POPULATION

Cottonwood has much to offer those seeking a place to raise a family and to continue an active lifestyle. Our quality of life is exceptional. The community is growing just fast enough to offer the services and amenities required to meet family, social, educational and recreational needs, while still retaining a small town atmosphere. We welcome you to come and join our safe and friendly community.

Cottonwood is 3,300 feet above sea level, providing almost ideal weather conditions year-round, which allow our residents to enjoy a tremendous variety of recreational opportunities that exist throughout our valley.

One can enjoy the outstanding scenic views while hiking the numerous trails that weave their way throughout the region. The Verde River and Oak Creek with their prime riparian area flow through Cottonwood and the Verde Valley, offering opportunities for fishing, canoeing and birding. (The Northern Arizona Audubon Society is active in our area).

History can be explored by visiting the numerous sites throughout the Valley, depicting the Valley's agricultural, mining and diverse social beginnings.

Yearly activities include Verde River Days, Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival, Cottonwood Gem and Mineral Show, Chocolate Walk, Fourth of July Celebration, the Cottonwood Christmas Parade, numerous musical and theatrical events.

Cottonwood is supported through its sales taxes. They do not have a property tax. The city has improved its inter-city transportation infrastructure with ready access to the interstate highway system. Many styles of housing are available in a variety of price ranges.

MEDICAL

Verde Valley Medical Center, a member of Northern Arizona Healthcare, is a full-service, 110-bed, nonprofit hospital serving Cottonwood, Sedona, Camp Verde, and surrounding communities. It is comprised of the Cottonwood campus, the Sedona campus, the Camp Verde Health Center and the Village of Oak Creek Health Center. The largest employer in the Verde Valley, VVMC utilizes 800 professional and support personnel. The medical staff is comprised of more than 80 physicians representing 21 medical specialties. VVMC is governed by a volunteer board of directors who share a common goal of continuous quality improvement, technology advancement and service expansion.

The Cottonwood campus is the only facility in the Verde Valley offering on-site angioplasty and stent placement. VVMC's interventional cardiology program has received national and international recognition as a model program due to its rapid response times. In 2005 the Cath Lab performed its 1,000th interventional procedure, and currently is celebrating five years of saving lives.

In May 2005 VVMC became the fourth hospital in Arizona to acquire a 64-slice CT scanner, the most powerful CT equipment available today outside of research and teaching facilities. Other Medical Imaging services include MRI, X-ray, mammography, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and Pet/CT scan.

Hand therapy recently was added to VVMC's extensive Rehabilitation Services department which also includes physical, occupational and speech therapy. The department features a state-of-the-art, fully equipped gym.

VVMC provides a multiservice, certified clinical laboratory; 24-hour Emergency department with on-site medically dedicated helicopter; perinatal, newborn and parent education services; surgical services; and a variety of other inpatient and outpatient tests and services. It is home to the Verde Valley Joint Replacement Center, and has the only geriatric behavioral health unit north of Phoenix. VVMC invites the public to utilize its extensive medical library. For more information call Marketing and Customer Relations, 639-6551, or log on to www.verdevalleymedicalcenter.com.

EDUCATION

The education system in the Verde Valley is one that has maintained local control to respond to the needs of the community while preserving the accountability standards mandated by state and federal governments. In standardized testing Verde Valley schools have performed in the upper half of the state standards. With only two exceptions all schools have been labeled as Maintaining or Improving in the state standards. There are a wide range of programs that encourage diversity, respect, academic excellence and career exploration in all schools.

The community support for schools is strong, as is parent involvement. There have been numerous prestigious scholarships awarded to Verde Valley students and in one high school alone, there were over 1.5 million dollars in scholarships awarded last year.