{"id":86791,"date":"2025-11-13T09:04:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T16:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=86791"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:13:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T18:13:57","slug":"affordable-housing-colorado-steamboat-health-care-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/affordable-housing-colorado-steamboat-health-care-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"This nurse can afford to live and work in her hometown \u2014 thanks to a groundbreaking, $30 million investment in affordable housing for health care workers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><figure id=\"attachment_86802\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86802\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86802\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/11154142\/CreeksEnd-UCH-111125-6-web.webp\" alt=\"Sydney Lanham and her daughter, Genevieve, post outside of their affordable home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Sydney is a nurse at Yampa Valley Medical Center and can afford to live in her hometown thanks to a $30 miilion investment in employee housing. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86802\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sydney Lanham and her daughter, Genevieve, 9, love living at Creek&#8217;s End, a new affordable housing option for health care workers in Steamboat Springs. A bike path leads from right outside their apartments to downtown Steamboat. And Sydney loves being a hospital nurse at nearby UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s End. He\u2019s walking his dog with a fishing pole slung over his shoulder. The Yampa River flows right behind the apartment complex.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cthe mountain.\u201d It\u2019s Mount Werner, home to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.steamboat.com\/\"> Steamboat<\/a>, the ski area that\u2019s a key economic driver in this resort community and known in the winter for its downy pillows of \u201cchampagne powder.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86800\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86800\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86800\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/11154138\/CreeksEnd-UCH-111125-8-web.webp\" alt=\"Large windows in Sydney and Genevieve's apartment look out over Mount Werner, Steamboat's ski mountain. Sydney grew up in Steamboat Springs before it became increasingly difficult to afford to live there. Thanks to affordable housing at Creek's End, this single mother can afford to live and work in her hometown. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86800\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Large windows in Sydney and Genevieve&#8217;s apartment look out over Mount Werner, Steamboat&#8217;s ski mountain. Sydney grew up in Steamboat Springs before it became increasingly difficult to afford to live there. Thanks to affordable housing at Creek&#8217;s End, this single mother can afford to live and work in her hometown. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/colorado-hot-springs-soak-relax-recharge\/\">healing hot springs<\/a> and more, Steamboat often shows up on <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.realtor.com\/news\/trends\/americas-most-luxury-ski-towns-expensive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lists of the most expensive ski towns in the U.S<\/a>. Here, the cost of luxury homes can soar well into the millions \u2014 if you can even find anything for sale.<\/p>\n<p>Sydney always has loved her hometown and hadn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>While in labor with Genevieve, Sydney bonded with her nurses at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-yampa-valley-medical-center\/\">UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center<\/a>, and an idea blossomed. Maybe she\u2019d like to become a nurse someday.<\/p>\n<p>Sydney followed through on that goal and graduated from nursing school in Greeley in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2014 just over a mile away from the hospital and 10 minutes from her parents\u2019 home \u2014 thanks to the life-changing Creek\u2019s End affordable housing, a project that UCHealth leaders supported with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/newsroom\/uchealth-yvmc-invest-in-long-term-employee-housing\/\">a $30 million investment in employees and in the community<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Creek&#039;s End Employee Housing Complex in Steamboat Springs | UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sjXv9xZfRXg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><strong>\u2018Putting a roof over employees\u2019 heads in a community they love\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The name for Creek\u2019s 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\u2019d be interested in buying six or seven units in their 42-condo development.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s 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\u2019t 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\u2019s childcare center.<\/p>\n<p>Fidler still gets chills as she drives by the beautiful Creek\u2019s End property and thinks about the reverberations the apartments are having in her community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know you\u2019ve made a difference and an impact on people\u2019s lives,\u201d Fidler said. \u201cOur employees have a roof over their heads in a community they love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And because of these dedicated workers \u2014\u00a0the first of whom moved into Creek\u2019s End one year ago \u2014 hospital leaders can offer first-class care at the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a lot of services that communities our size typically do not have,\u201d Fidler said.<\/p>\n<p>These include Level 3 trauma care, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/maternal-care-desert-providing-health-care-in-rural-craig-colorado\/\">maternity care<\/a> \u2014 which many rural areas are losing \u2014 and specialty care, including neurology, rheumatology, endocrinology and cancer care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn order for us to deliver that robust, sophisticated level of care, we had to think hard about what we really needed,\u201d Fidler said.<\/p>\n<p>And the highest priority was absolutely clear: affordable housing.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Lack of affordable housing poses challenges across the U.S., especially in resort areas<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lack of affordable housing is a growing problem in communities across the country. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>All of these factors, along with soaring construction costs, made the housing challenges in Steamboat even more profound in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou couldn\u2019t find anything on the market. You couldn\u2019t find anything to rent,\u201d Fidler said.<\/p>\n<p>Without housing options, Yampa Valley Medical Center struggled to recruit qualified staff members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople would apply for jobs, then they\u2019d tell us, \u2018I\u2019m not going to interview because I looked at housing, and there\u2019s nothing for me to even rent,\u2019\u201d Fidler said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86805\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86805\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86805\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/11154149\/CreeksEnd-UCH-111125-3-web.webp\" alt=\"Sydney Lanham is a nurse at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center. She and her daughter, Genevieve Lanham, 9, live at Creek's End in Steamboat Springs. Photos by John Russell, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86805\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sydney Lanham is a nurse at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center. She and her daughter, Genevieve Lanham, 9, live at Creek&#8217;s End in Steamboat Springs. Photos by John Russell, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Meanwhile, existing employees sometimes lost their housing suddenly and had to deal with associated stress and unsustainable increases in rent costs.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>\u2018I love being a hospital nurse. When people are having rough times, I can meet them with empathy and compassion\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>For Sydney, a stable, affordable place to live has been life changing.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI 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, \u2018Oh. I want to do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was hard. I struggled, but my parents supported me a lot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>When Sydney moved to Greeley to earn her <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aims.edu\/degrees-certificates\/nursing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nursing degree at Aims Community College<\/a>, her mom came along to care for Genevieve while Sydney finished her program.<\/p>\n<p>Sydney worked for a short time at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-longs-peak-hospital\/\">UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital<\/a> in Longmont, then learned about the new Creek\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86798\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86798\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86798\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/11154134\/CreeksEnd-UCH-111125-9-web.webp\" alt=\"Sydney and Genevieve love the sparkling white kitchen in their apartment. It's easy to get from their apartment to school, the hospital, the grocery store, the ski slopes and Genevieve's grandparents' place. &quot;The stars aligned,&quot; Sydney said. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"419\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86798\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sydney and Genevieve love the sparkling white kitchen in their apartment. It&#8217;s easy to get from their apartment to school, the hospital, the grocery store, the ski slopes and Genevieve&#8217;s grandparents&#8217; place. &#8220;The stars aligned,&#8221; Sydney said. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Her parents, Traci and Chris Lanham, have lived in Steamboat for 30 years; she\u2019s their only child, and they\u2019re very close to Genevieve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to be close to my family,\u201d Sydney said.<\/p>\n<p>Being back at the hospital is like coming home, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love being a hospital nurse. It\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Simple pleasures for a 9-year-old: A pretty purple room, art supplies \u2014 and no plans to move anytime soon<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Along with a great job, Sydney loves skiing, and Steamboat is just the right size.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a small town. I love that you know everyone, that you feel like you\u2019re part of the community,\u201d Sydney said. \u201cYou can go hiking, skiing or to the pool. It\u2019s quaint and kind of quiet. I never have to worry about Genevieve when she\u2019s playing outside. She can run around the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Their apartment is far more beautiful than Sydney expected. It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Sydney and Genevieve each have a bathroom, which feels like a wonderful luxury.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s big enough for the both of us. We\u2019re not on top of each other,\u201d Sydney said.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>For Genevieve, who has moved several times as she approaches her 10<sup>th<\/sup> birthday in January, staying in this apartment is a huge relief.<\/p>\n<p>On a recent day, Genevieve came home after school, grabbed a snack and showed off the art and writing projects she\u2019s working on in her room. In her sketch book, she\u2019s drawing flowers in a work she calls \u201cRoots of Kindness.\u201d And she\u2019s writing a detailed book about a princess named Olivia who is trying to save her town from dark forces.<\/p>\n<p>The town in her story is called Emerald. In real life, Genevieve\u2019s room is full of purple accents, the fourth-grader\u2019s favorite color.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love my big window,\u201d Genevieve says, gazing out to the slopes. \u201cI love skiing. I love the view of the mountain. And I like the big couch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She also loves the town candy store, doing summer camps in beautiful natural areas around town and paddleboarding with her mom.<\/p>\n<p>Getting around Steamboat is easy, too, from Sydney and Genevieve\u2019s place. A bike path that parallels the river starts right outside the Creek\u2019s End apartments. Some mornings, when Sydney\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>Small conveniences \u2014 like easy access to work and school \u2014 make a big difference for this mom and daughter and for other Creek\u2019s End residents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe stars aligned,\u201d Sydney said of her luck in getting both her job and a place to live. \u201cA lot of young families live here. We love it. It definitely feels like home. We\u2019re four minutes from the hospital, which is super convenient. We\u2019re close to my parents and the grocery store. It couldn\u2019t be any more convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86799\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86799\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86799\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/11154136\/CreeksEnd-UCH-111125-10-web.webp\" alt=\"Genevieve, 9, loves doing art projects in her new home. While her mom finished school to become a nurse, mother and daughter had to move around a bit. They look forward to staying in their beautiful apartment, thanks to an investment in affordable housing for employees at Yampa Valley Medical Center. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.\" width=\"640\" height=\"463\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86799\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Genevieve, 9, loves doing art projects in her new home. While her mom finished school to become a nurse, mother and daughter had to move around a bit. They look forward to staying in their beautiful apartment, thanks to an investment in affordable housing for employees at Yampa Valley Medical Center. Photo by John Russell, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Pride in town and ambitious plans to expand affordable housing options<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Altogether, Creek\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s End, residents pay no more than 30% of their family\u2019s 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\u2019s End.<\/p>\n<p>Fidler and her team hope to keep expanding affordable housing options so they can foster good health for patients and employees alike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHousing insecurity definitely impacts the overall health of our community,\u201d Fidler said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA big part of what we do is taking care of our employees so our employees can take care of our patients,\u201d added Mary Wirta, manager of human resources for Yampa Valley Medical Center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re worried about where you\u2019re going to be living next month, that\u2019s a very scary feeling,\u201d Wirta said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile we aren&#8217;t going to solve all of our housing problems, we can try to make life a little easier for our employees,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Their lofty goal is to someday provide affordable housing for as many as 25% of Yampa Valley Medical Center employees.<\/p>\n<p>The Creek\u2019s End project has been a wonderful start.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been really, really great,\u201d said Eli Nykamp, the hospital\u2019s director of operations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re so proud that we\u2019re providing this housing,\u201d Nykamp said. \u201cWe built some great units, and our employees love living there.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Searching for a new home \u2014 with hot, running water <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Among employees who love Creek\u2019s End is Alma Johnson. She was so thrilled with her apartment that she cried the first time she saw it.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019t experienced in the previous places where she had been living over the last few years.<\/p>\n<p>Alma, 30, grew up in Ridgway amid southwestern Colorado\u2019s rugged, stunning San Juans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a mountain girl,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86852\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86852\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86852\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/13082046\/CreeksEnd-AlmaJohnson-dog-web.webp\" alt=\"Creek's End resident Alma Johnson poses with her dog, Zia. Alma Johnson receives a kiss from her rescue dog, Zia. Alma was thrilled to find a job and a dog-friendly home in Steamboat Springs thanks to affordable housing that Yampa Valley Medical Center provides to employees. Photo courtesy of Alma Johnson.\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86852\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alma Johnson receives a kiss from her rescue dog, Zia. Alma was thrilled to find a job and a dog-friendly home in Steamboat Springs thanks to affordable housing that Yampa Valley Medical Center provides to employees. Photo courtesy of Alma Johnson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019s End.<\/p>\n<p>Alma arrived in Steamboat Springs in October 2024 and camped for two weeks on her own about 30 minutes out of town at <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cpw.state.co.us\/state-parks\/stagecoach-state-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stagecoach Reservoir<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n<p>Alma started working right away in the hospital\u2019s sterile processing department, then transferred to become a teacher in Yampa Valley Medical Center\u2019s in-house child care center. It\u2019s called <a id=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GrandKidsChildCareCenter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GrandKids<\/a>, and Alma loves her work with the youngest babies, currently ages 12 weeks to 18 months. She enjoys witnessing \u201caha\u201d moments, like when the little ones celebrate milestones or learn that they can communicate using sign language.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love when a kiddo stands up for the first time or discovers that they can use ASL (American Sign Language) to say \u2018please\u2019 or \u2018thank you\u2019 or \u2018all done.\u2019 It\u2019s those sweet moments, when they realize, \u2018Oh, I can do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alma and her partner were able to move into their apartment on Jan. 1, 2025. Like Sydney\u2019s place, hers looks out over the ski slopes, and she jokes that she doesn\u2019t need weather forecasts. On days off, she simply walks out onto the balcony to get a \u201cnowcast,\u201d checking the temperature to decide how many layers she\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny day with skis on my feet is the best day ever,\u201d Alma said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86851\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86851\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86851\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/13082043\/CreeksEnd-AlmaJohnson-dog-snow-web.webp\" alt=\"Creek's End resident Alma Johnson plays in the snow with her dog, Zia. Alma is thrilled to be living and working in Steamboat Springs, where she was able to qualify for affordable housing thanks to her job at Yampa Valley Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Alma Johnson.\" width=\"450\" height=\"573\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86851\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Creek&#8217;s End resident Alma Johnson and her dog, Zia, both love the snow. Alma is thrilled to be living and working in Steamboat Springs, where she was able to qualify for affordable housing thanks to her job at Yampa Valley Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Alma Johnson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Having a place to call home \u2014 with hot, running water, no less \u2014 makes for great days too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe big windows let in so much light. We\u2019ve got these beautiful blue skies and crazy storms and inverted clouds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Alma loves her current job and has a new goal to become a nurse someday. She\u2019s eager to tap into educational opportunities through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/uchealth-helps-pay-for-education\/\">UCHealth\u2019s Ascend Career Program<\/a>, which helps employees pay for educational programs to grow their skills and climb health care career ladders.<\/p>\n<p>For now, Alma loves cycling to work in the summer and carpooling to the hospital with co-workers on colder days. She\u2019s stunned at how well things have worked out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels like a big leap of faith has played out after a lot of hard work and a lot of luck,\u201d Alma said. \u201cI\u2019m so grateful. Steamboat has been a very safe, soft place to land.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Beautiful, affordable employee housing: \u2018Most people don\u2019t get opportunities like this\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Another happy employee who also lives at Creek\u2019s End is Steamboat native, George Cook.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_86836\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-86836\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-86836\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/11\/12141549\/CreeksEnd-courtesy-George-Cook2-web.webp\" alt=\"George Cook, a Steamboat native, lives in Creeks End with a roommate and works full time at UCHealth. Photo courtesy of George Cook.\" width=\"400\" height=\"476\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-86836\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Cook, a Steamboat Springs native, loves living at the Creek&#8217;s End affordable apartments. He shares his unit with a roommate and works as a facilities technician for Yampa Valley Medical Center. Photo courtesy of George Cook.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>After George graduated from high school, he lived in his folks\u2019 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrand-new housing is pretty rare,\u201d George said. \u201cMost people don\u2019t get opportunities like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Like Sydney, Genevieve and Alma, George loves the view from his place over to the ski slopes.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love powder and bluebird days,\u201d said George, who especially enjoys dropping into the trees to hunt for fresh snow.<\/p>\n<p>As a kid, George had no idea how special Steamboat was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought everyone grew up with a ski mountain in their backyard. It\u2019s pretty sweet. I realized it\u2019s a luxury to be here and to live here,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also loves the camaraderie both at work and at Creek\u2019s End.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people here are really great,\u201d George said. \u201cVendors will come from Denver and say, \u2018Everyone is so nice here.\u2019 I guess that\u2019s how it is in Steamboat. Everyone\u2019s really friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For many workers around Colorado and the U.S., the lack of affordable housing is a huge challenge. And creative solutions \u2014 like the Creek\u2019s End apartments \u2014 foster loyalty and dedication among employees.<\/p>\n<p>Said another Creek\u2019s End resident: \u201cWe have quality of life and beautiful surroundings. This life would not be possible for my family without these apartments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A welcome mat outside the front door of one of the units at Creek\u2019s End sums up how employees feel: \u201cIt\u2019s good to be home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2123,"featured_media":86802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4750,3921,1424,2518],"class_list":["post-86791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-access-to-care","tag-community-benefits-report","tag-steamboat-springs","tag-uchealth-yampa-valley-medical-center","post_format-post-format-video"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>$30M investment brings affordable housing to Colorado health care workers - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Housing is scarce and costly in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. 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