CEO Update: Mapping the Healthcare Landscape

In the midst of the government shut down and the proposed cuts to rural healthcare, now is a critical time to speak the truth about the data.  Everyday new information is being added to the world’s unstructured database at a rate that exceeds our cognitive threshold.  How do we take the information related to healthcare for the underserved and put it into action to tell our story? The team at the Colorado Rural Health Center asked this question and is helping to create a solution.  Our county designation map is an easy way to visually see the vast space in Colorado that is rural and frontier and has been used throughout Colorado.  We see it at conferences and publications, and we’re thrilled to be providing a resource that many find useful.  We have found that maps detailing the needs in rural Colorado are a vital way we can contribute to solutions being created by our entire readership.

Why do we believe that mapping is so important?  Here are some quotes from mapping experts… 

·         A United States Colonel is quoted by saying “the last thing you think of and the first thing you need is a map.”

·         And the Sonoma Ecology Center states on their website that “maps are like campfires – everyone gathers around them, because they allow people to understand issues at a first glance, and find agreement and how to help.”

As one of our many resources presented to the public, we want to continue to display landscapes that help explain the difficult problems and the great successes in our rural communities.  Here are a few of the new maps available.

All certified critical access hospitals in 2013 are displayed on this map.  Rural hospitals have increasing challenges that become more complex each day.  The map outlaying the hospitals may be used for multiple purposes to educate legislators, to understand our facility landscape, in community development planning, among others.

The safety net landscape, current as of August 2013, can be found here.  Federally-certified Rural Health Clinics and other safety net clinics provide services to people who would otherwise go without care.  Their participation in the medical community is imperative to accomplishing our state’s health goals, especially in rural communities.  Currently CRHC is working with 52 Federally-certified Rural Health Clinics and 50 additional clinics located in rural Colorado.  Watch for an updated map.

As you know, many of our counties are without a hospital and the recent threats and recommendations from the OIG Report are suggesting more of our counties should have limited access to resources.  This map gives a graphical representation of these areas.  With access to care as a primary concern in healthcare, it is important to recognize the geographic representation of hospitals is not equitable across the state.

Since the Colorado Rural Health Center began recruiting healthcare professionals 2005 in rural and underserved areas, over 140 providers have been placed by our program.  A map of all placements with the hot spots can be found here.

We’ve created separate maps for hospitals and clinics, but it’s also important to gain a clear view of all rural healthcare locations.  This map clearly indicates the rural health clinics and critical access hospitals across the state. 

New maps are being planned and will be available on our website every month in 2014.  We encourage you to use this information for as many purposes as possible.  Maps will help to educate the public, make program decisions, and give all of our work the credibility it deserves.  Maps not only describe the healthcare landscape, but also show the accomplishments that we’ve all achieved.  Please let us know if you’d like to see any additional information represented on a map.  You can find a list of all available maps, created by us and partners, here.

As the Colorado HealthStory Project Nears Its End, the Team Releases a Statewide Profile Revealing the Top 10 Themes Heard Around the State

Colorado HealthStory, a project of the Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC), the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU) and ClinicNET, is a public will-building project funded by The Colorado Trust and the Colorado Health Foundation. Over the last three years, the team traveled over 3,000 miles to 27 counties in all corners of the state. As we listened to Coloradans tell their health story, we heard ten recurring themes rise to the top, ten things we believe define and describe healthcare in Colorado:

1. Healthcare coverage and access

2. Navigating the healthcare system

3. Educational and Preventive Health Measures

4. Health and Wellness

5. Complex health conditions

6. Behavioral Health

7. Oral Health

8. Patient provider relationships

9. Being an engaged patient

10. Health Disparities

This top ten list is a reflection of Colorado's own health stories, and we're proud to be able to help tell it. We encourage you to explore and share the Colorado HealthStory Top Ten with your partners, providers and patients. Click here to view the Colorado HealthStory Statewide Profile and visit the Colorado HealthStory webpage to listen to other stories.

Radio Disney & Anthem Blue Cross CO get fit challenge

Radio Disney Denver, part of the #1 radio network for kids, tweens and families, and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Colorado will team up for the third consecutive year to promote the importance of childhood health and wellness through the Get Active, Get Fit School Challenge, which runs from Sept. 20, 2013 through Nov. 23, 2013 and is open to students from kindergarten through sixth grade in schools across Colorado. In 2012, more than 385,000 elementary school students across seven states successfully participated in the program.

Designed to motivate kids and families to achieve fitness together by engaging in fun activities, participants in the challenge are encouraged to "get active and get fit" for at least 20 minutes every day - or as often as possible - in various ways, from walking the dog, to playing sports, to jumping rope. In order to successfully complete the challenge, students must be active for a minimum of 40 of the 55 days in the challenge.

Read more about Radio Disney and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Launch 'Get Active, Get Fit' School Challenge - BWWFitnessWorld by www.broadwayworld.com

If you haven’t already heard….Cavity Free at Three has moved!

The Cavity Free at Three program formerly housed at the University of Colorado has moved to The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Prevention Services Division in the Oral Health Unit. For more information on this program, please contact Anne Gibbs at 303-691-4907 or anne.gibbs@state.co.us.

Locals launch campaign to keep medical center in Telluride

Early this month, the Telluride Town Council voted to send a town-drafted measure on the Pearl Property to the November ballot.

The measure, Proposition 2D, proposes to divide the property just west of town into two parcels — a large undeveloped open space parcel preserved by a conservation easement, and a small paved parcel where the RV lot is now located that could be used for a public benefit such as a new medical center, affordable housing or recreation amenity.

The passage of the ballot measure doesn’t guarantee that a medical center will be built on the smaller lot, but organizers of a campaign launched this week assert that it represents the last and best opportunity to keep a medical facility in the Town of Telluride.

“We want to make it crystal clear that Proposition 2D represents the very last chance for the medical center to remain in Telluride long-term and that the RV lot is the only parcel in town that will work,” said Dr. Diana Koelliker, a member of Citizens for Keeping the Medical Center in Telluride. Click here to read the full article by Katie Klingsporn at Telluride Daily Plant.

iCARE Storyboard at IHI’s National Forum

CRHC will be exhibiting a Storyboard about its Improving Communication and Readmission (iCARE) program at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) National Forum in December in Orlando, FL. The storyboard provides an overview of the program since its beginnings in 2010 and highlights the accomplishments of program participants in relation to the three overarching iCARE program goals:

· Improving communication in transitions of care

· Reducing readmission rates

· Improving clinical processes that contribute to readmissions, particularly for heart failure, pneumonia, and diabetes patients

Fifteen critical access hospitals and twelve rural health clinics across the state are currently participating in the program. For a sneak peak at the iCARE Storyboard, click here. For more information about iCARE, contact CRHC’s CAH Program Manager, Caleb Siem, at cs@coruralhealth.org.

What to watch as health law takes effect

Rural America has a lot at stake with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, say rural health advocates. Here’s what three of them will be watching as "Obama Care" moves forward with major new provisions like insurance marketplaces.

Even though the federal government is headed for a shut-down, Americans may begin shopping for health insurance today under provisions of the Affordable Care Act that go into effect October 1.

We asked some folks who are familiar with rural healthcare and the Affordable Care Act to tell us what they are watching, and what they hope to see, as “Obama Care” moves into its final stages of implementation. Click here to see what they had to say. Article written by Tim Marema with the Daily Yonder.

Webinars for Rural Healthcare Providers

A new free webinar series, National Rural Health Webinars, will focus on health information technology for rural healthcare providers by addressing current topics in information governance and informatics including opportunities in mHealth, health information technology, health information management workforce, ICD-10 implementation, and health analytics. The webinars will be offered by the AHIMA Foundation.

The first webinar will focus on the role of mHealth in rural areas and will be presented Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. ET

The National Rural Health Webinars will address:

• The effect of the health information technology on patient quality and access

• Educational offerings related to legal and regulatory requirements of care

• Best practices related 

For more information, click here. To register, click here.

A Check on Premature Hospital Discharges

The old man was in the hospital, dying, when family members were handed discharge papers. The prospect of taking the patient home was overwhelming; his family wanted him cared for in an institution that could address his complicated needs.

What could they do and where could they turn for help? Find out by clicking here.

CMS Proposes a Medicare Prospective Payment System for Federally Qualified Health Centers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule to establish a Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), as outlined in the Affordable Care Act. The proposed, updated payment system, which is scheduled to begin October 1, 2014, would increase Medicare payments to these health centers by approximately 30 percent for services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries in medically underserved areas. Read the full article here.

March 2013: Medicare Advantage Update

Key Data Findings:

• From March 2012 to March 2013, rural enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) and other prepaid plans increased by over 200,000 enrollees, to more than 1.9 million. 

• Preferred provider organization (PPO) plan enrollment increased to nearly one million enrollees, accounting for more than 51% of the rural MA market (up from 48% in March 2012). 

• Health maintenance organization (HMO) enrollment continued to grow in 2013, with over 31% of the rural MA market, while private fee-for-service (PFFS) plan enrollment decreased to less than 10% of market share. 

• Despite recent changes to MA payment, rural MA enrollment continues to increase

Read the full article here.

Centura Health announces plan to improve healthcare in rural areas

Centura Health announced a new affiliation with Colorado Choice Health Plans as part of a plan to improve health care for Coloradans living in rural areas. Englewood-based Centura Health said it will work with the HMO "to develop new initiatives aimed at providing high-value programs and care for rural Colorado and giving new options for employers and organizations throughout the state." Centura Health operates 15 hospitals. Colorado Choice, which is based in Alamosa, has been around for 40 years and offers coverage to residents of 29 counties. Click here to read the full article by Wayne Hicks, Denver Business Journal.

Families Plus in Delta receives grant for EHR

Families Plus staff has been working to setup and organize cloud based electronic health records since the summer of 2012. At that time the Colorado Rural Health Center, extended a grant to Families Plus to purchase needed equipment and to buy into an electronic health system. After much research, PsychTech Solutions was selected; which offers a customized health records system to the needs of each individual health care organization. August 1st of this year was the Go Live date. All the records were set up and ready for use by the six mental health care professionals that wok for Families Plus. “The first month has been a dream come true” comments Dr. Brenda Holland, Executive Director of the program. All staff found the system easy to learn and fast in documenting the work being done in the organization. The PsychTech Solutions systems is so advanced that documents can be signed on tablet devices with no need for extra paper copies to be printed or handled unless they are requested.

Thanks to the Colorado Rural Health Center, Grants Council and United HealthGroup, Families Plus is operating a 21st century electronic system to keep up with patient growth and demands. Families Plus is a local nonprofit organization that works alongside of parents and volunteers to promote healthy development of all local children through good health care access, academic success, skill building activities and time with mentoring families. Click here, to visit the Families Plus website.

Wow! Over 1000 critical access and small, rural hospitals meet the Meaningful Use challenge!

Last year, we issued a nationwide challenge to see 1000 critical access hospitals (CAHs) and small, rural hospitals get to Meaningful Use by 2014. The call to action was met with support; we could feel everyone roll up their sleeves in unison.

As of July 31, 2013, we passed the goal with 1,115 (65%) CAHs and small, rural hospitals achieving Meaningful Use. Specifically, 62% (approximately 822 of 1,332) of CAHs and 77% (approximately 293 of 383) of small, rural hospitals (those generally with less than 50 staffed beds) had attested to meaningful use of EHRs.

Small Rural and Critical Access Hospitals that Attested to Meaningful Use Cover the Nation
The small rural and CAHs that have achieved this milestone are well distributed across the country – success has not been limited to one region. The map below illustrates the nationwide distribution of the CAHs and small rural hospitals that attested to Meaningful Use. Read more here.

ONC blazes past meaningful use goal for rural providers

Is the EHR digital divide between robust tech-savvy large health networks and the smaller rural and critical access hospitals as deep and craggy as we keep hearing it is? Perhaps, but there has been substantive progress to date.

ONC, in fact, has already surpassed its stated aim of enlisting 1,000 rural and critical access hospitals to meaningful use by the end of 2014.

Referencing statistics collected at July’s close, ONC officials noted that 62 percent of CAHs and 77 percent of rural hospitals with fewer than 50 beds have attested to meaningful use and, what’s more, the total having done so is 1,115.

“The small rural and CAHs that have achieved this milestone are well distributed across the country — success has not been limited to one region,” Mat Kendall, director of ONC’s office of provider support and Leila Samy, ONC’s rural health IT coordinator, wrote on the Health IT Buzz blog Friday. “With hard work and grit, these safety-net hospitals have made amazing progress since 2011, despite the real challenges they face.” Click here to read the full article by Tom Sullivan, posted online at Government HealthIT.

Can we live longer?

Find out by clicking here.

Health perspectives: Hispanics and Latinos

Click here to view an infograph produced by the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved.

60 Minutes Highlights Need for Excellence in Mental Health Act

First, let’s be clear — there is no “mental health system” serving people with serious mental illnesses in this country just as there is no single “healthcare system.” Mental health services are available in every community just like general medical services. For people with serious mental illnesses, these services are primarily funded with state Medicaid dollars and delivered by not-for-profit organizations or by state and county employees.

Every state has a unique Medicaid program — offering, for the most part, similar services to people with serious mental illnesses but with enough variation in what the services are called, how much is paid for the covered services, and who is eligible to receive the services to confuse most consumers and families and many of the most sophisticated Medicaid experts. Additionally these services are in a constant state of redesign often labeled as “healthcare reform.” Click here to read more.

National Council Legislators of the Year

To recognize his exemplary leadership on behalf of people with mental health and substance use disorders, the National Council for Behavioral Health honors Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) as its Behavioral Health Champion.

The National Council also recognizes six other members of Congress as Legislators of the Year: Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ).

“All of the legislators honored today have done yeoman’s work to help people with mental illnesses and addictions live full and productive lives,” said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council. “They’ve worked tirelessly to preserve our nation’s behavioral health safety net, which supports some of the most vulnerable people in our society.” Click here to read more.

NCQA Medical Homes Pass 6,000 Mark

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) passed a major milestone in September, as the 6,000th medical practice earned NCQA Recognition as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). “One benefit of PCMH has been fewer costly emergency department and hospital admissions. Patients get the access, personal attention and care coordination from their primary doctor that they need and deserve.”

Starting from 38 practices in 2008, when the NCQA PCMH program debuted, there are now 29,505 recognized clinicians in 49 states, or roughly 15 percent of all primary care practices nationwide. Government and private sector initiatives in 38 states have used the NCQA model to support the spread of medical homes. Click here to read the full article published on Enhanced Online News.

RWJF awards grants to 2 new scope of practice studies

Two new studies examining the regulations, policies and practices that affect nurses’ ability to practice to the full extent of their education and training will receive nearly $500,000 in grants, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation news release.

The funds will come from RWJF’s Future of Nursing National Research Agenda, which was created in 2011 to support research informing implementation of the recommendations in the Institute of Medicine’s groundbreaking “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health” report. The project is coordinated by RWJF’s Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative, and the new grants bring the total number of projects funded through this initiative to seven. Click here to read the full article.

AMA survey results should ease worries about demise of private medical practice

A report recently released by the AMA provides a timely look at physician practice arrangements in the United States and concludes that, despite some media reports to the contrary, private practice remains a strong business model for U.S. physicians.

Researchers did report, however, statistical "shifts" toward hospital employment.

The report, titled "New Data on Physician Practice Arrangements: Private Practice Remains Strong Despite Shifts Toward Hospital Employment,"(www.ama-assn.org) is based on data drawn from the AMA's 2012 Physician Practice Benchmark Survey (PPBS).

Among the report's major findings are that 53.2 percent of all physicians surveyed were self-employed, and 60 percent of physicians worked in practices wholly owned by physicians. Twenty-three percent of all survey respondents worked in practices at least partly owned by a hospital, and 5.6 of respondents said they were hospital employees. Click here to read the full article.

Dental Professionals in Non-Dental Settings

This report focuses on nine oral health innovations seeking to increase access to preventive oral health care in nondental settings. Two additional reports in this series describe the remaining programs that provide care in dental settings and care to young children. The nine innovations described here integrate service delivery and workforce models in order to reduce or eliminate socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural barriers to care. Although the programs are diverse in their approaches as well as in the specific characteristics of the communities they serve, a common factor among them is the implementation of multiple strategies to increase the number of children from low-income families who access preventive care, and also to engage families and communities in investing in and prioritizing oral health. Click here to read the full report.

Barriers to Telemedicine Slowly Dropping

Obstacles to reimbursement and state licensure that have hindered widespread adoption of telehealth still abound, but there are signs of improvement, according to industry experts.

A maze of state requirements and reimbursement hurdles are onerous for telehealth providers, industry members said at a recent Alliance for Health Reform Briefing.

But the prospects are improving for telemedicine including less restrictive Medicare reimbursement rules for telehealth services. Click here to read more.

Technology with healthcare: Helping rural hospitals in Thailand & Nepal

Rural hospitals suffer from a brain drain of doctors fleeing to cities as they are often understaffed and underfunded, which further exacerbates the poor conditions of the healthcare for the disadvantaged populations. It is said that an average rural hospital in Thailand has 4-5 hospital staff, including 1 doctor, servicing a population of about 20,000 people.

Capitalizing on the scale and efficiency of technology, Dr. Kongkiat Kespechara created Hospital OS, an open source software tailored to the needs of rural hospitals. This software is aimed to connect a community of healthcare providers in isolated rural areas, collaborating despite the geographical barriers in order to come up with solutions in service improvement and disease prevention to improve the overall quality of health services for rural patients.

To better understand the software and the impact that it has created in alleviating the burden of the rural populations, Forbes Asia interviewed Dr. Kongkiat Kespechara, the founder of the Hospital OS. Click here to read the full article posted on Forbes.com.

Hottest Job in Healthcare Still Primary Care Physician

Nonetheless, quality measures averaged less than 10% of a physician's potential bonus in 2013 and volume is still the key driver of physician incentives. The survey identified these trends as well:

For the first time in the 20 years Merritt Hawkins has been conducting their review, physicians' assistants and nurse practitionerswere among the top 20 recruiting assignments. Read the full article here.

2014 Family Physician of Year is small-town Doc with statewide impact

A little more than a month ago, Keith Davis, M.D., returned to Albany, Ore., for his 40th high school reunion. While he was in the area, he visited his mother, who reminded him of one of the many reasons he has championed patient access to care in the Idaho community that he now calls home.

His mother had found an image in a Shriners Hospital fundraising booklet of Davis as a small child. The black-and-white image shows 2-year-old Davis sitting in a hospital crib with casts on his legs and two physicians in attendance. Read the full article here.

Primary care physician salary growth projected to outpace specialists in 2014

Primary care physicians may see slightly higher increases to their salaries than specialists next year, according to a recent report by the Hay Group.

The 2013 Physician Compensation Prevalence and Planning Report projects a 2.5% increase is primary care salaries across all organizations, compared to the 2.3% increase in 2012. Specialists are projected to see a 2.3% increase, which is the same rate that they saw last year.

“We have been seeing a slowdown in pay rate increases for physician specialists, and a bump up for generalists, over the last several years, and this trend seems to be continuing,” Jim Otto, senior principal in Hay Group’s Healthcare Practice, said in a press release. Read more here.

AAFP Delegates Wrestle With Needs of Older Physicians, Rural Practices

Delegates to the 2013 Congress of Delegates here voted Sept. 24 to safeguard access to quality health care for all by investigating how best to serve the interests of the nation's older family physicians, as well as those in solo or small practices, especially in rural areas.

A resolution jointly submitted by seven AAFP chapters -- many of which encompass significant populations of medically underserved patients -- asked the Academy to encourage CMS to "institute a waiver of penalties to all one- or two-physician private practices whose principals are aged 60 or older." Read more here.

Colorado Provider Recruitment placement update!

Last month Colorado Provider Recruitment (CPR) placed two providers in rural Colorado!

· A Physician Assistant will be going to Southwest Memorial Hospital

· A Dentist will be working with Valley Wide Health Systems in Alamosa

Congratulations to all of the facilities and their new providers! We are so pleased that our recruitment team was able to help foster these connections. It is our hope that the providers will deliver excellent healthcare in their new communities for many years to come.

If you are interested in recruiting a healthcare provider for your vacancy, please contact CPR at cpr@coruralhealth.org

Obamacare: Curing the doctor shortage in N.J.

After sorting through options for health coverage and selecting a plan, consumers using the health insurance exchange will confront another, perhaps more difficult, task: finding an available doctor.

Primary care physicians have long been a scarce commodity in New Jersey and across the country, and many expect that increased patient demand, with hundreds of thousands of additional people searching for a doctor, will stress the system further.

There are 22,400 licensed physicians actively practicing in New Jersey, but just 3,500 work as primary care providers in family, geriatric and internal medicine, according to a new report by the N.J. Council of Teaching Hospitals. That’s about one primary doctor for every 2,500 residents in the state, the report said. Click here to read the report.

CRHC’s CEO Michelle Mills Recently Appointed to the Technical Assistance and Services Center Advisory Committee

The Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC), provides information, tools and education to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and individual state Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (FLEX) Programs.

Denver, CO – October 2013 – Michelle Mills, chief executive officer (CEO) of Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC), has been appointed to the TASC Advisory Committee, a program of the National Rural Health Resource Center.  

The appointment to the TASC Advisory Committee will run through August 31, 2015.  Comprised of a diverse group of professionals - the Committee serves as a sounding board and advisement group of technical experts to ensure that the TASC program is staying ahead of the curve and keeping the pulse on the needs and issues in rural communities, CAHs and state FLEX programs. 

The TASC program supports the forty- five states participating in the FLEX program and the 1,300 + CAHs they serve.  TASC work aligns with the state FLEX grant to provide technical assistance, education, resources and awareness in the areas of: quality improvement; financial and operational improvement, and healthy system development.   Other programs include Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant (SHIP) and Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Project (RHPI).

Mills is widely known as a leading authority for rural health care in Colorado, with over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector dedicated to quality improvement and patient safety.  Prior to becoming CEO in August 2012, Mills was the Director of Programs at CRHC and oversaw not only the FLEX program, but numerous technical support programs and services.  

“It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to help address the significant healthcare challenges facing Critical Access Hospitals, said Mills. “I look forward to sharing Colorado’s best practices and working with the other Advisory Committee appointees to ensure healthcare programs are more accessible in rural.” 

The TASC Advisory Committee is comprised of seventeen members from outside the National Rural Health Resource Center.  Members meet quarterly.  For the full list of the TASC Advisory Committee members visit http://www.ruralcenter.org/tasc/advisory.  

About The National Rural Health Resource Center

The National Rural Health Resource Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustaining and improving health care in rural communities. As the nation’s leading technical assistance and knowledge center in rural health, The Center enjoys solid and long-term relationships with the Health Resource and Service Administration’s Office of Rural Health Policy and many other federal organizations. The Center staff and board have extensive experience working in rural communities and are committed to maximizing the health of rural Americans.  For more information visit http://www.ruralcenter.org/. 

About The Colorado Rural Health Center

The Colorado Rural Health Center was established in 1991 as Colorado's State Office of Rural Health. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, CRHC serves dual roles as the State Office of Rural Health with the mission of assisting rural communities in addressing health care issues; and as the State Rural Health Association, advocating for policy change to ensure that rural Coloradoans have access to comprehensive, affordable health care services of the highest quality. For more information visit www.coruralhealth.org, call 303-832-7493, or call toll free 800-851-6782 from rural Colorado.

 

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Don't let your member benefits lapse...renew your membership!

Membership 2014

 

All current 2013 members should be receiving their 2014 renewal letters and invoices in the mail. 

 

Membership is for hospitals, clinics, students and other small organizations. The fee is based on the number of full-time employees in your organization, and benefits are focused on discounts on events and programs, access to grants and scholarships, technical assistance services, resources, and information sharing.  Find out more about our MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM.

 

To renew your membership online, click here. Questions about your invoice, contact Bridgette Olson at bo@coruralhealth.org or call 303.832.7493.

Southwest Memorial Hospital Recognized as October Member of the Month

The Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez, CO originally opened in 1914.  Today Southwest Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed critical access hospital offering the latest in medical and surgical technology, 24/7 emergency care, a vast array of out-patient medical and wellness services, and much more. Serving the Four Corners area, Southwest Memorial Hospital is staffed by more than 300 employees including highly trained and skilled physicians, nurses, technicians, administrators, and support staff in a variety of capacities.

Glimpse of History: The early years at Southwest Memorial Hospital
In 1914, Dr. Emil E. Johnson converted two cottages into a hospital on Main Street in Cortez. Dr. Johnson’s family lived on the premises where he had an office and an eight bed hospital.  Later in the mid-1940s, the citizens of Montezuma and Dolores Counties recognized that the current facility would not serve the future needs of the two counties. The community began raising money to build a new hospital. The drive had great community support, and by 1948 enough money had been raised to build a hospital on South Broadway, currently the Johnson Building. The new facility, Southwest Memorial Hospital, opened in May 1948 and was dedicated as a memorial to the veterans of Montezuma and Dolores Counties who were killed in World War II. The original plaque with the names of these men is located just inside the main entrance of the current hospital.

By the late 1970s it became obvious that the community had outgrown the facility and a new structure was needed. Through the Hill-Burton Act, the Federal government provided funds for construction of hospitals that would assume the responsibility of caring for patients without financial resources. A group of local citizens and the hospital board arranged to obtain funding through this program for construction of a new hospital. In the early 2000s, new services were added to the hospital including a wound care and an infusion center. Between 2008 and 2011 the hospital converted the South Campus building into several out-patient departments and administrative offices. The hospital also opened a sleep studies department, a rural health clinic, and a walk-in care clinic, launched a hospitalist program, and began implementation of a community-wide electronic medical record system.

Colorado Rural Health Center recognizes Southwest Memorial as October Member of the Month

Southwest Memorial Hospital is an affiliate of Southwest Health System, Inc., a not-for-profit corpo­ration that is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The hospital has been a member of Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) for many years.  The hospital is one of CRHC’s highly engaged sites, participating in numerous programs, including; iCARE (Improving Communications and Readmissions), REC (Regional Extension Center) services, SHIP (Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program), and is contracted with CRHC’s Colorado Provider Recruitment program. In addition, the hospital’s affiliated rural health clinic has completed a healthy clinic assessment.  Staff and leadership from the hospital and clinics actively participate in numerous CRHC educational opportunities, including regional workshops, conferences and webinars.  CRHC is proud to recognize Southwest Memorial Hospital for their many accomplishments and for the outstanding level of care they provide in Cortez and the surrounding area.  To learn more about Southwest Memorial Hospital, visit their website or check them out on Facebook.