Robert Nartker

Robert Nartker follows a motto offered by NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning: “The most valuable player is the one who makes the most players valuable.”

“This quote helps me think about supporting successful patient-centered providers, and it is my touchstone to continue to be an influential healthcare industry leader,” Nartker said.

Nartker is chief operating officer for Peak Vista Community Health Centers, and he prioritizes his leadership goals this way: “Listen, learn and teach — in that order,” he said.

Peak Vista Community Health Centers is a nonprofit organization providing exceptional healthcare to people facing access barriers through clinical programs and education. Celebrating over 50 years of community health service, Peak Vista offers primary medical, integrated behavioral health and dental healthcare services. It serves over 89,000 patients annually through several outpatient centers in Colorado’s Pikes Peak and East Central regions.

Nartker got his start in healthcare as a registered physical therapy assistant and athletic trainer. It was in that role that he saw the difference in care for patients with the best insurance and those without insurance. Seeing the inequity sparked Nartker’s career mission. He eventually moved into healthcare leadership, working to improve patient access and care each step of the way, and he joined Peak Vista in 2019 as chief operating officer, where his mission continues.

“Rob is thankful that he is now in a position to make an impact on a larger scale and to provide care to all — whether they have the best insurance or none at all,” his team said.

In the next five years, Nartker envisions expanding Peak Vista’s behavioral health services to address the mental health crisis sweeping Colorado and the nation, opening more health centers to meet patients where they are and increasing awareness of the services it has to offer. “It’s with this that Rob hopes Peak Vista will resonate with even more people and touch even more lives,” company staff said.

Under Nartker’s leadership, Peak Vista set up one of the first drive-through COVID-19 testing sites in the area, providing testing for over 700 people per week on average. As the need for vaccines accelerated, so did the teams at Peak Vista, which became one of the first COVID-19 vaccine providers. The team’s pandemic response is one of Nartker’s proudest accomplishments, his team said.

Nartker was also instrumental in working with the city of Colorado Springs to secure a grant to assist in building Peak Vista’s newest health center.

“Rob believes that it takes a team to provide the best care possible to a patient,” his team said. “Patients at Peak Vista don’t just have a doctor supporting them; they have a nurse, a medical assistant, and a provider or two. And, that’s just on the medical side. Peak Vista provides its patients with medical, dental, behavioral health and care coordination services, such as assistance finding housing, food and career resources.

“At Peak Vista, the goal is to care for the whole person, and that can only be done with a team. In Rob’s eyes, when each of these individuals comes together to make a care team, they become unstoppable,” employees said.