Your Hospital District

In 1961, the voters of Western Garfield County voted to create a special district to help fund a hospital in Rifle (Grand River Hospital District). The district covers 1500 square miles. On December 2, 1962,  Clagett Memorial Hospital opened its doors to serve the community on 5^th Street.  The hospital was named after a beloved physician in the community Dr. Oscar F. Clagett. It was always Dr. Clagett’s dream that Rifle would one day have its own hospital.

In 1968, the Hospital district built an adjacent long-term care Center, the E. Dene Moore Care Center, named after another beloved physician in Rifle.

Throughout the decades, the hospital experienced very lucrative years followed by very challenging years because of the boom/bust cycle in the local energy sector.  In 1999 the hospital needed to build additional space for the growing population and remodeling the existing hospital was not an option.  In 2000, the GRHD Board of Directors decided to ask the voters to support building a new hospital on newly acquired land on Airport  Road. The initiative passed and in the spring of 2002 the new hospital, Grand River Hospital and Medical Center opened its doors at 501 Airport Rd.

Focusing on a new direction, the hospital became quite successful in the 2000’s  and in 2009 built a new three story Medical Office Building. In 2012, the organization rebranded itself as Grand River Health. In 2014 Grand River built a new medical clinic in Battlement Mesa (Clinic West). In 2017, the Grand River Hospital District board once again went to the voters, asking them to  pass a bond and mill levy to build a new three story patient wing, and a long-term care center.   The initiative passed.   

Today Grand River Health employs over 50 physicians and over 700 staff members.   Grand River Health is proud to serve well over 32,000 people and offers a wealth of healthcare services for the community!