A Message From Our CEO

A Strong Year & Future

All of us here at Carson Tahoe Health (CTH) envision a community where all people live with optimum health and wellness. We have dedicated ourselves to this ideal for many decades and look forward to new efforts to achieve this in the years to come.

2019 was a year of change for CTH. With the retirement of our esteemed President and CEO Ed Epperson (among other key executives), new senior leaders were called to serve and new ideas emerged. Those ideas were cultivated into a new five-year strategic plan designed to improve the health and well-being of our community, and specifically, to address the unmet health needs of CTH’s large service area. Chief among these needs are improved access to care, expanded behavioral health care services, and addressing the complex issues and outcomes tied to obesity and diabetes. These needs are not unique to the greater Carson City and Douglas County area. I would guess community needs assessments all over the country reflect these same persistent issues.

What is unique about CTH is the nature of the services we provided to our neighbors. Most communities of 160,000 people or so travel many miles to gain access to a top-notch oncology program. At CTH, because of our affiliation with the Huntsman Cancer Institute, our community receives world-class treatment close to home. For those that travel from rural Nevada or California, our Merriner Cottages provide cancer patients with a free place to stay while seeking treatment.

Many communities across the country struggle when a loved one is in a mental health crisis. Through our Mallory Crisis Center, our neighbors have 24-hour access to vital care and an inpatient and outpatient system to provide the necessary follow-up. Suicide risk is increasing among our children and teens. In collaboration with our local schools, CTH provides formal suicide risk assessments and referrals for students at the elementary, middle, and high schools. Additionally, we train Safe SchoolProfessionals and School Nurses to ensure better outcomes. 

Heart disease, another priority identified by the Community Health Needs Assessment, is the leading cause of death in America, for both men and women. CTH knows this and has developed a comprehensive program to treat cardiovascular disease. We have expert doctors who can diagnose and treat using the latest therapies, including cardiac catheterization and cardiovascular surgery. An array of outpatient support services from a congestive heart failure clinic to cardiac rehabilitation are also available as part of the recovery process.

Our greatest asset in providing care to our neighbors is our very own local community – the 2,000 caregivers who strive to live out the CTH mission, uphold our values and attend to the needs of all they encounter. Everyone on our team is a caregiver in our eyes. When you’re hungry, we’ve got a chef who works magic with stir fry. When a room needs to be cleaned, we’ve got a housekeeper who cleans a room so well a forensic scientist wouldn’t find a germ. When you’re worried about cheating on your diet, we have a medical assistant who congratulates you on losing a pound since your last visit. When you have to teach your muscles new tricks, we have a therapist who makes exercise fun. And of course, when you’re sick, we have a doctor and a nurse who will take care of you just like mom did (only with professional medical training).

We’re proud of the service we provided to our community in 2019, but we are driven to continually evolve. In 2020, we will look to new ways to improve health and address critical needs. We’ll still be one of Nevada’s top hospitals. We’ll still have Carson Tahoe Medical Group doctors in every neighborhood. We’ll still take care of anyone who comes to us for help, regardless of their ability to pay. But in 2020, we hope to begin shaping a new way to help everyone in our community achieve optimum health and wellness.

Alan Garrett
President & CEO, Carson Tahoe Health

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