Colorado Rural Health Center

TO ENHANCE HEALTHCARE SERVICES IN THE STATE BY PROVIDING INFORMATION, EDUCATION, LINKAGES, TOOLS AND ENERGY TOWARDS ADDRESSING RURAL HEALTH ISSUES.

PROGRAMS - COLORADO RURAL HEALTH CENTER (CRHC) OFFERS THE COLORADO PROVIDER RECRUITMENT (CPR) PROGRAM AND WORKS WITH 3RNET TO COMPILE RETENTION STATISTICS ANNUALLY AND OFFERS THE 3RNET JOB BOARD AS PART OF AN AFFORDABLE CHOICES FOR RURAL HEALTHCARE FACILITIES TO RECRUIT PROVIDERS AND OTHER HEALTHCARE STAFF WITH A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER RETENTION RATE THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE.AS PART OF CRHC'S COMMITMENT TO MEMBER EDUCATION, THE ORGANIZATION PRIORITIZED EDUCATION THROUGH THE COLORADO RURAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM (CORS). CRHC'S CORS PROGRAM, AN ONGOING EFFORT TO BUILD CAPACITY OF RURAL HOSPITALS AND CLINCS TO ACHIEVE MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HEALTH OUTCOMES OF THEIR COMMUNITIES. THE CORS PROGRAM AIMS TO REDUCE ALL CAUSE READMISSIONS, REDUCE CHRONIC DISEASE, INCREASE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INCREASE COST SAVINGS. THE CORS PROGRAM IS PARTIALLY FUNDED THROUGH AN ONGOING HEALTH RESOURCES & SERVICES ADMINISTRATION GRANT AND CRHC IS SEEKING ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO FURTHER SUPPORT EFFORTS. THIS YEAR, CORS FOCUSED ON CHRONIC CARE MANAGEMENT (CCM). CCM IS MANAGED AND FACILITATED BY CRHC TO SUPPORT A COHORT OF RURAL CLINICS ACROSS THE STATE WITH IMPLEMENTING A ROBUST PROGRAM THAT MEETS THE NEEDS OF RURAL CHRONIC DISEASE PATIENTS. CRHC DEVELOPED A HYBRID CURRICULUM MODEL THAT CONSIST OF MONTHLY WEBINARS AND ONE-ON-ONE COACHING CALLS, AS WELL AS AN IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL SITE VISITS OVER THE TWELVE-MONTH PROGRAM.CRHC ADMINISTERED THE RURAL SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM, A PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE OFFICE OF EHEALTH INNOVATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CARE POLICY AND FINANCING AND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COLORADO MANAGED CARE NETWORK (CCMCN). THE GOALS ARE TO ESTABLISH A SUSTAINABLE MODEL FOR RURAL CONNECTIVITY, INCLUDING CONNECTING PROVIDERS TO COLORADO'S HEALTH INFORMATION EXCHANGES, SUPPORTING RURAL PROVIDERS TO ADOPT HEALTH INFORMATION, DATA SHARING AND ANALYTICS/TOOLS TO SUPPORT CARE COORDINATION AND QUALITY MEASUREMENT.FINALLY, CRHC CONTINUED TO ADMINISTER HRSA GRANT FUNDS TO ELIGIBLE RURAL HOSPITALS THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM THE CARES ACT FUNDING.

OUTREACH - CRHC SERVES AS THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF INFORMATION RELATED TO THE OPERATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF RURAL HEALTHCARE IN THE STATE OF COLORADO. AS SUCH, THE ORGANIZATION DEVOTES SIGNIFICANT TIME AND RESOURCES TO CLEAR, WIDE REACHING COMMUNICATION CHANNELS. FROM THE ORGANIZATION'S ROBUST WEBSITE TO WEEKLY AND MONTHLY EMAILS, CRHC MAINTAINS COMMUNICATION WITH RURAL FACILITIES AND PROVIDERS ACROSS THE STATE. ELECTRONIC OUTPUTS OF INFORMATION INCLUDE THE WEEKLY/MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA. ANNUAL FACT SHEETS, INFOGRAPHS, AN ANNUAL REPORT, VIDEOS, MAPS, AND OTHER RESOURCES ARE PUBLISHED AND MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH ELECTRONIC OUTPUTS AND CRHC'S WEBSITE. YEARLY, CRHC RELEASES THE SNAPSHOT OF RURAL HEALTH AND REGIONAL SNAPSHOTS. THE REPORT CONTAINS EXPANDED COVERAGE OF TOPICS COVERED IN PREVIOUS YEARS AS WELL AS ENTIRELY NEW DATASETS AND STUDIES. THE ANNUAL PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS RURAL HEALTH DATA SUCH AS DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS, POPULATION HEALTH, EDUCATION LEVELS, OPIOID USE, AND THE ECONOMY THROUGH THE USE OF INFOGRAPHIC DATA VISUALIZATION, TEXT, AND MAPS. ANOTHER INTEGRAL PART OF CRHC'S EDUCATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAS BEEN MAINTAINING A STRONG SLATE OF COMMUNICATION AVENUES TO KEEP RURAL STAKEHOLDERS INFORMED ABOUT CHANGES IN THE RURAL HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE.

POLICY - CRHC IS COMMITTED TO IMPROVING HEALTHCARE SERVICES AVAILABLE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES THROUGH POLICY AND ADVOCACY WORK ON THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS. CRHC STAFF MEETS WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS TO COMMUNICATE CRHC'S POSITION ON LEGISLATION IMPACTING MEMBERS. CRHC STAFF REQUESTS THE ELECTED OFFICIAL MIRROR CRHC'S POSITION AND VOTE IN FAVOR OR AGAINST A PIECE OF LEGISLATION.