Stephen Wise

 

As a board member what do you see your role being in creating a new Med Center?

As a board member, my role is to ensure any new medical center builds smartly on what Telluride Medical Center already does well: primary care, emergency stabilization, and community health. We don't need a full-service hospital with unsustainable overhead.
We need a facility that improves emergency capabilities, expands diagnostic tools like imaging, and supports rapid transport when needed — all while being fiscally responsible.
I bring frontline clinical experience and board leadership to ensure we create the right-sized, sustainable solution for our community.

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As a board member what role would you play in keeping medical costs low for our community?

As a board member, my role is to ensure that any decisions we make—whether about new facilities, staffing, or services—are grounded in cost-conscious planning and community need, not overbuilding or outside influence.

Medical costs are rising everywhere, but we can help control them locally by making sure:

• We invest in the right-sized infrastructure, not an oversized facility we can’t staff or afford.

• We support primary and preventive care, which keeps people healthier and reduces costly emergency visits.

• We stay transparent with taxpayers and demand accountability for every dollar spent.

With my experience as a trauma surgeon, Department of Surgery Chair, and hospital board member, I know where spending makes patients healthier—and where it doesn’t. I’ll use that lens to protect both your health and your wallet.

 

Given the current administration's challenges to public health policies and equitable healthcare access, how do you see the clinic's responsibility in safeguarding and promoting health equity, particularly for marginalized and underserved populations?

My entire career has been grounded in caring for people who often had nowhere else to turn  - from frontline trauma patients to indigent populations without reliable access to healthcare.

I believe our local clinic has a deep responsibility to safeguard and promote health equity, no matter the broader political landscape. That means making sure everyone—regardless of income, background, or insurance status—can access basic, high-quality care here in Telluride.

We can protect health equity by:

• Strengthening primary care and mental health services that catch problems early

• Keeping fees transparent and sliding-scale options available

• Ensuring that emergency care is available without barriers or delays

Good healthcare isn’t a luxury—it’s a foundation of a strong, thriving community. I will work to make sure that marginalized and underserved populations are never left behind, and that our clinic remains a place where every resident feels safe seeking care.

 

What do you believe is the Telluride Regional Medical Center’s role regarding women's reproductive rights?

I believe the Telluride Regional Medical Center must stand firmly as a trusted source of comprehensive, compassionate women’s healthcare, including reproductive health services, education, and support. Protecting women’s health—and the right to access necessary care—is foundational to building a strong, healthy community.

When you elect me, you don’t just get my experience as a trauma surgeon and healthcare leader—you also get the insights and commitment of my wife, who has spent her career as an OB-GYN on the frontlines of women’s reproductive rights. Today, she serves as Chief Medical Officer of a national women's healthcare company, working to protect and expand access to care for women across the country.

Together, we understand firsthand how critical it is for women in all communities—including rural ones—to have access to safe, respectful, and timely healthcare services. The Medical Center has a responsibility to ensure that care is medically sound, legally protected, and available to all women, regardless of political changes beyond our control.

If elected, I will support policies and practices that keep Telluride a place where women’s health is respected, protected, and prioritized.

 

What do you see as the Telluride Regional Medical Center’s role in mental health care in our region?

Integrating Mental Health in Everyday Care

• Make mental health screening, counseling, and early intervention a routine part of primary care visits.

• Remove stigma by treating mental health as essential to overall wellness, just like blood pressure or heart health.

Providing Rapid Support and Stabilization

• Ensure immediate access to crisis support for patients in distress.

• Train all clinical staff to recognize early signs of mental health challenges.

• Stabilize patients locally and coordinate rapid transport when needed for higher-level psychiatric care.

Ensuring Connection, Not Isolation — Especially in a Rural Setting

• Living in a beautiful but remote place like Telluride can intensify feelings of isolation, anxiety, and depression.

• Strengthen partnerships with regional mental health providers for specialty services beyond what we can offer on-site.

• Expand the use of smart technology like telepsychiatry to bridge gaps without adding unsustainable costs.

• Keep patients and families connected to help—even when geography makes it harder.

Bottom Line:

• In isolated rural communities, mental health is just as critical—and sometimes even more fragile—than in urban settings.

• We must ensure care in Telluride is accessible, compassionate, practical, and seamlessly connected to broader systems of support.

• With decades of frontline medical experience, I will fight to make mental health a true, visible, protected priority—not just a box we check.​

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What opportunities do you see for the Telluride Regional Medical Center to adapt its current model when moving to a new facility?

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Telluride Medical Center already does a lot right - The goal isn't to overbuild. The goal is to smartly expand, stabilize, and strengthen healthcare access for everyone.​

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What type of partners would you want to see TRMC working with?

Our current medical center does a lot with a little—but it’s time to close the gaps.
As a physician and former board leader, I know how to build smart, sustainable partnerships that protect public dollars while improving care.
We don’t need to become a big hospital—we need to become a better-connected, more resilient community care hub.

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Strategic Opportunities

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Share something about your own experience with the Med Center.

I've been fortunate to enjoy good health here in Telluride and, like many in our community, I haven't needed much from the medical center beyond occasional preventive care. For example, when it’s time for my colonoscopy screenings, I’ve had to seek care elsewhere because that level of service isn’t currently available locally.

That said, I’ve had a lot of indirect experience through what friends, neighbors, and patients have shared with me—both positive and critical. I’ve heard real appreciation for the care and dedication of the team here, and I’ve also heard frustrations when services weren’t available or when access fell short.

Those conversations are just as important as personal experience—they emphasize how much this community cares about getting healthcare right. If elected, I’ll bring not just my medical background, but a commitment to listening to every voice to help guide the future of our Medical Center thoughtfully and responsibly.

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What do you see to be the strengths and weaknesses of TRMC?

What TMRC Does Well:

• 24/7 Emergency Care:
  Skilled stabilization for trauma, heart attacks, strokes, and serious illness.

• Primary Care Excellence:
  Preventive care, chronic disease management, mental health support.

• Community Trust:
  Dedicated, compassionate staff known for personal, patient-centered care.

• Public Health Leadership:
  Strong response during COVID-19 and ongoing collaboration with local health authorities.

• Financial Stewardship (So Far):
  Staying operational without a larger hospital affiliation shows resilience.

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Where TMRC Must Improve:

• Limited Diagnostic Tools:
  No MRI, mammography or advanced imaging on site; delays in diagnosis and treatment.

• No Observation Beds:
  Patients needing observation must be discharged or transported out.

• Staffing and Recruitment:
  Difficulty attracting and keeping specialists and providers, like all rural centers.

• Facility Size and Age:
  Outdated building limits service expansion and modernization.

• Limited Specialty Care Access:
  Heavy reliance on outside referrals; lack of on-site specialty consults.

• Financial Vulnerability:
  No federal designation increasing reimbursement yet; heavy burden on local taxpayers; likely requires revenue cycle improvement

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Please share some of your thoughts on the current services offered at the Med Center.

I have a deep respect for the work the Telluride Regional Medical Center team does today. They provide high-quality 24/7 emergency stabilization, strong primary care, mental health support, and community outreach—all with limited space and resources. Their dedication and ability to pivot quickly during challenges like COVID-19 show the heart of this community's healthcare.

In my view, the Med Center does a lot with a little, but as our community grows and healthcare needs change, we must expand wisely. My goal would be to help guide that next step forward responsibly and sustainably.

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Tell us about experience you have in Rural Health or running a rural business.

While I have not worked directly in a rural healthcare setting, my experience running complex hospital departments, serving as Chair of Surgery, and sitting on the board of a 200+ physician multispecialty group has given me deep experience in the fundamentals that rural healthcare depends on:

• Resource stewardship,

• Team leadership under tight constraints,

• And prioritizing patient outcomes over profit or prestige.

I understand that in rural health, you must do more with less—and the decisions you make affect your neighbors directly. You must be practical, flexible, and financially disciplined, all while staying focused on patient care. Those are exactly the values I’ve lived throughout my medical and leadership career, and they are the skills I would bring to the Hospital District Board to help protect and strengthen healthcare for Telluride.

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Tell us about a successful fundraising experience that you have had.

In the past year, as a board member of the Telluride Jewish Community, I helped lead efforts that raised over $50,000 to expand programming, hire our first Executive Director, and strengthen community outreach. We succeeded by focusing on clear communication, building personal connections with donors, and showing exactly how every contribution would make an impact.
I believe the same principles apply to supporting healthcare — connecting people to a clear, meaningful mission they want to invest in.

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What is the number one skill or experience that you think you bring to board?

The number one skill I bring to the board is clinical leadership combined with real-world healthcare governance experience. As a former Chair of Surgery and a board member for a 200+ physician multispecialty group, I know how to balance patient care priorities, financial responsibility, and organizational strategy. I understand how to ask the right questions, focus on what truly matters, and help guide complex decisions that impact lives and livelihoods.

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Is there anything else you want to tell voters about yourself?

I’m running because I care deeply about protecting and strengthening healthcare for our community - not overbuilding it, not politicizing it, but making it smarter, more sustainable, and truly focused on patient care.

I’ll be honest: I don’t claim to have all the answers today, and I recognize that I don't yet have access to all the information that would fully shape those answers.
But I know how to ask the right questions - the tough questions - and how to lead thoughtful, transparent decision-making that puts the community first.

This community has given me and my family so much. Serving on the Hospital District Board would be my way of giving back.

For more information visit: votestephenrwisemd.org