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Silverton services

Broadband, health care help hamlet

Situated as it is between Red Mountain and Molas passes, reaching Silverton requires some work. Visitors can negotiate often-snowy and always windy roads. In the warmer months, there is stunningly beautiful, but not altogether expeditious rail service from Durango. For those who call Silverton home year-round, this isolation demands more grit than most Coloradans must demonstrate. The tiny community must do without many things. Medical care is no longer on the list, nor is broadband Internet service. These are critical milestones for the town.

With a population of 500, Silverton is the San Juan County seat, and its only significant concentration of humans. As such, it does not rank particularly high on priority lists for such things as infrastructure projects. Add to that the rather foreboding geography surrounding the town and committing resources, living there becomes even more challenging. The result is a large part of Silverton’s draw: It is a quaint town devoid of the big-box stores, stoplights, bustle of city life, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Nevertheless, those who live in and attempt to broaden the community’s offerings are limited by that lack of infrastructure. For some matters, it is purely convenience. For others, the stakes are higher.

Medical care is among the latter. Local primary care has been lacking in the community until April, when Mercy Regional Medical Center began sending a nurse practitioner to Silverton for weekly clinic hours offering basic care. Formerly, Silvertonians had a lengthy trek to either Montrose or Durango for such routine matters as immunizations, strep-throat tests and annual examinations. This is a critical service that will help keep Silverton’s residents healthy without a lengthy, costly drive between home and the care they need.

The town can finally now participate in the digital revolution, after a long-awaited fiber-optic connection has arrived in Silverton. While it still holds the distinction of being the last town in Colorado to receive such service, Silverton can now access the Internet at the speeds needed to effectively use the tool. This is crucial for everything from education to administration to economic development. Lacking that infrastructure has hampered Silverton’s ability to expand its business base. Broadband’s long-awaited arrival positions the town to build on its many resources, despite its isolation.

It is unlikely that Silverton will ever be a booming metropolis, nor should it. But basic, effective services are critical to any community’s well-being. Medical care and high-speed Internet service are among the essentials that Silverton has long deserved. Their arrival is worth celebrating.



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