Ok, everyone take a deep breath. Feels good, right? Okay, let’s take another one. Good. (Repeat this as necessary.)
We are entering the legislative season here in Colorado, and I know anxiety is running high. Hey, I’ll admit to a bit myself!
And it’s not just paranoia. We are without question in the cross hairs of federal budget cutters and tax reformers. Of course, the same could be said for at least the last few legislative sessions. As before, I can promise you that our legislative folks will be closely monitoring what happens at the Capitol, and will be keeping you informed. Of course, we will also continue to alert you if we think you need to speak up on a specific issue.
Before we get into all the legislative craziness, I want to recognize three facilities for reaching an important milestone. Heart of the Rockies Medical Center in Salida and Spanish Peaks Regional Medical Center in Walsenburg are the first two critical access hospitals in Colorado to attest for Stage 1 Meaningful Use of their electronic health records. MidValley Family Practice in Basalt is one of the first rural clinics to attest to meaningful use in our state. This attestation means all three facilities are now eligible for Medicare EHR incentive funds.
In addition to congratulating these facilities, I want to thank CRHC’s Technology for Healthcare Excellence (THE) Consortium team for providing the support the staff at these facilities needed to obtain Meaningful Use. As the Regional Extension Center for 33 rural hospitals and over 300 rural and Community-funded Safety Net Clinic providers, we are actively working with many CRHC and ClinicNET constituents so that they too can reach this important milestone.
Before I sign off I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome I’ve received since taking the helm here in October. I’ve appreciated your thoughtfulness and sage counsel and look forward to many more discussions on how CRHC can best support its members. For those I haven’t yet connected with, please call me at 303.832.7493 or write to me at ceo@coruralhealth.org.
