Everyone in attendance who wanted to be included in the photo of the HRRMC Delnay Guest House groundbreaking. Members of the HRRMC Foundation Board are included on the left and members of the HRRMC Board of Directors are included on the right. Photo by Carly Winchell
Onlookers gathered despite poor weather and biting winds on Tuesday, February 27 to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) Delnay Guest House.
The donor representative was unable to make it to the groundbreaking due to poor weather, but the HRRMC Board and Foundation Board gathered for pictures before the first scoop of dirt was taken from the lot.
“It is exciting to break ground after three years of discussions and planning” commented Foundation Director Lezlie Burkley. “This project will benefit HRRMC patients and their families/caregivers throughout our 8,000 square-mile region who need charitable overnight accommodations when driving 30 or more miles to come for treatments. We are also excited to support employees who need a temporary rental, while they look for more permanent housing.”
Those involved in the project wore commemorative safety vests for the groundbreaking event. Photo by Carly Winchell
“Thanks to our donors who made this a reality,” she concluded.
According to an earlier press release, the Delnay Guest House will consist of ten fully furnished units with one or two bedrooms. Four units will be available for patients who need home health or other services that require overnight accommodations and families coming from out of the area to visit a loved one in hospice.
Patients who live in outlying areas and need to stay overnight for treatments, such as pre or post-outpatient surgery could also make use of the units.
In addition to accommodating patients, family members, and caregivers who may need a week or two of lodging for multiple infusion treatments could use the hospitality house. So might individuals who may need hyperbaric treatments at the coming HRRMC’s wound care center. This is planned for late 2024 or early 2025 and will be located in an existing building adjacent to the guest house. Patients with wounds that don’t heal require two hours a day of access to the hyperbaric chamber’s pressurized oxygen over several weeks.
The other six units are planned to be short-term rentals for HRRMC employees to use while searching for permanent housing in the area. HRRMC hopes the availability of this temporary housing will help to attract more talent to the hospital.
Funding for the project came from an unexpected $1.5 million donation from the Robert and Bernice Delnay Trust in February 2021, after whom the hospitality house is named. This donation will cover the majority of the construction costs with the HRRMC Foundation covering the remainder.
The first scoop of dirt is taken at the groundbreaking for the HRRMC Delnay Guest House. Photo by Carly Winchell
Operational costs for the house will be covered by the Picie Hylton Trust Fund.
After the photo op and groundbreaking finished, the chilly attendees rushed inside to the hospital cafeteria where hot chocolate, coffee, pretzels, brownies, and macaroons were waiting.
HRRMC CEO Bob Morasko, HRRMC Board of Directors Chair Dean Edwards, Vice Chair Dan Wardrop, M.D., and Foundation Director Lezlie Burkley spoke to attendees about the project as they warmed up inside.
Morasko spoke first, citing the large service area that HRRMC covers. “We’ve got clinics in Westcliffe, Saguache, Fairplay, and Buena Vista outside of Salida, and this is going to provide a place for those people to come to our hospital, get services, and be able to stay at no cost overnight, or several nights depending on the type of services they need.”
Morasko identified the guest house as a key strategic component in making HRRMC a regional medical center.
“The more that we can draw in patients from outside of our area, the more specialists we can have, the more services we can provide directly to this community and to our service area,” said Morasko. “It benefits everybody.”
CEO Bob Morasko (tan coat) during the photo op for the HRRMC Delnay Guest House groundbreaking. Photo by Carly Winchell.
Morasko thanked the Foundation Board, the Delnay Fund, and the Picie Hylton Fund for their instrumental help in the project. He explained that he didn’t think that the project would have been possible without the monetary support they provided.
Edwards took the floor following Morasko. “What this will allow, as Bob says, is people to come freely for services here, and they will make decisions to, I’m convinced, take services here at the hospital because we have the guest house here. No question about it.”
Edwards highlighted the issue of economy and housing in the area when it comes to hiring, saying this has been a topic of concern for the Board for a long time. The Board has already begun their work on policies for how the facility can be utilized to provide temporary employee housing while they search for something more permanent.
Edwards introduced the Board members Lydia Segal, Bill Alderton, Stacy Osborne, and Dr. Dan Wardrop, who was the next to speak.
Wardrop introduced members of the Foundation Board Tangie Granzella, Bob Morasko, Peg Arnett, Tom Eve, Jean Moltz-Weber, Harry Payton, Barbara Pearson-Sawyer, and Pam Warren. Later Lezlie Burkley acknowledged Karen Moore and Melanie Critelli, both of whom are also part of the Foundation.
Wardrop explained, that the idea for the guest house began three years ago with four small apartments and was expanded to include temporary employee housing.
“Most capital projects are performed by the hospital with the Foundation as its supporting role of fundraising helping to support those projects,” explained Wardrop. Typically, these projects are predominately paid for by the hospital itself. The Delnay Guest House is different.
Foundation Director Lezlie Burkley speaks at the HRRMC Delnay Guest House groundbreaking. Photo by Carly Winchell.
“The Foundation Board is pleased that the Guest House will be constructed totally by Foundation funding,” said Wardrop. “The hospital is going to do site work, but the building itself is going to be done by Foundation funding.” The Robert and Bernice Delnay Trust is providing most of these funds and the Picie Hylton Trust will support the operation of the guest house for “years to come” according to Wardrop.
Lezlie Burkley was the last to speak, and she highlighted the importance of all donations big and small. She spoke about the two donors who made the project possible.
Picie Hylton started the thriving Hylton Lumber and, in 1996, sold 5o percent of the business to his employees. “He had a dynamic personality. He was very supportive of this community,” explained Burkley, who said Hylton, who passed away in 1997, was also supportive of the arts. She explained that he had long had a dream of a hospice house in Salida, but it didn’t happen during his lifetime.
Picie Hylton Trust contacted the HRRMC Foundation in November, 2020 to redirect money from the trust to the Foundation with hopes of fulfilling Picie’s dream of a hospice house. This idea eventually melded with the hospitality house project for all patients, including those in hospice, for charitable accommodations during health treatments. The Hylton Trust agreed to this idea and gave an initial $16,000 for the project, pledging $2,000 per month through 2024.
The Delnays. Image courtesy of HRRMC.
The Foundation Board allotted the $78,000 in proceeds from the 2022 Jewel Ball to the Picie Hylton Charitable Fund. The fund currently holds over $160,000 and will be used for operational costs of the housing units. Hospice funds will also be used to support future operational costs.
Then, in February, the Foundation received an unexpected call about a $1.5 million donation from the Robert and Bernice Delnay Trust.
The Guest House was named after the Delnays, who retired to Salida in the 1980’s after Robert Delnay’s career as an engineer at DOW Chemical. The Delnays realized the importance of a strong healthcare system during their twenty years in the area and decided they wanted to contribute.
“What a humble couple,” commented Burkley, directing those in the room to take a look at their picture, which was featured alongside a photo of Hylton.
“I’ve talked to so many people trying to find out who they are. I only know two people that know them Dr. Tony Timko and Dr. Meggan Grant-Nierman,” said Burkley. ‘We have yet to find anyone else that knew them. They lived a very humble life, but my goodness, how generous and what an amazing thing they’ve done for our community and our region.”
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