the chief medical officer at San Luis Valley Health in Alamosa He and other hospital staff and administrators wonder about the pressure deep Medicaid cuts would put on the hospital’s ability to keep some services open.In the San Luis Valley in south central Colorado clouds billow above the towering Sangre de Cristo mountains “I'm trying to be worried and optimistic,” said Konnie Martin, CEO of San Luis Valley Health in Alamosa It’s the flagship health care facility for 50,000 people in six agricultural counties —  Alamosa The first numbers out of the GOP Congress about potential deep Medicaid cuts were “incredibly frightening,” Martin says “because Medicaid is such a vital program to rural health care.” Across the hall from her office is Shane Mortensen “The bean counter,” he said with a slight grin of which Medicaid accounts for nearly a third The facility operates on a razor thin profit margin.  The region is one of the state’s oldest and poorest. Two in five of Alamosa County’s residents are enrolled in Health First Colorado especially for people who don’t have easy access to health care people with disabilities and those with lower incomes Envisioning a future with deep cutbacks leaves patients doctors and the valley’s health care system on edge.  it's just going to take half my check to pay insurance,” said Julianna Mascarenas who said Medicaid has helped cover health care for her family for years Do I insure my kids or do I keep a roof over their head?” Mascarenas works as a counselor treating people with substance use disorder for employers that don’t offer health insurance.  “So those moments that I was a stay at home mom and he’s working agriculture when asked about what it would have meant for her family to not have health insurance provided through Medicaid Or go without. The program covers health care for one in five Coloradans That includes children in foster care.  six of which have been born here at this hospital with drugs in their system,” said Chance Padilla “Medicaid has played a huge part in just being able to give them the normal life that they deserve.”  get reimbursed by Medicaid for the costs of providing for the kids that have lived with them “These kids require a lot of medical intervention,” said Chance Padilla The program also covers mental health services for foster children we had a preteen that needed to be seen three times a week by a mental health professional,” Chris Padilla said “There's no way that we could have done that without Medicaid.” Nurse Amy Oaks showed how they’re honored when their treatment is completed with the celebratory ringing of a bell.  But hospital staff and administrators wonder about the pressure deep cuts would put on the hospital’s ability to keep the cancer center running.  “It could be pretty dramatically affected,” said Dr His specialty is obstetrics and gynecology. The hospital also has a labor and delivery unit, the kind rural hospitals nationwide have struggled to keep open.  then where are they going to go?” Hernandez asked “They're going to travel an hour and 20 minutes north to Salida to get health care another two hour drive over a mountain pass to get health care.”  a 34-year-old mom of four who works with kids who have disabilities requiring twice a week ultrasounds and stress tests at the hospital She’s enrolled in Medicaid and said it’s critical for many moms in the valley “Everything down here is low pay,” said Martinez “It's not like we have money to just be able to pay for the doctor It's not like we have money to travel often to go to the doctor About 85 percent of the hospital’s labor and delivery patients are covered under Medicaid As the program has expanded over the years many of the patients who got added were married women from working families.  “It impacted the whole family because of course that's a little nucleus then that grows with the care of the family and the wellbeing of the family,” said Christine Hettinger Hunt The hospital is by far the valley’s largest employer went away for school and came back to a good-paying job Sowards said a loss of Medicaid funds will make it harder to attract new health providers.  “Especially with needed health care services, certain specialties are no longer available,” Sowards said. “People will have to leave. They will have to leave the San Luis Valley.” Dr. Kristina Steinberg is a family medicine physician with Valley Wide Health Systems a network of small clinics serving thousands She said Medicaid covers most nursing home residents “If seniors lost access to Medicaid for long-term care we would lose some nursing homes,” she said The program also pays for vaccines for children. In two nearby communities, Colorado recently recorded its first cases of measles this year you pretty much qualify for free vaccines for children,” she said “And I can see our vaccines dropping off dramatically if people have to pay for vaccines because some of them are very expensive.”  Medicaid is at the heart of the community’s ability to provide care to the broader population “We really utilize Medicaid as sort of the backbone of our infrastructure,” said Audrey Reich Loy who is the hospital's director of programs “It doesn't just support those that are recipients of Medicaid but as a result of what it brings to our community it allows us to ensure that we have sort of a safety net of services that we can then expand upon and provide for the entire community.” Republicans in Congress say they want to save money and make the government more efficient. Their budget would cut taxes by trillions of dollars — and possibly cut social safety net programs like Medicaid.  Many in this region voted for President Trump — 54 percent in Alamosa County Hernandez admits Medicaid cuts could give people here second thoughts “He's potentially affecting his voter base pretty dramatically,” said Hernandez noting politics is a sensitive topic that he mostly doesn’t discuss with patients “I can't imagine that hasn't crossed some people's minds.” says he’s baffled by the idea of potentially slashing Medicaid spending He understands the diagnosis of an ailing and expensive national health care system “Just because we fall and break our wrists and our wrist is broken doesn't mean that we need to cut off our arm “Losing Medicaid would have drastic repercussions that we can't foresee.” saying if deep cuts go deep enough the sustainability of the hospital and more could be in doubt it would essentially shut down rural health care,” Martin said Deep Medicaid cuts could pack a punch for the region’s economy as well Alamosa is at the hub of the San Luis Valley. It has a main street in the midst of revitalization shops and a coffee shop called Roast Cafe.  barista Ethan Bowen prepped a specialty drink called a drooling moose “It's a white chocolate mocha with a little bit of caramel in there,” he said The coffee shop and its adjacent brew pub do pretty good business here in part because of nearby San Luis Valley Health which is a “huge part of the local economy,” Bowen said Joe Martinez is president of San Luis Valley Federal Bank He said the valley has three of the poorest counties in the nation A lot of its people are enrolled in Medicaid “and the individuals that partake in the program don't necessarily have the financial means to travel outside of the San Luis Valley for health care.” The hospital’s regional economic impact is more than $100 million a year with Medicaid accounting for a major part of that.  Martinez said if Medicaid cuts hit the hospital hard it also affects small businesses and their employees He said he’s “very worried as to how it affects the entire economy in the San Luis Valley.” Talk of Medicaid cuts is happening as the region is feeling economic stress from other changes The San Luis Valley is home to the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge Great San Dunes National Park and other federal lands.  Martinez said recently laid off federal workers are already coming to banks ‘can I find a way to get my next two months mortgage payments forgiven what can we do to make sure that I don't lose my vehicle?’” Ty Coleman, Alamosa’s mayor to talk to the state’s Congressional delegation He said his message about Medicaid cuts was straightforward “It can have a devastating economic impact,” he said.  Coleman put together a long list of possible troubles:  more chronic disease and mortality medical debt and financial strain on families.  across Colorado as well and the United States,” Coleman said “And I don't think people are getting it.” Medicaid cuts broadly impact other things, like education.“One of the biggest factors driving state higher education funding down is state spending on healthcare,” said David Tandberg, president of Adams State University It’s next to the hospital and is the region’s next biggest employer Tandberg said if federal cuts are made to Medicaid the state of Colorado then has more healthcare services it has to try to fund Colorado is staring down a billion dollar budget deficit And universities like his find they’re competing for precious funding The topic came up at a recent town hall meeting attended by dozens of valley residents.  The focus of the event was the whirlwind of impacts from the new administration--to veterans “We have a large number of jobs in our community that are in nursing,” said family medicine physician Kris Steinberg are in nursing and rehabilitation services Steinberg told her neighbors if Medicaid cannot help the community provide those services “there will be an economic impact in our community that will touch everyone.” we're forgotten,” said bank president Joe Martinez federal officials will see “the trickle down effects that it's going to have on communities “I believe that they would slow things down and make decisions that are proper,” Martinez said and find a solution to Medicaid funding that everyone can live with.   Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. Listen now. © 2025 Colorado Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. in 2019.Alamosa has halted plans to build a second homeless shelter following broad concern from residents that the project would add more people to the San Luis Valley city’s already growing unhoused population After considering the combination soup kitchen and shelter proposal for more than two years city council members voted unanimously on Nov 6 to return $145,000 in grants awarded for planning costs for the $2 million facility “The community spoke loud and clear,” Alamosa Mayor Ty Coleman said in an interview with CPR News “When you have a segment of the population that don't want to abide by the rules and regulations … and people who don't want to receive help — I think that's where they draw the line.” the executive director of local homeless services organization La Puente plans for the facility began following an uptick in the use of their downtown soup kitchen so just relocating the same service wasn’t really helping more people and that would be a very expensive facility,” Cheslock said in explaining an eventual change of plans between La Puente and the city it would have expanded the scope of the facility to also include an emergency weather shelter for use in the coldest months of the year.  Finding qualified workers to staff such a shelter for short-term, several-month contracts was deemed unfeasible, so La Puente sought to further expand the proposal to a year-round low-barrier shelter to provide housing for those unable to stay at La Puente’s existing 45-bed shelter The facility would have served people under the influence of drugs or alcohol or those with certain behavioral health problems.   “They were wanting this facility to allow for those behaviors that the community just at the end of the day decided is not the best benefit of the city of Alamosa,” Coleman said.  Cheslock estimated that about 140 people in the city are unhoused. A low-barrier shelter is still needed, he said, adding that he was grateful for other assistance the city has provided his organization, like providing grant funds to both help open a new Alamosa food pantry and to bolster La Puente’s homeless employment program.  “I really feel like we will be able to come back to the city in the future at some point and make our case for the hundred people that don't have a safe place to stay,” Cheslock said and that's what people have to face with being out there.” Southern Colorado is changing a lot these days Sign up for the KRCC Weekly Digest here and get the stories that matter to Southern Colorado Contact KRCCFCC Applications & FilesFacebookInstagramNews That Matters © 2025 Colorado Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy As the gateway to the Great Sand Dunes and the heartbeat of the Majestic San Luis Valley Alamosa offers the perfect mix of outdoor activities and unique experiences This small Southern Colorado city overflows with things to do such as hot springs Beyond its natural beauty visitors will find a certain mystic only seen in the valley. No matter what time of year you find yourself, Alamosa has plenty to provide its visitors, from fishing, hiking, biking, and even a chance to feed an alligator, visitors will find no shortage of activities in Alamosa. Discover it all with these fun experiences in Alamosa The Rio Grande Trail, also called the Rio Grande River Walk is an easy footpath located in Alamosa that follows the winding path of the Rio Grande River This is an out-and-back trail that is just over three miles long but it can easily be extended to four and a half miles by adding a loop in nearby Cole Park The Rio Grande River Walk is free to access Because the trail spends most of its time by the river making this a perfect trail for visitors hoping for an easy way to see some nature The trail is mostly gravel with occasional patches of pavement An oasis of ponds, marshes, and wetlands, the Blanca Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern, or Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area, is one of the most picturesque regions of the San Luis Valley An extremely important ecosystem for birds in Colorado and lucky visitors can spot bald eagles and peregrine falcons on a visit this area is most pleasant during the summer months granting visitors great opportunities for viewing wildlife including migratory birds so guests have easy access to view the area’s ducks There are little to no amenities in the area There is no camping within the bounds of the habitat area but dispersed camping is available on nearby BLM land Set outside of Hooper, just 22 miles from Alamosa, the UFO Watchtower is one of the more unique attractions in the area Although it is only set around ten feet above the ground the area’s flat surroundings ensure beautiful views of the distant mountains and uninterrupted views of the night sky for alien sightings Underneath the watchtower is an alien-themed gift shop so visitors can commemorate their visit with alien memorabilia consider camping at the watchtower for an additional fee this UFO Watchtower in the middle of the San Luis Valley is still a great visit for inquisitive visitors A few hot springs exist around Alamosa, and there’s arguably no better way to spend a visit in the San Luis Valley than by soaking in a hot spring. One of the most popular options is Valley View Hot Springs Valley View Hot Springs is a clothing-optional hot spring resort outside of Moffat The resort features many natural rock ponds that are filled with geothermally heated mineral water Valley View Hot Springs has a variety of accommodations including camping and historic rooms Another great choice is Joyful Journey Hot Springs With three pools ranging in temperature from 98°F to 108°F visitors can easily find a way to relax at this resort This place showcases beautiful views across the valley of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range Visitors are welcome to participate in the resort’s art classes and yoga classes Guests can find accommodations at the resort’s lodge Great Sand Dunes National Park is a little bit off the beaten path but it’s well worth the visit on a trip to Alamosa This national park features the tallest sand dunes in North America and the unique opportunity to camp on the dunes and enjoy some of the best stargazing in the country One of the most popular activities at the park is sand sledding and sandboarding Boards and sleds can be rented at several stores outside of the park There are several options for camping in the park The most traditional camping is located at the Piñon Flats Campground which is open from April until October each year consider backpacking into the Dunes Backcountry and camping on the dunes Spanning thousands of acres of wetlands that are home to a huge number of wildlife including beaver, deer, and dozens of species of birds, the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge is one of the best stops in the San Luis Valley for animal and nature enthusiasts alike Visitors can enjoy a drive on the Auto Tour a short scenic drive showing off the best that the refuge has to offer There are a few trails that run through the area one of which is the Rio Grande Nature Trail a 1.8-mile path that gives visitors a nice overview of the refuge approximately twenty thousand Sandhill Cranes migrate through the San Luis Valley making this an optimal time to visit the refuge Colorado towns are famous for their breweries, and Alamosa is no different. For any beer aficionados visiting the area, no trip is complete without stopping by the San Luis Valley Brewing Company With hops and barley purchased from local producers as well as small batches this is a truly local brewery that cares about quality There are six brews on tap year-round as well as some seasonal beers the San Luis Valley Brewing Company features a full-service menu including some appetizers The brewery is located in downtown Alamosa on Main Street and is open seven days a week The San Luis Valley is surrounded by two mountain ranges, the beautiful Sangre de Cristos and the San Juan Mountains, so it’s no surprise that there are multiple options for world-class hiking nearby One of the most adventurous hiking options near Alamosa is to attempt a summit of Blanca Peak the fourth highest of Colorado’s 53 14ers and it should only be attempted by those with experience hiking in the mountains the trail will most likely be over 15 miles round trip and it gains around 6,500 feet of elevation For a potentially less harrowing hike, consider heading to Zapata Falls With a length that’s only around one mile this short but pleasant hike takes hikers near the falls where water tumbles thirty feet to the ground Splashland Hot Springs is a simple hot spring pool located just north of Alamosa off State Highway 17 Filled with hot water heated underneath the earth this no-frills pool complex offers stunning views of the nearby mountains from the floor of the San Luis Valley visitors can purchase snacks and drinks at the concession stand Another option is the Sand Dunes Swimming Pool & RV Park this small hot spring resort features two pools a 10,000-square-foot adults-only area offering a sauna For any visitors to the San Luis Valley hoping to hold a baby alligator, look no further than the Colorado Gators Reptile Park Each visitor gets the chance to take a picture with a baby alligator so animal and reptile enthusiasts are sure to love a visit to this educational and sustainable park The Rio Grande River which is one of the longest rivers in the United States runs through Alamosa and offers anglers some of the best fishing in Colorado The Rio Grande parallels US Highway 160 for much of its length in the San Luis Valley so there’s no shortage of good public access for fishing One of the best sections of the river exists between South Fork and Del Norte and there are large numbers of brown and rainbow trout in this section Some of the state’s best mountain biking exists right outside Alamosa near Del Norte One option is the Stone Quarry trail system so they’re good for beginner mountain bikers who want to get their feet wet on a trip to Alamosa A more advanced option for biking exists in Penitente Canyon Visitors can ride the Sunshine Kitty Trail a two-and-a-half-mile singletrack trail that offers stunning views and five hundred feet of elevation change so bikers are free to explore the forty acres of slickrock as they see fit An interesting combination of a hotel and a drive-in movie theater, the Best Western Movie Manor is a fun option for visitors looking for accommodations in the nearby town of Monte Vista Aside from all the standard hotel amenities this hotel also features the Star Drive-in Theatre One of the two screens can be seen by hotel guests from the rooms’ windows so visitors can catch a movie without even leaving their bed The other screen is only accessible by car but hotel guests have complimentary access There’s a snack bar available near the screens so visitors can enjoy great food with their drive-in movie experience No matter if you are here to see the sites or watch for UFOs there are plenty of things to do in Alamosa and the San Luis Valley Jessica is a writer and photographer based in Denver She spends her time traveling the world and exploring the beautiful state of Colorado She has a passion for well-written stories gorgeous photography and bringing these two together When she is not working in the city you can find her in the mountains either hiking Connect with her on Instagram or Facebook @jlhindesign Copyright © 2025 · Free Colorado Travel Guide | Vacations, Travel and Tourism · All Rights Reserved