About Aspen · Since 1997
The story
behind Aspen.
Aspen Healthcare has been family-owned and operated since 1997.
As we've grown, we've worked to preserve what mattered at the beginning: genuine relationships, responsible leadership, and respect for the people who depend on us.
Chapter 01
A belief worth
building on.
Before founding Aspen, Robert Collette spent fifteen years managing hospitals for American Medical International. His final assignment was in Brownsville, Texas, where he came to understand just how much a well-run healthcare organization could mean to the community it served.
That experience stayed with him.
In 1997, Robert and his wife moved their five children to Idaho, where he had grown up, and established the first Aspen Healthcare agency.
The idea was straightforward: a healthcare organization built on genuine relationships and sound management could make a meaningful difference in people's lives.
That belief became the foundation of Aspen.
Aspen Healthcare's first office · Idaho Falls, 1997
Chapter 02
One community
at a time.
Aspen didn't grow by purchasing existing healthcare agencies.
When the family began expanding beyond Idaho, Robert's four sons and one son-in-law, together with their families, moved into new communities to establish agencies from the ground up.
They built teams, developed relationships with physicians and other healthcare professionals, and worked to earn the trust of the communities they served.
That approach continued as Aspen grew.
Nearly three decades later, every Aspen location has been developed organically. We've never acquired another agency or accepted outside investment.
What began as one family's effort has become a larger organization, built one community and one relationship at a time.
Chapter 03
Close to the people
doing the work.
As Aspen grew, local administrators and clinical directors took on the responsibility of leading individual agencies.
We believe the people closest to a community are often best positioned to understand its needs. That's why our administrators have the freedom to build their own teams and lead in ways that work for the people they serve.
Clinical decisions remain close to the patient, with field professionals and local clinical leadership working together to determine appropriate care.
Behind those teams, our family remains actively involved.
We work directly with administrators every day, helping maintain the financial strength, operational resources, and clinical oversight that support their work.
It's a combination we value: the resources of an established healthcare organization, with the personal relationships and accountability of locally led agencies.
Chapter 04
Doing what's right
matters.
We've always believed that how a healthcare organization operates matters just as much as the services it provides.
For Aspen, that belief shapes everyday decisions.
We believe patients should receive the care their clinical needs require, without arbitrary reductions intended simply to control costs.
We believe employees deserve to be treated with dignity, compensated fairly, and trusted to exercise their professional judgment.
We believe the trust of physicians and referral partners should be earned through honest relationships, dependable service, and doing what's right for patients.
These principles aren't separate from running a successful organization. To us, they're fundamental to running one responsibly.
Chapter 05
Thinking
beyond today.
Healthcare is an increasingly complex business. Maintaining a strong organization requires careful decisions, financial discipline, and a willingness to take the long view.
We take that responsibility seriously because so many people depend on Aspen.
Patients and families depend on the care our teams provide. Employees depend on the organization for their livelihoods. Local leaders depend on the resources and support behind them.
Our responsibility is to make sure Aspen remains strong enough to meet those needs, today and in the years ahead.
We've never believed that getting bigger is the ultimate measure of success.
If Aspen remains financially strong, operates with integrity, and stays true to the principles on which it was built, we'll consider that a success.
Growth may be part of that future. But never at the expense of what makes Aspen who we are.
Get to know
Aspen.
Today, our home health and hospice agencies continue serving their communities through local teams supported by the family-owned organization behind them.
Whether you're exploring care for someone you love, referring a patient, or considering a career with Aspen, we invite you to learn more about the people and services in your community.