Christine McKelvie: Is There a Hospital in this Place?

Christine McKelvie, author of Is There a Hospital in This Place?: A century of hospital care in Steamboat Springs

Wednesday, June 29 - 6 pm

Off the Beaten Path welcomes Christine McKelvie, author of Is There a Hospital in This Place? McKelvie invites us to time-travel back with her through the decades, as the Steamboat Springs community grew from a frontier town to a sophisticated city, and the hospital developed from an idea into a nationally-recognized medical center. Highlights will include heartwarming first-person memories, startling newspaper stories, and the challenges and rewards of writing a non-fiction book.

About the book: Is There a Hospital in This Place? is a lively history of a century of hospital care in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The story begins in 1914, when the small town in the Rocky Mountains had nearly every amenity it needed, except for a hospital. Within a few months, citizens were celebrating the opening of the Steamboat Springs Sanitarium. A succession of hospitals followed as the town evolved from its ranching roots into a world-class tourist destination, home to Steamboat Ski Area and the ski jumping complex at Howelsen Hill. The book weaves together official accounts and personal perspectives provided by the people who worked at, volunteered for and generously sustained these hospitals. It is filled with historic photos and personal memories shared by doctors, nurses, health care professionals, volunteers and patients.