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Tremendous needs exist in both urban and rural areas of Colorado for increased numbers of health professionals – primary, mental and dental health care, and pharmacists. Through The Colorado Trust’s Health Professions initiative, 22 nonprofit organizations have worked diligently to address this challenge. By the end of 2007, over 2,300 health professions students were advancing their careers through programs funded by this initiative. On the Western Slope, for example, Mesa State increased the number of its BSN- and MSN- prepared nurses from just 21 enrolled in the 2006-2007 academic year to 70 students enrolled last fall, 34 percent of whom are Hispanic. A first-of-its-kind rural medicine track was established at the CU School of Medicine, requiring all medical students to complete a rural rotation. And, to better address the needs of those requiring mental health care, North Range Behavior Health distributed scholarships to enable Hispanic students to pursue careers as social workers. Graduates are generally hired to serve Spanish-speaking people who often have limited or no access to culturally competent care. Additionally, the initiative helped 32 international students to complete their doctoral studies in dentistry and treat many members in the community who would not otherwise have access to dental care.
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Gregg’s arrival in Alamosa this summer, along with five other new recruits, is a major coup for health officials in the San Luis Valley, which has been limping along with temporary doctors for the past few years. Not only can Gregg deliver babies, she is also trained to perform sometimes-necessary Cesarean sections. Gregg has spent the last three years training at Southern Colorado Family Medicine at St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo and completed a required rural rotation, which helped confi rm her desire to work in a small community. The program – part of the Colorado Commission on Family Medicine and supported through The Colorado Trust’s Health Professions initiative – gives incentives to family medicine residents to train, work and settle in rural sites. In Alamosa, Gregg will get a warm welcome. Health officials will provide Spanish language immersion classes and help Gregg and her husband find a home, blend into the community, nurture their hobbies and form a community of support with fellow doctors and their families. Dr. Ricardo Velasquez, medical director for the San Luis Valley region of Valley-Wide Health Systems, is overjoyed to have nabbed Gregg. “We have been the most short of physicians in the last two to three years than I ever remember during my career over the last 30 years,'’ he said. Velasquez loves to take recruits cross-country skiing and hiking to showcase the beauty of the area, home to Colorado’s oldest settlements. But he also wants to entice physicians who will relish rural medicine and will want to stay. “What I like about Dr. Gregg is that she’s up for the challenge,’’ he said. “She’s interested in learning other cultural and language skills.” Gregg grew up on a block in Fort Worth, Texas, where everyone knew each other – but as Fort Worth exploded into a large metropolis, she yearned for that small-town atmosphere. While training in Pueblo, fellow residents told her about Alamosa, a place that twinkled with Christmas lights in the winter and offered hiking and skiing minutes from town. Gregg is eager to jump in, face an array of medical challenges and build relationships with her patients. “It’s getting harder and harder to be the old-timey family doctor who lives in a small town. But that has always appealed to me,'’ she said. Gregg’s patients rave about her skill and warmth. Alcia Mgebroff, 69, a patient in Pueblo, came to Gregg paralyzed with rib pain after a failed chiropractic treatment for osteoporosis. Trained as an osteopathic doctor, Gregg used pressure and massage techniques to provide instant relief. “The excruciating pain just went away,'’ said Mgebroff, who used to live 25 miles outside of Pueblo and knows what it’s like to live in a rural area, stranded without a doctor. |
