Since 2007, the Community Foundation Boulder County has facilitated dialogue among key health systems leaders in Boulder County – physicians, health care administrators, advocates and community members – to work on improving community health through the Boulder County Health Improvement Collaborative (BCHIC).
“This spring, BCHIC held a strategic planning retreat that included a broad representation of our community,” said the foundation’s Civic Forum Director Morgan McMillan. “We brought together people in the community who have an interest in – and alignment with – health and human services. The goal was to determine our next focus area, and to identify where we could dive deeper…and where we could move the needle.”
What came out of the BCHIC retreat was consensus and commitment to develop a specialty care referral network.
“With healthcare reform, Medicaid expanded greatly,” McMillan continued. “A whole lot more people are eligible for Medicaid who were previously uninsured. And while that means more access to coverage, it doesn’t necessarily translate to access to care.
“We have three community health centers in the county that serve the majority of Medicaid recipients – as well as uninsured patients – in our community. But it can be challenging to find specialists who see Medicaid patients…it’s extremely difficult to get them to take patients due to low reimbursements. Not to mention, there’s a shortage of providers within some specialty areas.”
In response, BCHIC will prioritize the lack of access to specialty care by supporting a culture of community among area specialists, encouraging and inviting them to share in some of the burden and responsibility of caring for our community.
“We’re trying to see if we can set some reasonable goals to implement this community-driven initiative,” McMillan said. “We want to support both patients and specialists in overcoming barriers to access. Some strategies may include helping patients get to appointments, and helping to support the follow up with their primary care providers.”
Over the next 18 months, stay tuned as BCHIC rolls out its strategy to inform and involve the community through a specialty care referral network.
Learn more about specialty care in Colorado, or contact Morgan Rogers McMillan to get involved: Morgan@commfound.org or 303-442-0436 x 115.
Boulder County Health Improvement Collaborative: who’s involved?
Avista Hospital
Avista iPN
Boulder Community Hospital
Boulder County Area Agency on Aging
Boulder County Public Health
Boulder Valley IPA
Boulder Medical Center
Clinica Family Health Services
The Children’s Hospital
The Community Foundation
The County Commissioners’ Office
Dental Aid
Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital
Fraiser Meadows
HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties
Halcyon Hospice
HealthBridge
Kaiser Permanente
Longmont Public Safety
Longmont United Hospital
Mental Health Partners
Physician Health Partners
Rocky Mountain Gastroenterology
Salud Clinic
Spruce Street Internal Medicine
University of Colorado Boulder Wardenburg Health Services
Women’s Health
