A toddler dressed in pink is learning to ride a tiny bike as her dad clears a path for her on the smooth pavement outside their apartment building.

Nearby, plenty of adult-sized mountain bikes crowd around racks. And as the sun sets, casting an orange and pink glow on the peaks surrounding Steamboat Springs, another resident returns home to the wood and stone three-story apartment buildings known as Creek’s End. He’s walking his dog with a fishing pole slung over his shoulder. The Yampa River flows right behind the apartment complex.

Inside, a nurse and her 9-year-old daughter treasure views from oversized windows and the balcony of their sleek two-bedroom unit. Beyond the highway that brings thousands of visitors to this tourist mecca every year, Sydney Lanham, 26, and her daughter, Genevieve, get to look straight over at what locals simply call “the mountain.” It’s Mount Werner, home to Steamboat, the ski area that’s a key economic driver in this resort community and known in the winter for its downy pillows of “champagne powder.”

Sydney grew up in Steamboat Springs, back when it was easier for her folks and other working people to afford to live here. Today, along with being famous for skiing, ranching, mountain biking, healing hot springs and more, Steamboat often shows up on lists of the most expensive ski towns in the U.S. Here, the cost of luxury homes can soar well into the millions — if you can even find anything for sale.

Sydney always has loved her hometown and hadn’t decided on a college to attend, much less a career path to consider, when she became pregnant during high school and gave birth to her daughter when she was a 17-year-old junior. Determined to graduate on time with her classmates, Sydney worked hard to finish school, collect her diploma and proudly shared her success story in a feature article in the local paper.

While in labor with Genevieve, Sydney bonded with her nurses at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, and an idea blossomed. Maybe she’d like to become a nurse someday.

Sydney followed through on that goal and graduated from nursing school in Greeley in 2024.

Then another dream became a reality. Sydney was able to return to her hometown and work at the hospital where both she and Genevieve were born. Sydney can afford to live in Steamboat — just over a mile away from the hospital and 10 minutes from her parents’ home — thanks to the life-changing Creek’s End affordable housing, a project that UCHealth leaders supported with a $30 million investment in employees and in the community.

‘Putting a roof over employees’ heads in a community they love’

The name for Creek’s End comes from its location, where Walton Creek ends and flows into the Yampa River. The employee housing project came to fruition after two local developers approached hospital leaders and asked if they’d be interested in buying six or seven units in their 42-condo development.

That’s when Soniya Fidler, president of Yampa Valley Medical Center, and fellow leaders at the hospital and UCHealth, decided to execute on a much bigger vision. They told the developers they would buy the entire two-building, four-acre property. They wanted to purchase all of the units so they could continue to retain and attract staff members who love Steamboat but can’t afford to live there. Among them are nurses like Sydney, advanced practice providers, facility workers, cooks, radiology technicians and teachers who care for children in the hospital’s childcare center.

Fidler still gets chills as she drives by the beautiful Creek’s End property and thinks about the reverberations the apartments are having in her community.

“You know you’ve made a difference and an impact on people’s lives,” Fidler said. “Our employees have a roof over their heads in a community they love.”

And because of these dedicated workers — the first of whom moved into Creek’s End one year ago — hospital leaders can offer first-class care at the hospital.

“We have a lot of services that communities our size typically do not have,” Fidler said.

These include Level 3 trauma care, maternity care — which many rural areas are losing — and specialty care, including neurology, rheumatology, endocrinology and cancer care.

“In order for us to deliver that robust, sophisticated level of care, we had to think hard about what we really needed,” Fidler said.

And the highest priority was absolutely clear: affordable housing.

Lack of affordable housing poses challenges across the U.S., especially in resort areas

Lack of affordable housing is a growing problem in communities across the country. It’s an especially challenging dilemma in ski resort towns throughout the Rocky Mountain region. They are full of beautiful homes, but many owners use vacation getaways for just a handful of weeks a year. The COVID-19 pandemic also boosted the number of people who decided to leave cities and live and work in resort areas instead, while investors scooped up condos and homes for short-term rentals.

All of these factors, along with soaring construction costs, made the housing challenges in Steamboat even more profound in recent years.

“You couldn’t find anything on the market. You couldn’t find anything to rent,” Fidler said.

Without housing options, Yampa Valley Medical Center struggled to recruit qualified staff members.

“People would apply for jobs, then they’d tell us, ‘I’m not going to interview because I looked at housing, and there’s nothing for me to even rent,’” Fidler said.

Meanwhile, existing employees sometimes lost their housing suddenly and had to deal with associated stress and unsustainable increases in rent costs.

The pressures in Steamboat are similar to those in other ski resort communities like Aspen, Telluride, Vail, Crested Butte and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Fidler and her team members communicate regularly with colleagues in these communities. The most innovative health care institutions are doing exactly what UCHealth leaders have done: recognizing that affordable housing is central to their core mission.

‘I love being a hospital nurse. When people are having rough times, I can meet them with empathy and compassion’

For Sydney, a stable, affordable place to live has been life changing.

Back when Sydney gave birth to Genevieve in January of 2016, she discovered that she loved the excitement and swirl of emotions at the hospital. She immediately bonded with her nurses, some of whom still work at Yampa Valley Medical Center.

“I had never been in a hospital. I was fascinated with everything that was going on, and I was so impacted by the nurses who took care of me. I thought, ‘Oh. I want to do that.’”

With support from teachers and family, she finished high school and went on to participate in health care internships, spending hours working in labor and delivery units.

“It was hard. I struggled, but my parents supported me a lot,” she said.

When Sydney moved to Greeley to earn her nursing degree at Aims Community College, her mom came along to care for Genevieve while Sydney finished her program.

Sydney worked for a short time at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont, then learned about the new Creek’s End affordable housing just when hospital supervisors needed a new nurse in Steamboat. Sydney had to start on the night shift, which was tough. She recently got to move to days.

While she enjoyed the work she was doing on the Front Range and might someday want to become a flight nurse, the pull home was powerful.

Her parents, Traci and Chris Lanham, have lived in Steamboat for 30 years; she’s their only child, and they’re very close to Genevieve.

“I wanted to be close to my family,” Sydney said.

Being back at the hospital is like coming home, too.

“I love being a hospital nurse. It’s exciting. You never know who is going to walk through the door. Most patients are not expecting to be there. But when I found my passion for nursing, I learned that when people are having rough times, I can meet them with empathy and compassion.”

Simple pleasures for a 9-year-old: A pretty purple room, art supplies — and no plans to move anytime soon

Along with a great job, Sydney loves skiing, and Steamboat is just the right size.

“It’s a small town. I love that you know everyone, that you feel like you’re part of the community,” Sydney said. “You can go hiking, skiing or to the pool. It’s quaint and kind of quiet. I never have to worry about Genevieve when she’s playing outside. She can run around the neighborhood.”

Their apartment is far more beautiful than Sydney expected. It’s full of natural light and looks just like the elegant condos that are staples of home renovation shows. The kitchen has glossy white quartz countertops and beautiful pendant lights hang over a large island. Sydney found plenty of nice second-hand furniture but splurged with her first nursing paycheck to buy a large white sectional for the living room. It’s a perfect spot to cuddle and watch shows with Genevieve or to see the snow falling on the slopes of Mount Werner in the distance.

Sydney and Genevieve each have a bathroom, which feels like a wonderful luxury.

“It’s big enough for the both of us. We’re not on top of each other,” Sydney said.

And most importantly, their housing is secure. They can stay in their apartment as long as Sydney continues to work full time at Yampa Valley Medical Center.

For Genevieve, who has moved several times as she approaches her 10^th birthday in January, staying in this apartment is a huge relief.

On a recent day, Genevieve came home after school, grabbed a snack and showed off the art and writing projects she’s working on in her room. In her sketch book, she’s drawing flowers in a work she calls “Roots of Kindness.” And she’s writing a detailed book about a princess named Olivia who is trying to save her town from dark forces.

The town in her story is called Emerald. In real life, Genevieve’s room is full of purple accents, the fourth-grader’s favorite color.

“I love my big window,” Genevieve says, gazing out to the slopes. “I love skiing. I love the view of the mountain. And I like the big couch.”

She also loves the town candy store, doing summer camps in beautiful natural areas around town and paddleboarding with her mom.

Getting around Steamboat is easy, too, from Sydney and Genevieve’s place. A bike path that parallels the river starts right outside the Creek’s End apartments. Some mornings, when Sydney’s nursing shift starts at 7 a.m., Genevieve heads to the hospital with her mom. She eats breakfast in the cafeteria, then walks right outside the front doors of the hospital to catch her bus to school.

Small conveniences — like easy access to work and school — make a big difference for this mom and daughter and for other Creek’s End residents.

“The stars aligned,” Sydney said of her luck in getting both her job and a place to live. “A lot of young families live here. We love it. It definitely feels like home. We’re four minutes from the hospital, which is super convenient. We’re close to my parents and the grocery store. It couldn’t be any more convenient.”

Pride in town and ambitious plans to expand affordable housing options

Altogether, Creek’s End boasts 12 three-bedroom apartments, 24 two-bedroom units and six one-bedroom apartments. Some are home to families, while others are shared units for roommates.

An initial lottery took place to allocate units. Hospital leaders have provided the remaining units to employees on a first-come, first-served basis. Once living at Creek’s End, residents pay no more than 30% of their family’s household income in rent. Workers can stay in the homes as long as they continue working full time at Yampa Valley Medical Center. Access to long-term affordable housing is very unusual and marks an especially popular aspect of Creek’s End.

Fidler and her team hope to keep expanding affordable housing options so they can foster good health for patients and employees alike.

“Housing insecurity definitely impacts the overall health of our community,” Fidler said.

“A big part of what we do is taking care of our employees so our employees can take care of our patients,” added Mary Wirta, manager of human resources for Yampa Valley Medical Center.

“If you’re worried about where you’re going to be living next month, that’s a very scary feeling,” Wirta said.

“While we aren’t going to solve all of our housing problems, we can try to make life a little easier for our employees,” she said.

Hospital leaders hope to reduce the number of employees who must live far from town in places like Craig, Hayden, Oak Creek and Yampa, sometimes navigating challenging, wintry commutes.

Their lofty goal is to someday provide affordable housing for as many as 25% of Yampa Valley Medical Center employees.

The Creek’s End project has been a wonderful start.

“It’s been really, really great,” said Eli Nykamp, the hospital’s director of operations.

“We’re so proud that we’re providing this housing,” Nykamp said. “We built some great units, and our employees love living there.”

Searching for a new home — with hot, running water

Among employees who love Creek’s End is Alma Johnson. She was so thrilled with her apartment that she cried the first time she saw it.

She stepped into the gleaming kitchen and turned on the faucet, marveling at the joy of having running water. It was even hot, a luxury she hadn’t experienced in the previous places where she had been living over the last few years.

Alma, 30, grew up in Ridgway amid southwestern Colorado’s rugged, stunning San Juans.

“I’m a mountain girl,” she said.

She previously worked as a mountain guide and struggled to find affordable housing near Telluride, another of the most expensive places in the U.S. So, she essentially camped for years, living in two places that had no electricity or running water. One was a tiny, primitive cabin. The other was a yurt that boasted a generator but no running water.

Alma and her partner, a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, decided to look last year for a new place to live and work somewhere the Rocky Mountain West. They both love to ski. And Alma wanted to transition to a career in health care. Finding great work and affordable housing were two priorities. She also hoped to find a dog-friendly home. She wanted to bring along Zia, a black mutt she rescued back in 2020 from a shelter near the Navajo Nation.

When Alma learned that she could apply for jobs and affordable housing at Yampa Valley Medical Center, she jumped at the chance. Partners and pets both are welcome at Creek’s End.

Alma arrived in Steamboat Springs in October 2024 and camped for two weeks on her own about 30 minutes out of town at Stagecoach Reservoir. Her partner was away fighting fires. She then found short-term housing and, for a few months, had to leave her dog back in Ridgway.

Alma started working right away in the hospital’s sterile processing department, then transferred to become a teacher in Yampa Valley Medical Center’s in-house child care center. It’s called GrandKids, and Alma loves her work with the youngest babies, currently ages 12 weeks to 18 months. She enjoys witnessing “aha” moments, like when the little ones celebrate milestones or learn that they can communicate using sign language.

“I love when a kiddo stands up for the first time or discovers that they can use ASL (American Sign Language) to say ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ or ‘all done.’ It’s those sweet moments, when they realize, ‘Oh, I can do this.’”

Alma and her partner were able to move into their apartment on Jan. 1, 2025. Like Sydney’s place, hers looks out over the ski slopes, and she jokes that she doesn’t need weather forecasts. On days off, she simply walks out onto the balcony to get a “nowcast,” checking the temperature to decide how many layers she’ll need. Then she puts on her ski gear, packs some snacks in her pockets and heads down to catch the bus. She can be at the slopes in 10 to 15 minutes.

“Any day with skis on my feet is the best day ever,” Alma said.

Having a place to call home — with hot, running water, no less — makes for great days too.

“The big windows let in so much light. We’ve got these beautiful blue skies and crazy storms and inverted clouds,” she said.

Alma loves her current job and has a new goal to become a nurse someday. She’s eager to tap into educational opportunities through UCHealth’s Ascend Career Program, which helps employees pay for educational programs to grow their skills and climb health care career ladders.

For now, Alma loves cycling to work in the summer and carpooling to the hospital with co-workers on colder days. She’s stunned at how well things have worked out.

“It feels like a big leap of faith has played out after a lot of hard work and a lot of luck,” Alma said. “I’m so grateful. Steamboat has been a very safe, soft place to land.”

Beautiful, affordable employee housing: ‘Most people don’t get opportunities like this’

Another happy employee who also lives at Creek’s End is Steamboat native, George Cook.

George, 23, has been working as a hospital facilities maintenance technician for more than two years. Cook is learning how to do all sorts of jobs at the hospital. He especially enjoys the complexity of electrical work.

He has volunteered to be in charge of essential monthly checks on the hospital generators. Since hospitals must operate 24/7, backup generators are essential.

After George graduated from high school, he lived in his folks’ basement for a while so he could stay in Steamboat. Before working for UCHealth, George had a different job that came with employee housing, but the apartment was dirty and poorly maintained. He then joined UCHealth and later applied for housing through the lottery. George now shares a 2-bedroom unit with a roommate. They love their apartment.

“Brand-new housing is pretty rare,” George said. “Most people don’t get opportunities like this.”

Like Sydney, Genevieve and Alma, George loves the view from his place over to the ski slopes.

He and his roommate keep bikes on their balcony. George still pops over to visit his parents and eat home-cooked dinners of spaghetti or beef stew a couple of times a week, but he loves having his own place. On days off in the summer, he loves hiking. In the winter, he grabs his skis and takes the free city bus to the slopes.

“I love powder and bluebird days,” said George, who especially enjoys dropping into the trees to hunt for fresh snow.

As a kid, George had no idea how special Steamboat was.

“I thought everyone grew up with a ski mountain in their backyard. It’s pretty sweet. I realized it’s a luxury to be here and to live here,” he said. “It’s like paradise.”

He also loves the camaraderie both at work and at Creek’s End.

“The people here are really great,” George said. “Vendors will come from Denver and say, ‘Everyone is so nice here.’ I guess that’s how it is in Steamboat. Everyone’s really friendly.”

For many workers around Colorado and the U.S., the lack of affordable housing is a huge challenge. And creative solutions — like the Creek’s End apartments — foster loyalty and dedication among employees.

Said another Creek’s End resident: “We have quality of life and beautiful surroundings. This life would not be possible for my family without these apartments.”

A welcome mat outside the front door of one of the units at Creek’s End sums up how employees feel: “It’s good to be home.”