CEO Update: The Show Must Go On
The Olympics are under way and it’s so great to see the amazing athletes take the stage. These athletes have waited over a year longer than normal due to the pandemic and have responded in different ways with that extra time as some are more prepared while others face more adversity.
In our rural communities, some face more financial challenges than others, depending on their payer mix (percentage of Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial insurance). While I don’t have a money tree (though I wish I did), and despite the many challenges of 2020, CRHC as the State Office of Rural Health and Rural Health Association in Colorado was able to invest $5.56 million in rural communities.
In 2020, CRHC received special grant funding to provide out to 39 rural hospitals for COVID related efforts. This grant funding was particularly important because it was a grant, meaning the money did not have to be paid back. If you know anything about rural facilities, you know they operate on a thin margin. CRHC set up a COVID page on our website to ensure that all rural communities had access to the latest information from funding opportunities, to links, to important pandemic updates and toolkits.
In addition to all the pandemic related resources, CRHC receives grant funding each year for programs that align with our mission and vision. Over $4,680,000 in federal funding was received to support Colorado’s rural hospitals and clinics as well as over $384,000 in private funding to support quality improvement efforts to Colorado’s rural hospitals and clinics and over $477,000 in state funding to support quality improvement and emerge preparedness efforts.
Like the Olympics, the show must go on and I’m proud to say that CRHC will be hosting our Annual Conference in person this year October 21-22, 2021 at The Renaissance Hotel in Denver. We hope that you are excited to hear the speakers and learn new things, but most of all I hope you are excited to connect with one another. To register for the Annual Conference please visit https://coruralhealth.org/events/annual-conference.
