As 2025 comes to a close, Archuleta County has much to be grateful for, especially the dedicated health care providers who care for our community every day.
In a rural mountain county like ours, access to health care is not something to take for granted. Long distances, workforce shortages, rising costs, and increasing mental and behavioral health needs place extraordinary demands on those who serve our community.
Yet, through it all, our local health care professionals continue to show up with skill, compassion and deep commitment to the people who call Archuleta County home.
The Archuleta Rural Health Network, formed by Axis Health System —Pagosa Springs Integrated Healthcare, Pagosa Springs Medical Center, Archuleta County Public Health Department and Healthy Archuleta — exists to support and strengthen this shared effort.
Working alongside other local health care providers, behavioral health professionals, community organizations and service agencies, the network is united by a common mission in this rural mountain community: to collaboratively advance strategies that will address barriers and promote a healthy community through responsive and community-centered preventative care.
At its heart, the network is about collaboration and possibility. Through efforts such as the Archuleta Health Fair and Expo, it has shown how creating shared space allows providers and community members to connect, exchange insights, surface gaps and discover pathways for coordinating care — work that no single organization can achieve alone.
This spirit of partnership has been especially vital as our community responds to rising demand for services, growing awareness of mental and behavioral health needs, and the shared importance of prevention and early support.
Their work often happens quietly and under immense pressure, but its impact is felt across families, schools, workplaces and neighborhoods. They are the foundation of a healthier Archuleta County.
Looking ahead to 2026, Healthy Archuleta remains committed to working alongside our health care partners to strengthen what already exists and to thoughtfully expand access where it is most needed. This includes advancing primary care access, supporting preventive and upstream approaches to health, improving navigation and referral pathways, and continuing to build coordinated responses to mental and behavioral health needs.
We believe that a healthy community is built not only through clinical care, but through connection, prevention and shared responsibility. By working together as providers, partners and community members, we can reduce barriers, support early intervention and ensure that care is accessible, dignified and responsive to the needs of our rural community.
If you are a health care provider interested in helping advance this collective effort, we invite you to connect with Healthy Archuleta at fsfearchuleta@gmail.com and be part of shaping the future of care in Archuleta County.
For more information, visit our website at https://www.foodcoalition4archuleta.org/.
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