Pictured: Courtney VanHoven

Meet Courtney!

Courtney VanHoven credits her dad, a veterinarian, with her early call to enter a medical career. “My sister and I would spend time at his clinic and go on farm calls with him when we were growing up,” she said. “Seeing what he did piqued my interest at a pretty young age.”

Today, as a seasonal MRH Physical Therapist, Courtney cares for patients both in the outpatient clinic and in the hospital. “I love when I can help a person make a positive change in their life,” she said, “whether that’s addressing their pain, helping them recover from surgery, or helping them get back to doing something they enjoy.”

“Courtney’s attention to detail with patient care is above and beyond,” said the colleague who nominated her as Unsung Hero.

Courtney lives and works in Craig during the summer. In the winters, she and her husband, John, go to Central America. “In 2015 we spent about six weeks exploring Belize and fell in love with it,” she said. “We ended up buying a little house there a few years ago. It’s a beautiful country with great people, and learning how to live life on ‘Belize time’ has been such a fun adventure.”

In addition to MRH, Courtney supports Hillside Health Care, a clinic in southern Belize that offers free medical care. “They provide medical and pharmacy services as well as rehab, palliative care and hospice, public health, and other community-outreach programs to help support the local community,” she said. “It’s staffed by a combination of Belizeans and international clinicians, as well as volunteers and medical, nursing, pharmacy, and therapy students from all over the world. It provides services to a huge population of people that would otherwise be very underserved.”

Courtney grew up in Grand Junction, where her parents still live. Her sister and her sister’s family live in Craig, which is what tempted Courtney and her husband and their three dogs to move here. “I have a pretty small, close-knit family, which I love,” she said.

Even for a world traveler like Courtney, MRH stand out. “I’ve worked at a lot of hospitals and clinics throughout my career,” she said, “and MRH is one of the best places that I’ve worked. It’s obvious that patient care is the top priority here, which makes it easy to enjoy being at work
and motivates me to do what I can to provide a great experience for our patients.”

Courtney, we’re grateful for your excellent patient care at MRH—and your ongoing commitment to returning to rejoin us each summer! You bring so much skill and perspective to your role. Thank you for all your efforts. As always, we’ll miss you this winter, and we’ll look forward to seeing you again in the spring!