Roots & Legacy

1990 - 2017

Leadership of Carolyn Nystrom

Carolyn Nystrom directed the Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley (HPCWRV) from May 1990 to June 2017, providing 27 years of incredible service. She and her husband, Jim, vacationed in Sun Valley every year, starting in 1961. Carolyn had previously worked in the Bay Area, first as a Hospice Volunteer Coordinator for 2 years and then as a Hospice Director for 7 years. Carolyn brought her experience, expertise, and compassion to HPCWRV, along with her dedication to professional excellence in patient care.

1990s

Building a nAtional Model

At the time of her arrival, HPCWRV had two patients and provided only bereavement and volunteer support to hospice patients. Carolyn quickly added clinical care and developed the program to meet national standards for hospice care, eventually making HPCWRV a national model for delivering hospice care to rural and frontier communities.

Sue Taylor, RN, and Kathy Donald, RN, were the first two nurses that Carolyn hired to manage the increasing patient census and relieve Nystrom of some of the 24/7 “on-call” that she had been doing for nearly 2 years.

Carolyn’s dedication was evident from her traveling to Challis to care for a young child with AIDS at the request of Dr. Steve Luber, and delivering a bed to Smiley Creek at the request of Karen’s Pharmacy, which delivered medical equipment to local hospice patients, free of charge.

Early 1990s

The Little Red House & Program Expansion

Carolyn facilitated the hospice office move from the basement of Moritz Hospital to the “Little Red House” in the early 1990s with the financial help of hospice donor Jim Ray, who agreed to pay the rent for the first two years. Shortly after, Nick Nicolai encouraged Carolyn to buy the house. They found twelve other donors to make the down payment, and before the first mortgage payment was due, Jim Ray paid off the mortgage.

With that stability, Carolyn expanded bereavement support to include:

Specialized grief groups
A bereavement camp for kids
A caregiver’s group
Caregiver retreats

She worked closely with St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, fire, police, ski patrol, churches, and others, and conducted Critical Incident Debriefs.

1990s - 2010s

Statewide and National Leadership

Carolyn’s leadership extended beyond Blaine County. She served as President of the Idaho State Hospice and Palliative Organization, on the State AIDS Prevention Task Force, and on numerous committees at the national level.

Her contributions were recognized with many honors, including:

Ketchum’s Citizen of the Year Award (twice)
Cambia Foundation’s Sojourns Award for leadership & innovation
Lifetime Achievement in End-of-Life Care from the Idaho State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Vision of Philanthropy Award for leadership, philanthropy, and humanitarianism from St. Luke’s Foundation

2017

legacy & endowment

Carolyn was committed to excellence in patient care and dedicated to having hospice be part of the fabric of this community. She was also determined to secure its future. Just before her retirement in 2017, along with Dave Sturdevant and Bob Reniers, she established the Endowment Fund.

We appreciate her tireless efforts for almost three decades, and we are grateful for her legacy.

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ROOTS & LEGACY

Guided by decades of leadership, Hospice grew into a national model of care.