Colorado Rural Health Center

Earlier this week, the Colorado Rural Health Center team traveled to Gilpin County to celebrate the announcement of Colorado’s Rural Health Transformation Program awardees.

Colorado is investing nearly $170 million in rural healthcare through RHTP, with 91 organizations and approximately 250 projects selected for funding across 52 rural and frontier counties. These investments will support efforts ranging from strengthening the rural healthcare workforce and expanding telehealth to improving behavioral health, maternal and pediatric care, emergency services, and healthcare technology.

The announcement event brought together rural healthcare leaders, community partners, and advocates to recognize this historic investment in rural communities across Colorado. We heard remarks from Governor Jared Polis, CRHC CEO Michelle Mills, and other leaders in rural health, reflecting on the work that made this funding possible and the opportunities it creates for rural communities across the state.

As Chair of the RHTP committee, Michelle has been closely involved in the process of shaping this investment and ensuring rural voices are represented. It was especially meaningful to celebrate alongside many of the organizations whose work will be supported through this funding.

We’re excited to celebrate the 91 organizations selected for RHTP funding and look forward to seeing the impact of these investments across rural Colorado!

Read more about the awardees and listen to the remarks from Governor Polis and Michelle Mills below.

Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing Governor Jared Polis

Read more:
- https://governorsoffice.colorado.gov/governor/news/colorado-awards-nearly-170-million-rural-healthcare-providers
- https://hcpf.colorado.gov/RHTP-awardees
- Remarks from Governor Polis: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd61qcvzedp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- Remarks from CRHC CEO Michelle Mills: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd60OtZT_Ow/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Congratulations to CRHC member Rio Grande Hospital for being named a "Top 20 Critical Access Hospital" in both Overall and Quality categories at the National Rural Health Association conference last week!

Our partners at Eide Bailly are offering a four-part Critical Access Hospital Webinar Series designed to help healthcare leaders stay informed on key topics affecting rural providers, including revenue cycle performance, financial sustainability, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, and reimbursement trends.

Upcoming sessions include:

- November 6, 2026 | Key Updates from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Impacting Revenue Cycle
- November 13, 2026 | Strengthening Financial Sustainability
- December 4, 2026 | Medicare & Medicaid Enrollment in Motion: Key Regulatory Changes CAH Leaders Need to Know
- December 11, 2026 | Hot Topics and Medicare Reimbursement Impacts

Whether you're in leadership, finance, compliance, revenue cycle, or operations, these sessions offer practical insights tailored to Critical Access Hospitals and rural healthcare organizations.

Explore the series and register for the sessions that matter most to your organization: https://www.eidebailly.com/events/cah-webinars?utm_source=crhc&utm_medium=paidtrade&utm_campaign=evergreen&utm_term=healthcare

Some of our Quality Improvement Specialists recently traveled to Northwest Colorado, including a stop at Memorial Regional Health (MRH) in Craig. During our visit, we had the opportunity to tour the facility and connect with Paula Belcher, Population Health Director, while learning more about MRH’s ongoing quality improvement efforts.

One standout from this trip was a creative visual display mapping out the phases of MRH’s upcoming EHR transition from Intermountain’s instance of Epic to Aspen’s instance of Epic. This display provides staff and visitors with a clear, transparent look at the organization’s transformation journey.

It was one of the first times we’ve seen an EHR transition communicated in such a visible and creative way, and a great example of how organizations can make complex projects easier to understand and engage with.

Thank you to Memorial Regional Health for letting us stop by!

Get ready! CRHC's free virtual education series starts next week.

Education Week is the Colorado Rural Health Center’s fall webinar series, a week-long virtual event created just for rural health professionals. From September 16th – 23rd, this free series offers focused educational sessions designed to support and strength rural healthcare across Colorado.

Whether you’re looking to improve patient care, enhance your team’s skills, or stay up-to-date on the latest innovations, this series is a great opportunity to learn from experts, connect with peers, and gain practical insights that can help your community thrive.

See the schedule and join in on the week of education here: https://coruralhealth.org/education-week

Last week, our CRHC workforce team attended the 3RNET Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. This conference brought rural and underserved healthcare workforce professionals and 3RNET Network Coordinators from across the country together to share ideas, build connections, and strengthen recruitment and retention best practices.

At the conference, our Director of Member Services, Sara Leahy, received the Kennedy-Kafer Service Award, which recognizes her dedication and contributions to 3RNET’s mission and rural healthcare workforce development. We’re so proud to see her work recognized alongside colleagues from across the 3RNET network!

Thank you for joining us for Safety Net Clinic Week!

CRHC celebrated Safety Net Clinic Week this year by traveling to Del Norte, Colorado to host a lunch for the Rio Grande Hospital and Clinics team. CRHC chose to honor the Rio Grande team for their participation in our recent video highlighting the importance of precepting in rural healthcare, as well as their recognition as a Top 10 Rural Healthcare Facility for Overall Performance in 2026.

The celebration lunch included a catered meal, a reading of the Governor’s Safety Net Clinic Week Proclamation by Arlene Harms, CEO of Rio Grande Hospital and Clinics, and a viewing of CRHC’s preceptor video. We were also joined by Dr. Mark Deutchman, Director of the School of Medicine Rural Track at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, who shared remarks about the importance of precepting and its role in preparing and encouraging the next generation of healthcare professionals to serve rural communities.

We are grateful for the Rio Grande team for welcoming our staff and celebrating Safety Net Clinic Week with us! Through their dedication to quality care and developing the future rural healthcare workforce, Rio Grande Hospital and Clinics continues to make a lasting impact in their community and beyond.

Earlier this year, the Colorado Rural Health Center team produced a video featuring Dr. J. Ely Walker, MD, MPH, at Rio Grande Hospital and Clinics, and Jayden Frazier, a student in the Rural Track at the University of Colorado Anschutz, as they discussed the unique benefits of the rural preceptor-student relationship.

Precepting a student during a rural health rotation provides valuable hands-on experience for students while giving healthcare professionals an opportunity to help develop the next generation of the rural healthcare workforce.

In the state of Colorado, precepting can also provide a financial benefit. The Colorado Rural and Frontier Health Care Preceptor Tax Credit provides an annual state income tax credit of $2,000 per rotation for eligible primary care professionals who volunteer to mentor students in rural and frontier areas.

By serving as a preceptor, rural providers can support a student’s education, provide meaningful exposure to rural practice, and contribute to strengthening Colorado’s rural healthcare workforce.

Watch the video and learn more about the Preceptor Tax Credit at https://coruralhealth.org/preceptor-survey

To celebrate Safety Net Clinic Week this year, CRHC is hosting a luncheon for policymakers, funders, providers, and other healthcare partners in Del Norte today, August 26th.

CRHC chose to honor Rio Grande Clinic today for their dedicated service to rural Rio Grande County, their participation in CRHC’s recent video about precepting in rural facilities, and in light of their recognition as a Top 10 Rural Healthcare Facility for Overall Performance in 2026.

At The Colorado Rural Healthcare Conference in April, Rio Grande Clinic was one of the Top 5 Rural Health Clinic awardees, achieving the “Financial Navigator Award” specifically. The awards were determined using Stroudwater’s Rural Health Clinic Financial Dashboard, and based on five key criteria: preventive care and vaccination efficiency, overhead and administrative efficiency, clinical throughput, staffing stability and investment, and revenue cycle and reimbursement.

Safety net clinics play a critical role in making healthcare accessible to Coloradans who may otherwise face barriers to care, including people who are uninsured, underinsured, or have limited incomes. Safety net clinics offer a range of services, including but not limited to, primary care, behavioral health, dental, vision, and specialty care.

These clinics rely on a variety of funding sources, including grants, patient revenue, in-kind donations, and volunteer providers. Many work to ensure that an inability to pay does not prevent someone from receiving care, offering reduced rates, sliding fee scales, or free services when possible. Despite serving some of Colorado’s most vulnerable populations, safety net clinics do not receive supplemental federal funding or enhanced Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates.

This Safety Net Clinic Week, we’re recognizing the dedication and resilience of these clinics and the people who make accessible care possible in communities across Colorado. Thank you to Colorado’s safety net clinics for being there when your communities need you most!