NEWS RELEASE: Colorado Community Health Centers Help State Prosper

Colorado Community Health Centers Help State Prosper
Health Centers Contributed $735 Million in Economic Impact and Employ Thousands

 DENVER, COLO. – Colorado Community Health Centers boost the health and economic well-beingof Colorado residents, a new report finds. By providing needed primary health care to hundreds of thousands of patients, as well as hiring locally, providing needed training and jobs for professionals at every level, and spending at local businesses, Colorado’s 18 CHCs strengthen the sustainability of towns and cities across Colorado.

Colorado’s CHCs provide a health care home to more than 600,000 patients, the majority of whom arecovered by Medicaid, Child Health Plan Plus program or uninsured. Without Colorado CHCs, many working families would delay getting needed treatment or would have to travel far from home to another community for care.

“Many of our patients have been hurt by the economic downturn, and while they may have resumedpart-time or temporary work, these jobs don’t come with private health insurance,” said Polly Anderson, CCHN’s chief policy officer. “By helping them get needed doctor’s visits, tests and medications, we help them work to support their families.”

The report was commissioned by the Colorado Community Health Network, the association of Colorado federally qualified Community Health Centers. Capital Link conducted the analysis using IMPLAN, a model to capture the economic effects of an organization’s business operations.

Keeping Families Healthy

Research shows that CHCs demonstrate equal or better performance than other providers on select quality measures, despite caring for patients who have more chronic diseases and socioeconomic complexity.

Another study found that Colorado Medicaid clients who use CHCs are one-third less likely than Medicaid clients of other providers to go to the emergency room, be admited to the hospital, or to have a preventable hospital admission.

Positively Impacting Local Economies

Many Colorado CHCs are major employers in rural areas and important providers of entry-level and professional health care jobs across the state. They directly employ 3,621 people and purchase goods and services from local businesses. Additionally, recent building and remodeling projects have acted as a catalyst for economic revitalization, according to new research produced for CCHN by Capital Link, a national firm that collects and provides financial data and metrics for health centers.

Colorado’s 18 CHCs strengthened Colorado’s economy by contributing $735 million in economic activity in 2011, the latest financial data available. That includes $396 million in direct spending in local economies and additional economic activity totalling $339 million.

CHCs also contribute to local economies through the tax base as well as winning federal grants for Colorado communities. In 2011, CHCs contributed $31 million in state and local taxes and $64 million in federal taxes. In addition, CHCs brought $72.6 million in federal grants to the state.

Providing Meaningful Work

For the several thousand health care professionals and administrators who work at health centers, CHCs are a great place to work. CHCs are on the leading edge of medicine, with providers who practice outomes-based medicine in a setting that is integrated, digitized and forward-looking.

“I get a deep sense of satisfaction in bringing medical, dental and mental health care to people in my community who might not otherwise be able to get the health care they need,” said Tillman Farley, M.D., executive vice president of medical services for Salud Family Health Centers. “At the end of the day, I feel like I’ve made a difference, and I enjoy the collaborative, team-based environment.”

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About Colorado Community Health Network

The Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN) is the unified voice for Colorado’s 18 Community Health Centers (CHCs) and their patients. CHCs provide a health care home to more than 600,000 of their community members – one in 10 people in Colorado – from 60 of the state’s 64 counties. Withouth CHCs, hundreds of thousands of Colorado’s low-income families and individuals would have no regular source of

For the economic impact analysis for all of Colorado’s CHCs, please look here.

To interview Ms. Anderson, please contact Maureen Maxwell at (303) 861-5165, ext. 259, or maureen@cchn.org. To interview Community Health Center leaders and health care providers, please contact Ms. Maxwell or Jon Pushkin, Pushkin PR, (303) 733-3441, (303) 725-5031 (mobile), or jon@pushkinpr.com.

To find out more about Community Health Center careers, visit www.missiondrivencareers.org. CCHN’s mission is to increase access to high quality health care for people in need in Colorado. For more information about CCHN, please visit www.cchn.org.