CRAFT Case Study: Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center, Chaffee County

Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center (HRRMC) was awarded a CRAFT Mentor program by the Colorado Tourism Office in fall 2018. The objective of this CRAFT Mentor program was to create an all inclusive marketing plan that supports the mission of the HRRMC's weekend wellness retreats and to attract participants from outside of Chaffee County.

Located in Chaffee County, Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center’s mission is to provide personalized medical care close to home. In 2018, HRRMC and Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort partnered to create a bi-annual wellness retreat with the purpose of educating participants on the prevention of chronic epidemic lifestyle diseases while using a comprehensive model for health improvement in a serene environment.

CRAFT Mentor Program Results

The Colorado Tourism Office matched Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center with Gaylene Ore, a CRAFT Mentor with experience in travel, tourism, and consumer marketing to achieve the following outcomes:

Two people walking across a bridge at hot springs
  • Received $1,000 CRAFT Mentor Implementation Funds to hire Gaylene Ore to create an advertising plan and develop event t-shirts to help with branding
  • Drafted and published a press release on PRWeb, generating 2,929 media deliveries and gaining coverage by 26 online publications
  • Purchased advertising in 5280 Magazine and Outside Magazine
  • Tripled the number of retreat participants since partnering with CRAFT. Prior to CRAFT Mentor, HRRMC held two retreats with minimal participation. In 2019, post-CRAFT Mentor, they had 10 participants at their spring retreat and 12 participants at their fall retreat. At the start of 2020, their spring retreat had 14 registered participants and two people waitlisted (this retreat was cancelled due to COVID-19). During the 2019 retreats, two participants were from out of state, six were from outside of Chaffee County, and the remaining participants were from Chaffee County.

"With Gaylene’s guidance, we were able to work out the kinks of the format and flow of the retreat. Her input also clarified the partnership between the hot springs and healthcare system, bridging healthcare and tourism." — Samuele VanDeVelde, Project Lead

Get inspired to visit Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center by exploring Colorado.com:
Chaffee County's Wellness Retreat
Salida: Small Mountain Town With It All
Pikes Peak Wonders Region: A Tale of 7 Adventures
Historic Hot Springs Loop
 

CRAFT

About CRAFT Mentor

CRAFT Mentor provides up to 50 hours of mentoring for tourism-related entities wishing to advance a specific tourism-related goal or strategy. Participants receive $1,000 of implementation funding upon completion.

Contact

Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center
(719) 530-2200
samuel.vandevelde@hrrmc.net