Statewide policymakers, government, health and educational leaders will convene in Denver June 3-4, 2010 for a Colorado Oral Health Summit to tackle major oral health issues such as access to dental care and workforce shortages, and develop recommendations for updating the state’s formal Oral Health Plan. The summit, “Charting a New Oral Health Direction for Coloradans,” will also highlight the positive changes in oral health programs and services throughout the state since the creation of the state’s first formal Oral Health Plan five years ago and emphasize the importance of good dental health to an individual’s overall health. The event will be hosted by Oral Health Awareness Colorado! (OHAC!), a statewide coalition of local, state and federal organizations and individuals committed to improving oral health care for all Coloradans. It will be held at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
For more information, please visit the OHAC! website.
Patient Safety Awareness Week: March 7-13
Patient Safety Awareness Week will be celebrated this year March 7 – 13, 2010. The goal is to provide education and awareness for improving patient safety. The theme this year is “Let’s Talk: Healthy Conversations for Safer Healthcare.” This is a wonderful opportunity to engage and partner with patients, staff, physicians and visitors to foster communication and encourage action around patient safety. For some ideas of how to celebrate Patient Safety Awareness Week, please visit Courtemanche & Associates' website. For more information about Patient Safety Week in general, go to npsf.org.
Funds for Loan Repayment in NE Colorado
Nonprofit organizations working in Logan County focused on health care, education, broadband connectivity, and emergency services will receive grants totaling $61,000 this week from Colorado Springs-based El Pomar Foundation. One of those grants includes $20,000 to CRHC to fund loan repayment for audiologists and speech pathologists in the Northeastern plains counties of Colorado. Read more from the Sterling Journal-Advocate.
Doctor Shortage Accelerating in Colorado
Keeping the doctor away isn't always a great thing - just ask people in rural Colorado and some inner-city neighborhoods, where the shortage of medical professionals is growing. While some recruitment is happening due to loan repayment, training and other programs intended to address the problem, some in the field say public policy still may stand in the way.
Lou Ann Wilroy, CEO of the Colorado Rural Health Center, says a shortage of more than 2,200 primary care providers is expected by 2025 in Colorado, and not just of doctors."We have an 11 percent shortage of nurses statewide, and we expect this will triple in the next 10 years."
Looking at these projections, she suggests many Coloradans may want to start thinking seriously about making a career in healthcare."The number of health care job openings in Colorado is expected to grow by 20 percent over the next 10 years, but the pool of health professionals is expected to shrink by 17 percent."
CLICK HERE to view this story and access an audio version.
Lou Ann Wilroy, CEO of the Colorado Rural Health Center, says a shortage of more than 2,200 primary care providers is expected by 2025 in Colorado, and not just of doctors."We have an 11 percent shortage of nurses statewide, and we expect this will triple in the next 10 years."
Looking at these projections, she suggests many Coloradans may want to start thinking seriously about making a career in healthcare."The number of health care job openings in Colorado is expected to grow by 20 percent over the next 10 years, but the pool of health professionals is expected to shrink by 17 percent."
CLICK HERE to view this story and access an audio version.
Health Professions Scholars to be Honored
Twenty graduate level Colorado health professions students who have agreed to practice for at least the first two years of their careers in a Colorado rural or urban underserved community will be inducted at The Colorado Trust Health Professions Scholar Program awards dinner on March 6.
Seven new scholars are from the Central Colorado Area Health Education Center (CCAHEC), which covers the seven counties of the metro area plus four other surrounding counties. They include: Carol Benzing, Pharmacy; Morgan Ehlers, Pharmacy; Bethany Fiebelkorn, Psychology; Kyle Gateley, Medicine; Aimee Jacoby, Physician Assistant; Hector Lopez Frisbie, Physician Assistant, and Clayton Shaw, Physical Therapy. The scholars are supported in part by a two-year scholarship from The Colorado Trust that provides up to $15,000 years for two years for full-time enrolled students and $7,500 yearly for students enrolled half time. The scholarship targets enrolled graduate level nursing, allied health, dental, pharmacy, medical and public health students.
For more information, contact Kris Wenzel at 303.724.0359 or k.wenzel@ucdenver.edu.
Seven new scholars are from the Central Colorado Area Health Education Center (CCAHEC), which covers the seven counties of the metro area plus four other surrounding counties. They include: Carol Benzing, Pharmacy; Morgan Ehlers, Pharmacy; Bethany Fiebelkorn, Psychology; Kyle Gateley, Medicine; Aimee Jacoby, Physician Assistant; Hector Lopez Frisbie, Physician Assistant, and Clayton Shaw, Physical Therapy. The scholars are supported in part by a two-year scholarship from The Colorado Trust that provides up to $15,000 years for two years for full-time enrolled students and $7,500 yearly for students enrolled half time. The scholarship targets enrolled graduate level nursing, allied health, dental, pharmacy, medical and public health students.
For more information, contact Kris Wenzel at 303.724.0359 or k.wenzel@ucdenver.edu.
CRHC Receives New Workforce Grant
Nurses, doctors and other health professionals are working together with higher education institutions, state health and labor agencies and others to collectively address the long-standing problem of too-few health care providers available to care for Coloradans. With more than 30 members, the Colorado Health Professions Workforce Policy Collaborative is developing policy solutions to close the health professions gap. To strengthen and sustain this grassroots effort, The Colorado Trust announced it has awarded a $205,000 grant to the Colorado Rural Health Center to lead the Collaborative. Read more on the CRHC website!
Also mentioned in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel and the Fort Morgan Times.
Also mentioned in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel and the Fort Morgan Times.
New Program to Train Jobless for Nursing Profession
Otero Junior College and hospitals in La Junta and the San Luis Valley have been awarded a $5 million grant to help jobless people learn to be nurses and nurse assistants. Sen. Michael Bennet and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis announced the grant Friday. "We have a chronic shortage, in rural Colorado particularly, in primary-care nurses and nurse assistants," Bennet said. The grant, funded by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will pay tuition costs for nontraditional students to learn to become certified nurse assistants, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. The program is centered on Otero Junior College in La Junta. Bennet said the intent is to give unemployed people a way to start a new career, and a well-paying one. Rep. Betsy Markey, a Democrat who represents Eastern Colorado in Congress, said the grant is very welcome. “This is great news for Southeast Colorado,” Markey said. “This recession has hit rural communities especially hard, and investing in job creation at OJC will help (people) receive high-quality training and employment services, which will lead to good jobs in health care and other much-needed professions.” She said the grant program should create about 625 trained nursing professionals. Read more from The Pueblo Chieftain.
2009 Colorado Health Report Card
The Colorado Health Foundation recently released the 2009 Colorado Health Report Card answering the question--how healthy are we? Now in their fourth year of reporting on the health status of Coloradans, they report that our overall health grades have not improved since 2006 when the Colorado Health Foundation issued the first Report Card. Most troubling is the overall grade for Healthy Children, which dropped from an already dismal C- to an unacceptably low D+. Check out the report to learn more about the indicators and what they really mean for our state, and also visit "Health Relay" the TCHF blog to read their CEO's thoughts on the report card findings.
Collect Rural Photos for AIDS Education
The Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention (RCAP) is currently developing HIV/STD prevention materials specifically for rural communities is important given the unique traits of rural areas. They are in the process of building a comprehensive library of images and taglines, and need your assistance! If you are interested in participating, please contact them at rcap.create@gmail.com.
Helping Haiti
Dr. Victoria King, Chief Medical Officer at St. Thomas More Hospital in Cañon City, recently traveled to Haiti on a medical mission, as did several other Colorado doctors. These are her words about the experience:
"I went out to the field and did wound care, casting of fractures, one delivery, and a large amount of care of patients with GI problems causing dehydration. It was all exhausting as our team was seeing 400 patients a day, and sleeping on the ground at night. The most rewarding part was feeling that people were being helped and that we were gaining the trust of the people we treated."
CRHC salutes Dr. King and her colleagues and their tireless efforts serving those in need.
"I went out to the field and did wound care, casting of fractures, one delivery, and a large amount of care of patients with GI problems causing dehydration. It was all exhausting as our team was seeing 400 patients a day, and sleeping on the ground at night. The most rewarding part was feeling that people were being helped and that we were gaining the trust of the people we treated."CRHC salutes Dr. King and her colleagues and their tireless efforts serving those in need.
Save the Date!
The Forum 2010
Date: April 19-21, 2010
Presented By: CRHC & ClinicNet
More Info: CLICK HERE
CRHC Rural Health Conference
Date: June
30-July 2, 2010
Presented By: CRHC
More Info: CLICK HERE
CRHC Receives Funding to Enhance Workforce Development Efforts
The Colorado Health Foundation (TCHF) has awarded the Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) and the Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN) a combined $2 million in funding over the next three years to address Colorado's safety net provider workforce crisis. This funding allows CRHC to expand its current Colorado Provider Recruitment (CPR) program, a full service recruitment program actively placing health professionals in rural and underserved areas. Although primarily focused on rural, CPR’s role has evolved into serving the entire safety net, which includes rural and urban entities serving vulnerable populations.
Since its inception in 2001, CPR has placed over 100 clinicians: primary care physicians, physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), and oral health providers. Through the generous funding of TCHF, CPR will expand to meet the growing needs of communities statewide, and will collaborate with CCHN, the Primary Care Office (PCO) and other partners to increase provider placements, help providers navigate loan repayment options, enhance current retention strategies, and assist communities with strategic economic development to recruit and retain healthcare providers.
Since its inception in 2001, CPR has placed over 100 clinicians: primary care physicians, physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), and oral health providers. Through the generous funding of TCHF, CPR will expand to meet the growing needs of communities statewide, and will collaborate with CCHN, the Primary Care Office (PCO) and other partners to increase provider placements, help providers navigate loan repayment options, enhance current retention strategies, and assist communities with strategic economic development to recruit and retain healthcare providers.
2010 Policy Update
The 2010 Legislative Session is well underway and the Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) is working towards the goal of improving healthcare services available in rural communities to ensure that all rural Coloradans have access to comprehensive, affordable, high quality healthcare.
During the 2010 session CRHC is focused on the following priorities:
- Supporting efforts to increase and improve the healthcare workforce in rural and frontier counties of Colorado
- Working to increase the capacity of Rural Health Clinics, Critical Access Hospitals, and other rural healthcare providers
- Educating policymakers at both the state and federal level about the entire healthcare safety net, which includes Rural Health Clinics, Critical Access Hospitals, and Community-Funded Safety Net Clinics
- Preventing further cuts to provider reimbursement rates and healthcare services
- Tracking federal healthcare reform efforts and protect key rural provisions
CRHC represents and supports Colorado’s 45 Rural Health Clinics and 29 Critical Access Hospitals, in addition to the many independent providers, Community-Funded Safety Net Clinics, and rural residents across the state.
To stay informed and up to speed with the policy activities of CRHC and how you can get involved, please visit The Rural Voice. If you would like more information about CRHC’s Rural Outreach and Advocacy Program, please contact Terri Hurst, Policy Analyst, at th@coruralhealth.org
CPR Places 4 New Rural Providers in January
January was a busy month for Colorado Provider Recruitment (CPR), and four rural Colorado communities have a new provider to show for it! Please give these healthcare providers a warm welcome:
- Oswaldo Grenardo, MD
Dr. Grenardo graduated from Rose Family Medicine Residency in ’08 and now has his own family medicine practice in Parker, CO. He will now be assisting in serving the primary care needs in Rocky Ford and Ordway in a part time capacity, working at the Rocky Ford Family Health Center and Centennial Family Health Center two times a week. He always has had an interest in serving the needs of rural Colorado and now has made it possible to make it a part of his career as a primary care provider. - Ms. Guenevere Lindgren, PA
Ms. Lindgren will be joining The Pediatric Associates in Montrose as a Physician Assistant. She loves exploring new places and the outdoors, and is very excited to have the western slope of Colorado be her new home. She just completed her MS in the Surgical Physician Assistant program from the Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham and already had a degree and experience in Systems Engineering. - Ms. Diana Wright, PA
Ms. Wright is headed to Rangely District Hospital after completing her Physician Assistant Certification from Red Rocks Community College and her MA from St. Francis University in Medical Science. She has a passion for rural medicine and serving the rural, migrant and underserved populations. She loves the outdoors and has her Wilderness EMT and also speaks Spanish fluently. - Gina Nelson, MD – Southeastern Colorado Hospital District in Springfield
Dr. Nelson completed Medical school here in Colorado at the University of Colorado as well as obtained her PhD in Neuroscience at UC, and is now going to be working at the Southeastern Colorado Hospital District in Springfield. She has 8 yrs of experience as a practicing physician in Pathology and Family Medicine and used to own her own practice in Alabama. She has returned to Colorado after many years to be closer to her family in Arvada and will be filling a large need in the physician workforce shortage that is present in the southeast region of the state.
If your rural or underserved urban facility is in need of a healthcare provider, contact CPR today! 303.832.7493 or cpr@coruralhealth.org.
Ribbon-Cutting for Strasburg Health Clinic
Plains Medical Center invites you to join them for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house with Governor Bill Ritter!
Date: February 9, 2010
Time: 1:30pm - 4:00pm
Location: 55981 East Colfax Ave., Strasburg, CO 80136
Date: February 9, 2010
Time: 1:30pm - 4:00pm
Location: 55981 East Colfax Ave., Strasburg, CO 80136
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