05/05/10 – The Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics Receives The Colorado Trust’s Leadership Award
by Irene M. IbarraPresident & CEO, The Colorado Trust
Since 2007, The Colorado Trust annually selects a current grantee to receive our John R. Moran, Jr. Leadership Award. This week, I have the pleasure to announce The Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics (RMYC) as our 2010 recipient.
While it's always a difficult task to select but one grantee from among so many who are doing amazing work, I have long been a fan of The RMYC. One of The Trust's commitments is to make Colorado a place where every child will have a real opportunity to grow up healthy. Dr. Larry Wolk and his team make that happen day in and day out. As recently reported in the Denver Post, The RMYC treats "every youth who comes their way, regardless of a family's ability to pay."
"We never say no," said Dr. Wolk.
Indeed, their case load is impressive – or perhaps daunting. The RMYC began as a single clinic in 1996, providing 2,000 patient visits per year. Today, it has grown into a network of three traditional clinics and 40 community- and school-based settings that provide more than 55,000 patient visits per year, making The RMYC one of the largest pediatric safety-net providers in the United States.
Particularly for families who have difficulty accessing consistent health care through the traditional system, The RMYC fills a critical need. The majority of the patients are seen at clinics in Denver, Aurora and Thornton, but The RMYC also operates smaller, satellite clinics through partnerships with other community organizations statewide – from homeless shelters and treatment centers to schools and community agencies.
Among four of its school-based health centers, The Judy Edberg Kids Clinic at Crawford Elementary School is particularly successful – since opening its doors two years ago, it has increased by 35% the number of medical, dental and mental health visits completed. That translates to 1,478 visits in the first eight months of this school year.
The RMYC also operates two Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles that allow the agency to bring medical and dental services to more than 2,000 children and adolescents annually in local communities who would otherwise have no access to care.
We know that children who lack access to quality health care are far more likely to miss school, are less ready to learn, and are more likely to go to the emergency room for treatable conditions such as asthma attacks or ear infections. The RMYC is making it possible for more families to make sure that their children receive immunizations, have access to primary and preventive health care, and improved referrals to specialized care for complicated illnesses. In turn, these children are likely to have better school attendance and academic performance levels.
The annual award of $25,000 – created in recognition of The Trust's former President and CEO – will help The RMYC bring primary, mental and dental health care to even more children, right in their communities and regardless of their families' ability to pay. Congratulations to an amazing group of people for their exceptional work!
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