Celebrating 20 Years of CRHC: Your Perspectives, Part III

These reflections on the past twenty years are part of our ongoing series for 2011 encouraging our members to share their thoughts with us. If you have memories, stories of why you love working rural Colorado, or thoughts on what "rural" means to you, please send them to sm@coruralhealth.org.

"How can you beat an organization that embraces all things rural and also provides for a Cow Pie Bingo game at one of their rural conferences.  I would be willing to bet that no other State Office of Rural Health can claim that accomplishment.  I forget the year or who won the prize, but it was "unique" to say the least.  Hard to top that one."

--Bob Wallace, Centura Health

"I...have admired your organization since...back in the mid 80's."

--Sheila Ray, Ray & Associates, LLC



Letter from the CEO: Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone!

Lou Ann Wilroy, CEO

You might be surprised to learn how CRHC has been able to play the role of cupid over the years. I need to say this is not in our core mission. It’s really not even close.

We’re all about advancing the cause of patients and providers in rural Colorado. It just turns out that occasionally this work causes a couple of hearts to meet, and, well, you know the rest.

Robb Austin, the CEO of the Estes Park Medical Center, met then CRHC Board Member Betsy Baier, then from Leadville, at the 1997 CRHC Annual Conference in Montrose. “A few months after that meeting we started conversing, and the rest, as they say, is history,” he told me. Robb says marrying Betsy in 1999 was “the best thing I ever did.”

So, if you are looking for a life partner, or just a really good conference focusing on rural health care delivery, you should “save the date” for our upcoming annual conference August 11-12 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. This is an especially important conference for our organization as we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary as the State Office of Rural Health.

As I shared in my last blog, we’re collecting memories of CRHC over the past decade. What interactions have you had with CRHC over the years that have positively impacted your work or personal life?

I know taking a break from your work to send me your thoughts on CRHC’s first 20 years is asking for a lot, so I’m going to sweeten the pot. The person who sends me the best (as determined by our staff) CRHC-related memories will receive a complimentary hotel room at our annual conference. All entries must be submitted to sm@coruralhealth.org by February 28, 2011. If you already have resources to cover the cost of your room, we will provide you with a free upgrade.

Since this is our 20th year, we’re upping the ante for this conference. Our agenda will consist of the most respected leaders in rural healthcare. In the near future, you will hear who and what to expect at the meeting.

Thank you, as always, for your support for CRHC. Now go and hug someone who is important to you (it’s Valentine’s Day, after all).

Register now for The Forum 2011

April 19-21, 2011; Aurora, CO
Register now for The Forum 2011: Essential Perspectives for Safety Net Providers. The Forum provides Rural Health Clinics, safety net providers, and SORHs with an opportunity to access unique and targeted education, training, and networking opportunities. This year's comprehensive agenda will address high priority areas including:

• Health Information Technology
• Healthcare Reform
• RHC Compliance, Reimbursement & Advocacy
• Quality and Performance Improvement
• Emergency Preparedness

Click here for more information.

Grant Writing Service from CRHC

Grants: Research, Opportunities & Writing (GROW)
Does your organization need more money? Do you need help writing grants? CRHC has contracted grant writers to help you! These grant writers have over 47 cumulative years of grant writing experience; they have submitted hundreds of grants; their clients have been awarded millions of dollars; and, they have been grant reviewers so they know what it is like “on the other side”.

The grant services being offered are broad – from brainstorming fundraising ideas, to researching available grants, writing portions or complete grants on your behalf, or mentoring you on how to have an office that is “grant ready”.

The service isn’t free, but it could be worth every penny. To learn more, please email Cherith Flowerday, Grants Manager, at cfl@coruralhealth.org or call 303.996.9698. When you email, please give a brief description of what your needs or interest are. You can also visit the GROW webpage for more information.

Architect student donates redesign of Crawford clinic

This is an excerpt from an article published in the Delta County Independent.  Click here to access the full story.

An architect student at the University of Colorado-Boulder has spent the past several months designing a state-of-the-art facility, pro bono, for the Needlerock Family Health Clinic in Crawford. The value of the donated services is estimated at $74,000, said clinic owner Jenny Mitchell.

For her senior independent study, Kate Pedersen selected the clinic out of several other rural health clinics in Colorado that cater to an underserved population. “People who need architecture the most are the people who rarely get it,” Pedersen said. “My personal mission is to learn more about how to help spread the benefits of design and the creation of space to better the lives of the people who could not normally afford it.”

Pedersen designed three different plans with the help of her boss, J.V. Desousa, an architect in Boulder who encouraged her to create her own project, and her professor, Marcel De Lange who encouraged her to work on a project that could actually get built. Mitchell chose one of those designs, available for viewing on Pedersen’s blog. The design includes a lab, three patient rooms and a conference room, among other features.

“It’s really an honor,” said Mitchell, who started the clinic as a mobile health center in January 2008. The clinic has since expanded, and now Mitchell sees patients in a building located behind the realtor’s office in Crawford, in addition to operating the mobile van. Medicaid, Medicare and many insurances are now accepted at the clinic, and patients without health insurance are able to pay on a sliding scale.

“This is a dream,” Mitchell said of the clinic expansion. “But it’s surely within reach.” Best case scenario, Mitchell hopes to have a building purchased by the end of 2010 with the remodel happening the following summer.

To access the full article, click here.

VOTE NOW to help a Colorado mobile dental clinic win $20,000 from Tom's of Maine

Kids in Need of Dentistry (KIND) is is the oldest dental charity in the United States and the recognized leader in promoting the oral health of Colorado's children in need. They are competing for a $20,000 grant from Tom's of Maine to help grow and support their program, which offers critical, easy-to-access dental care to those in need.  There are ten finalists nationwide, and five of those will receive funding.

Vote every day in February for KIND and then drop them a note on their Facebook page to let them know you're supporting them!

According to the Center to Address Disparities in Children’s Oral Health (CAN DO), tooth decay among young children in on the rise and poor and minority populations have been burdened disproportinately. Limited access to dental care, lack of knowledge and even cultural norms in certain disadvantaged populations may contribute to these health disparities. (See the full article)

Help improve the oral health of Colorado's children and vote for KIND's program today!

Through feast, famine, or flood, rural Safety Net Clinics will persevere to serve their communities

Staff members of the High Plains Community Health Center

The following is an article written by Jay Brooke of the High Plains Community Health Center.

In the Name of Patient Access
By Jay Brooke

I received the frantic call at about 7:30 p.m. last night that fire sprinkler pipes in the ceiling at High Plains, frozen by a minus 40 degree wind chill, had burst and the building was flooding. When I arrived there was two inches of water covering the north half of the building. By midnight things were in place to ensure we could see patients as scheduled at 8 a.m. today. What happened in those four hours last night is a testament to the commitment of the High Plains staff and friends to make sure our patients come first and no matter what we are here to be their medical home.

Thank goodness Lisa and Cece were in the building, normally there would be nobody in the building at that time and many feet of water would have dumped. They began calling people on the phone tree, sounding the alarm, with the roar of water pouring onto the floor in the background. There must be somewhere to turn off the water or was that left out of the emergency preparedness training? Shae arrived on scene and secured the assistance of her father in finding the right valve to shut off the water. Phase one was accomplished with the source of the problem scuttled. There was a very brief sigh of relief until the several inches of water on the floor was noted. The people on site grabbed mops and anything they could find to try and remove the many, many gallons of water. There was Jessica walking barefooted through the water getting people organized and soaking up water anyway she could.

Then they began to arrive out of the below zero weather – staff and friends of staff bearing mops, buckets, and wet/dry vacuums to attack the water. There was Shae, Jessica, Lisa, Cece, Nichole, Billie, Linda, Denise, Kacee, Carlos, Shawna, Riley, Becky, Jessie, Andrea, Emily, Courtney and Meagan finding ways to remove the water and Monette orchestrating things on the phone. What seemed like an impossible task of draining gallons of water was done in a couple hours. When the bulk of the water was off the floor, it was time for a huddle to plan next steps and answer the question about whether High Plains was going to be open and see patients the next day. John Vargas and wife Sylvia arrived to replace the pipe in the three places it was burst. Joel and Ken provided assistance with their carpet expertise. The decision was made to see patients in our new building that was not quite ready for use. Shae took a crew to the new building to get it ready for patients in the morning while the rest of us worked on the still soaked carpet.

Kevin and Ryan arrived to give us computer access in the new building. By midnight we were ready to see patients, as scheduled, today. There are some lessons to be learned such as what additional preventive measures need to be taken when it is -40 degrees wind chill, where to turn the water off and, oh ye,s a new chapter in the emergency preparedness manual.

This was an amazing response from these health care heroes who are dedicated to ensuring High Plains is there for our patients and no obstacle is too large to block access to primary care.

Check out this great video on the work the High Plains Community Health Center is doing!

Making the most of public funding - six upcoming trainings

The Blending & Braiding Your TANF Initiative has announced six regional trainings from March – June throughout Colorado. The Making the Most of Public Funding trainings are an opportunity to learn about:

• TANF Funding for Supportive Services: Participants will learn about the range of appropriate services and eligible populations under TANF funding.
• Blending and Braiding: Participants will learn concrete fiscal coordination strategies and nitty gritty details of how to successfully blend and braid funds.
• Partnering with Your Funders: Participants will learn a process for using data, advocacy, and community input to advocate for funding community needs.

The trainings are appropriate for directors, managers, and fiscal staff, or anyone else with fiscal knowledge and an interest in understanding fiscal coordination AND family, consumer, and community advocates and non-profits interested in partnering with local funders and having a voice in funding decisions.

For more information, to register, and to access updated dates and locations, please click here.
The training dates and locations are:

• Walsenburg: March 23rd, 10:00am – 4:30pm
• Akron, March 29th, 10:00am – 4:30pm
• Denver, April 29th, 9:30am – 4:30pm
• Steamboat Springs, May 11th, 10:00am – 4:30pm
• Rifle, late May (TBA), 10am – 4:30pm
• Durango, June 17th, 10am – 4:30pm

Register soon as space is limited!

Pediatric Emergency and Trauma Outreach Symposium

April 14-15, Pueblo; May 12-13, Fort Collins; August 4-5, Durango; September 15-16, Glenwood Springs

This symposium presented by The Children's Hospital provides updates on pediatric emergency medicine, trauma, burn and pre-hospital care. Topics will include assessment, sepsis, child abuse, endocrine, respiratory and seizure emergencies, toxicology, and orthopedic, brain and spinal cord injuries. Workshops integrating simulation and debriefing will enhance your learning at case-based skill stations. For online registration and conference details, click here.