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by C.J. Gustafson
Nursing Schools.com Contributing Writer
July 22nd, 2005

In 1842, trappers and traders established a fort named El Pueblo where the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek converge in Southern Colorado. The site was located just over 100 miles from present-day Denver. The fort operated until 1854 when a band of Ute Indians attacked and killed nearly all the inhabitants. The site remained relatively unpopulated until the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859. Miners, ranchers and shopkeepers added to the population after the Civil War, and the town of Pueblo was incorporated in 1870.

Early Industry
In 1872, Gen. William J. Palmer's Denver & Rio Grande Railway began narrow-gauge service through Pueblo. Other railroads soon followed, and Union Depot was established to accommodate passengers. Pueblo soon became an important transportation and economic hub for the region.

Steel became an important industry for the town during the late 1800s as Colorado Coal and Iron Company was established to make rails for the railroads. Eventually it was renamed to become the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company (CF&I). In 1921, both the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek flooded, and much of Pueblo was destroyed and around 100 lives were lost. CF&I contributed significantly to the town's rebirth, and at its height in the 1950s it was the major employer in the area, providing jobs for approximately 8,000 people. The steel industry continues to contribute to Pueblo's economy, although on a much smaller scale.

Health Care Ranks Highest
Today, the health care and social assistance sector is Pueblo's largest private sector employer, providing jobs for nearly 9,000 people in the city of Pueblo and the surrounding metropolitan area. Considering that the city proper has just over 100,000 residents, it is clear that the health care industry plays an important role in daily life for many residents.

Parkview Medical Center is the largest employer in this industry, and in all of Pueblo's private sector. The facility has just under 2,000 employees, including a direct care medical staff of over 300 people. The hospital specializes in cardiac and neurological surgery, and has a Level II trauma center and a unique pediatric unit called Kidsville®. St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center and the Colorado Mental Health Institute are two other area hospitals that make important contributions to Pueblo's medical community and provide a wide range of employment opportunities for those interested in careers in nursing and other health care fields.

Nursing Education & Training
Students who wish to pursue their nursing training in Pueblo have several excellent schools from which to choose. The city is home to Colorado State University - Pueblo, formerly University of Southern Colorado. Their nursing department offers a wide variety of courses and programs and is involved in numerous partnerships and projects with local medical facilities.

The Pueblo Community College offers a selection of nursing programs.

Students at these and other Pueblo area schools can study a wide variety of different nursing specialties including Critical Care Nursing, Forensic Nursing, Hospice Care Nursing, Midwifery, and Nursing Informatics. They can train to become a Legal Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse (RN), or even a health care administrator.

Appealing Small City Lifestyle
The combination of a thriving health care industry and quality educational facilities draw many students to Pueblo. Helen Carter graduated from high school in the Los Angeles area. She said she decided to come to Pueblo because of the small city atmosphere and the wealth of fun things to do.

"I wanted to get away from the craziness of LA, but I didn't want to be in some totally rural area. Pueblo has somewhere around a hundred thousand people (104,100), which is about perfect for me, and it has a sort of cowboy chic feel to it. Plus, as a nursing student, I'm into a healthy lifestyle and outdoor activities, and Pueblo has so much to offer in these areas," Carter shared. "There's so much to do here with the mountains all around and hiking and recreation areas everywhere. The Arkansas River is excellent for whitewater-rafting, and some of the best ski resorts in the world are only a short drive away," she added.

Another local attraction is the Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo, a recent and ongoing development that adds to the daily quality of life in Pueblo. It is a 26-acre urban waterfront experience with a walkway that retraces the path of the Arkansas River prior to the 1921 flood.

Known as the "Home of Heroes" because it is the hometown of four living Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, Pueblo provides an ideal setting for those who enjoy small city life surrounded by mountains and waterways. And the high concentration of large medical providers per capita creates many exciting career opportunities for those in the health care field.