the Grand Junction Convention Center

About HopeWest
HopeWest is a nonprofit hospice, palliative care and grief support organization dedicated to profoundly changing the way our communities experience aging, illness, and grief – one family at a time. Founded in 1993 through a community-wide vision, HopeWest now serves more than 4,000 individuals each year with over 400 employees across 8,000 square miles of western Colorado.