At the hospital in Salida, doctors and nurses commuting from distant cities are more likely than patients to camp in the parking lot
rural hospitals
Posted inEconomy
Rural Colorado to benefit from $85 million for workforce development — including nursing resources — amid shortage
Colorado needs thousands more nurses a year to keep up with growing demand amid staffing shortages and retirements in the health care workforce. But a $1.3 million grant to the Colorado State University Pueblo graduate school and nursing program as part of an $85 million state project is intended to keep adequate health care flowing […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Rising drug prices hurt rural, minority Coloradans most of all
Colorado’s two U.S. senators, John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, are in a unique position to hold Big Pharma accountable, and lead the way to reduce prescription drug prices. As a physician who has worked at Clinica Tepeyac, a well-regarded private healthcare facility that provides free or low-cost healthcare to the Latino community in Denver, as […]
Posted inBusiness, Growth, Health, News
The only hospital in the country’s highest altitude city is thriving after near-closure 7 years ago
When the only hospital in Leadville started to close down seven years ago, officials in the highest-altitude city in the country worried they would lose their “heart and soul.” There were layoffs in the nursing department. Extended care patients were moved to nursing homes. A city council member feared retirees would flee to other areas […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Close freestanding emergency rooms
If you’ve ever driven around central Denver or the I-25 corridor, chances are you’ve noticed quite a number of signs directing you to the nearest emergency room. What many people don’t know is that many of those ERs are “freestanding”—meaning they are not connected to a hospital. If you visit a freestanding ER and have […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News, Politics and Government
Federal coronavirus loans helped Colorado’s rural hospitals stay afloat
By Patty Nieberg, The Associated Press/Report for America More than a dozen rural Colorado hospitals and primary care facilities applied for federal loans designed to keep staff employed during the coronavirus pandemic, federal data show. The loan approvals came as rural hospitals across the country struggle with dwindling income, higher costs and staff retention, a […]
Posted inBusiness, COVID, Health, Politics and Government
“It saved us”: A recent infusion of federal funds is helping Colorado’s rural hospitals stay afloat
A recent infusion of federal funds is providing much-needed relief for rural hospitals already under financial pressure when the coronavirus crisis hit Colorado. Though hospital administrators say the emergency funds will provide immediate support, there is uncertainty around how and when the funds can be used, specifically if they can be used to make up […]