Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs has stood for 71 years as an independent bastion of health care in its bucolic mountain community. “We’ve done very, very well here from a standpoint of quality of care,” said its CEO, Frank May. But Yampa Valley won’t make it to 72 years on its own. The 39-bed hospital announced last month that it is merging with Colorado hospital heavyweight UCHealth, which already encompasses seven other hospitals and more than 1,600 patient beds in the state.