Rangely Family Medicine was one of four clinics to be featured in Colorado Rural Health Center’s (CRHC) Safety Net Showcase.
To promote awareness of the unique challenges facing RHCs, CRHC hosted a virtual showcase event on Friday, Aug. 19 from 9-11 a.m. at the Colorado Rural Health Center office.
The clinics featured in the video showcase include Prairie View Clinic in Cheyenne Wells, Conejos County Medical Clinic in Antonito, and Basin Clinic in Naturita. Each video focused on the unique challenges and opportunities for providing care in the community, and highlight the importance of healthcare in supporting the rural way of life.
“Our rural health clinics are located throughout the state—sometimes in very remote and hard to access locations,” says Michelle Mills, Colorado Rural Health Center’s CEO. “Our goal is to bring the stories and voices of rural health clinics to a larger audience,” explains Mills, “Urban healthcare professionals, partners and elected officials will have the unique opportunity to tour rural health clinics without leaving the Denver metro area.”
Nick Goshe, CEO of Rangely District Hospital, said of the importance of Safety Net Clinics, “Our clinic is invaluable to our community and serves as the only access to healthcare in a large part of Northwest Colorado. Without our clinic our community would need to travel great distances to receive even basic healthcare.”
The CRHC Safety Net Showcase highlights the essential healthcare services the clinic provides to low income Coloradans who are uninsured, underinsured or insured through public programs like Medicaid, CHP+ and Medicare.
Tammy Dunker, clinic manager at Rangley said, “With the pressure placed on our healthcare system, we experience a constant struggle getting our rural specialized care. The struggle is not limited to transportation alone. Many of our closest specialists will not accept our Medicaid patients out of their county. This leaves our clinic to become the only access they may have to any healthcare at all. I worry that the more cuts that are made may be sending the message that isolated rural Coloradans have less rights to specialized healthcare than the urban or metro areas.”
Mills highlighted the particular financial burden and unique patient populations these clinics carry. “With more attention given to the evolving healthcare safety net and its significance for vulnerable populations, it’s important for us to recognize the distinct differences among the clinics. Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Community Safety Net Clinics (CSNCs) differ from other facilities in that they often receive little to no federal funding.
Their funding streams are volatile and vulnerable to a variety of uncontrollable variables. We need the advocacy of each community to stand behind these clinics to ensure they remain a viable healthcare service for people with limited options.”
About Rangely District Hospital History
The Rangely Family Medicine Clinic’s goal is to provide you and your family with comprehensive health care of the highest quality. Our medical staff emphasizes prevention, helping you stay healthy with early diagnoses. Our health care providers will give you personalized and complete health care, which means taking the time to answer your questions, discuss treatment options, and address your concerns.
Family practice is the broadly encompassing specialty of medicine that deals with the medical care of children, adults, and seniors. The physicians at our clinic are fully qualified family-practice specialists. Family physicians possess unique attitudes, skills, and knowledge that qualify them to provide continuing and comprehensive medical care, health maintenance, and preventive services. They stand ready to treat each member of the family regardless of sex, age, or behavioral or social problems. Their medical knowledge encompasses pediatrics, internal medicine, geriatrics, psychiatry, minor surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, sports medicine and nutrition.
