In 2010, The Colorado Trust supported efforts to help meet the immediate needs of overwhelmed safety-net clinics called upon to serve increasing numbers of patients. Other Trust-supported strategies sought to alleviate health care provider shortages and strengthen the health care system through research, the development of policy recommendations and education programs and supports. Through loan forgiveness programs, faculty education training and new programming, Trust grants place an emphasis on training and retaining health care professionals across all disciplines to provide care in rural areas of the state. For example, the Area Health Education Centers provided 62 graduate-level health professions scholarships, and 81 students have been admitted to the Rural Track Program.
Below is a listing of all Colorado Trust-supported grantees working to Increase Availability of Care.
Increase Availability of Care
Build Initiative
Through a national conference held in Denver in February 2009 (co-sponsored by Columbia University's National Center for Children in Poverty), helped state leaders build on emerging best practices from around the country to integrate the health system into the broader early childhood development system. Co-sponsoring the November 2010 BUILD Initiative national conference on the Health Community’s Role in Supporting Young Children’s Social and Emotional Development.
www.buildinitiative.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2009-2010 | GRANT AMOUNT: $50,000
Center for Research Strategies
Design a monitoring tool to assess the progress of health care workforce investments by the Colorado Area Health Education Centers, Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, Colorado Health Institute and Colorado Rural Health Center.
www.crsllc.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2011 | GRANT AMOUNT: $150,000
ClinicNET
Supporting Colorado non-federally qualified health centers to build their administrative and service capacity in order to secure additional public funding, thereby enabling them to serve more children and low-income working families, particularly in parts of the state where these clinics are the only option for care.
www.clinicnet.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2011 | GRANT AMOUNT: $300,000
Colorado Area Health Education Centers (University of Colorado Foundation)
The Colorado AHECS and the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center are working to encourage rural and underserved high school students to explore health profession careers. The AHECs are also administering a health care scholars program to graduate students in health professions education and training who opt to practice in rural or other underserved sites. Most significantly, this grant developed and continues to support a multidisciplinary curriculum and training program for rural track health professions students.
www.cufund.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2012 | GRANT AMOUNT: $3,000,000
Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence
Building the state's health professions workforce through the Nursing Faculty Retention and Recruitment Program, including a nursing faculty educational loan repayment program.
www.coloradonursingcenter.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2011 | GRANT AMOUNT: $1,200,000
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Office of Primary Care – Colorado Health Service Corps Educational Loan Forgiveness
Improving the health of Colorado's underserved and vulnerable populations by alleviating health disparities resulting from a shortage of primary health care professionals. This purpose will be achieved in part by repaying all or a portion of the educational loan debt of primary care health professionals who agree to practice in a community with a known shortage of providers for a period of service.
www.cdphe.state.co.usGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2010-2012 | GRANT AMOUNT: $304,000
Colorado Health Institute
Building the statewide Health Professions Database to ensure that programs and policies are data-driven and can more strategically address Colorado's provider shortage. Also developing an inventory of health professions academic programs and workforce initiatives in Colorado; as well as conducting workforce, scopes of care, and supply and demand studies.
www.coloradohealthinstitute.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2011 | GRANT AMOUNT: $330,000
Colorado Health Institute - Primary Care Workforce
Building the statewide Health Professions Database to ensure that programs and policies are data-driven and can strategically address Colorado's provider shortage.
www.coloradohealthinstitute.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2010 | GRANT AMOUNT: $80,000
Colorado Health Professions Workforce Policy Collaborative
Managed by the Colorado Rural Health Center, the Collaborative is convening policy leaders, health care providers, educational institutions, and economic development and workforce planning authorities to collectively establish a strategic public policy framework for Colorado that will advance health professions workforce priorities to address the shortage of providers and strengthen the health care system.
www.coruralhealth.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2012 | GRANT AMOUNT: $510,000
Colorado Rural Health Center – Colorado Provider Recruitment Program
The Colorado Rural Health Center is administering the Colorado Provider Recruitment Program to recruit and retain approximately 19 providers annually to work in rural and underserved communities.
www.coruralhealth.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2009-2012 | GRANT AMOUNT: $144,000
Colorado Rural Health Center – Colorado Rural Outreach Program
The Colorado Rural Health Center administers the Colorado Rural Outreach Program to help offset the educational loan debts of approximately 20 health professionals annually in exchange for their commitment to practice in a rural area.
www.coruralhealth.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2009-2010 | GRANT AMOUNT: $152,000
Early Childhood Health Integration
With technical assistance from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, supporting the state’s network of Early Childhood Councils – community-based collaboratives that connect children and families to resources and quality services in early care and education, health, mental health and family support – to better integrate health services into their local early childhood system development efforts.
MOREGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2014 | GRANT AMOUNT: $5,750,000
Early Childhood Health Integration - Evaluation
An evaluation is examining the extent to which the councils integrate health services into their local early childhood systems, as well as lessons learned about factors contribute to systems change.
www.sparkpolicy.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2001-2014 | GRANT AMOUNT: $350,000
Expanding Children's Access to Health Care
Expanding the ability of 14 community health clinics and local public health agencies to provide timely preventive, primary, oral and behavioral health care for children in medically underserved areas.
MOREGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2011 | GRANT AMOUNT: $4,200,000
SET of Colorado Springs - SET Family Medical Clinics
Expanding medical services to serve as a medical home for low-income and homeless clients and meet the criteria necessary to pursue designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center.
www.setofcs.orgGRANT TIMEFRAME: 2010-2012 | GRANT AMOUNT: $400,000
The Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics
Bringing consistent primary, mental and dental health care to children in their communities – particularly for families that have difficulty accessing health care through the traditional system – through clinics, mobile health care vans that serve rural and metro-area counties, and by establishing and servicing new school-based health centers.
GRANT TIMEFRAME: 2008-2011 | GRANT AMOUNT: $900,000
