CRHC, in partnership with Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center in Walsenburg, CO and several other Critical Access Hospitals across the state, was awarded one of 40 Rural Health Information Technology Network Development (RHITND) Awards on Sept. 1, 2011. The three-year Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) funding will be used to develop a virtual data center network and IT staff support consortium for rural providers across the state. This has been a long-standing goal for CRHC’s strategic plan driven by the Board, leadership, and rural members. Through this data center consortium, large economies of scale will be realized to greatly reduce costs and support adoption and ongoing operations of health information technology across rural healthcare facilities.

Congratulations to Telluride Medical Center Foundation in Telluride, CO who was also awarded funding. To view the full HHS release and list of awardees, click here. To learn more about this funding or to see how your facility can participate, please contact Cari Fouts at cf@coruralhealth.org.