Christy Whitney Borchard served as the founding CEO of HopeWest for 29 years. She was founding director of an “all-volunteer” hospice in Durango, CO in 1979. She later served as Vice President of Mercy Medical Center and CEO of Hospice Northern Virginia, now Capital Caring. She is a co-founder of The National Partnership for Hospice Innovation (NPHI), was an appointed member of the National Rural Advisory Committee for HHS, and served on the Caring for Colorado Foundation, National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization, and Hospice in Sub-Saharan Africa boards of directors. She co-authored the American Nurses’ Association Standards of Hospice Nursing and wrote chapters for the American Hospital Association publication Hospital Hospice Management Models and the VA Hospice Manual. She was the principal author of the National Hospice Organization’s first Service Guidelines for Hospice Care. She has been recognized by Rocky Mountain Health Plans for community collaboration, the Chamber of Commerce for being a creative visionary, the Grand Junction Rotary, and the Colorado Women’s Foundation, and has received the Colorado statewide Nightingale Award.