Together as
a community,
we can create a
health care system
in Aurora that
meets the needs
of all residents.
Join UnitedHealthcare, Children’s Hospital Colorado and USA Pro Cycling Challenge for an announcement about a new initiative to promote healthy lifestyles among Colorado youth by encouraging cycling and consistent physical activity.
Where:
Children’s Hospital Colorado,
Rickenbaugh Park, Front Lawn
When:
USA PRO CYCLING CHALLENGE
August 29, 2011 at 10 a.m.
Join Aurora Health Access and Governor John Hickenlooper on Wednesday, August 17th to learn what the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act means to Colorado and communities like Aurora. The town hall will be from 6:30-8pm at North Middle School, Health Sciences and Technology Campus, Auditorium, 12095 Montview Blvd, Aurora, CO. All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you!
This Saturday, June 11, is National Get Outdoors Day, and Aurora Health Access encourages you to participate! Get Outdoors Colorado is sponsoring a FREE event at Denver City Park (located at E 17th Ave. & Colorado Blvd. in Denver) to encourage healthy, active, outdoor fun. Bring the whole family from 9am-3:30pm for a day of outdoor activities! You can meet Smokey the Bear, go fishing or rock climbing, canoe, mountain bike, and even ski in the summer. There will be great prizes, ranging from ski passes to outdoor equipment, so plan to join in the fun!
Losing weight requires significant motivation, which can be hard to come by. However, thanks to a new program sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and several other partners, you can now get paid to achieve a healthy weight! What better motivation could there be?
The Weigh and Win program is open to all Colorado residents over the age of 18 and requires you to weigh in every three months at one of several designated locations around the metro area. Every 5% of your initial body weight that you lose is worth between $5 and $50, until you reach a BMI of 24.9 or less. Over the course of a year, a 30% weight loss could earn you a reward check of over $250!
Watch this video to learn more about how this program works, and all the additional assistance to help you succeed–a personal trainer, diet plans, exercise tips, and more!
For more information, visit www.weighandwin.com.
The annual meeting for Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU) is your chance to:
The meeting will be held from 5:00-6:30 on Thursday, May 19 at the Rainer Auditorium at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital.
To RSVP, please email Sarah Mapes if you plan to join us.
Ileana Perez is the Outreach Coordinator for Family Voices Colorado a chapter of the national, grassroots organization composed of families and friends who care for and about our children with special health care needs. The mission of Family Voices Colorado is to improve access to and quality of health care for children and youth with special health care needs.
What challenges do families you serve encounter when seeking health care?
I work with a Spanish speaking population so of course language is a challenge. Another challenge is that the systems from county to county aren’t all the same. When people move from one county to another they have to learn a new process. They just don’t know what the rules are going to be. That’s hard to navigate.
Are there specific challenges for children with special health care needs?
It is tremendously difficult for parents. There is so much to do and so much emotionally that they have to deal with. First, they’re just trying to deal with the diagnosis. Sometimes they are in denial. They’re scared.
Then, there is so much to coordinate. They have lots of people to work with. They have to manage getting equipment to their home. They have to access a wide variety of services. And, often, they have to work. They barely have time to breathe. And, if they take a moment to relax, they feel guilty they’re not doing something for their child. That’s a lot to manage.
What’s an example of a challenge a family might encounter?
Imagine that you are told that your child needs a special feeding chair. You have to find out if the Medicaid program covers this. Even if it does, you might be denied. Then, you have to appeal the decision. But, it’s unclear how the appeal process will work. Sometimes it doesn’t work as you’re told. When you call to get information, you have to navigate a phone tree. You might be put on hold for 90 minutes. Families don’t have time for that.
If you successfully navigate the appeals process, then billing paperwork has to be completed exactly right. If you don’t have the right information, then payment may be denied. And, you’re back to an appeal process. This is a very complex system that only a few people know how to navigate.
Add that stress to the stress that already exists for families with children who have special health care needs and it can be overwhelming.
How optimistic are you that things can get better?
There have been great things happening. We were awarded a MORE Grant. That will help tremendously. The state is training many more organizations to help underserved populations gain access to care. Not just human service organizations but groups such as MOP (Metro Organizations for People) and clinics. There are more efforts to get people in the community involved in helping. If these types of things continue, things will get better.
* * *
The views expressed in this interview are Ileana’s and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Family Voices.
On April 8, the Aurora Chamber of Commerce honored Rich McLean, an original visionary and community leader within Aurora Health Access, as the Humanitarian of the Year.
The work of Aurora Health Access is to create a health care system that meets the needs of all resident and is guided by three shared beliefs:
Rich lives these beliefs every day in the countless meetings he attends, his one-on-one meetings with community leaders and all of his outreach in the community.
For me, one of the highlights of the last 18 months was when Rich and I walked out of a workgroup meeting last summer and he turned to me and said, “this is just what I imagined, people in the community coming together to think about how to solve our problems.”
Rich is a true community leader and humanitarian. Aurora Health Access congratulates him on this wonderful award!
Rich Mclean is a parishioner at St. Therese Catholic Church in Aurora and a leader with its FAMILY ministry, a Metro Organizations for People faith based group that works to help the community find ways to resolve serious problems in the community. Rich is also a leader in Aurora Health Access.
You’ve been passionate about health care for many years. Where does that passion come from?
My work with St. Therese Catholic Church and working on social justice issues with Metro Organizations for People (MOP) is what brought me to health care.
We surveyed our parish members about their interests. Health care and immigration issues were their top concerns. Immigration laws don’t align with the realities of people’s lives. And, when it comes to health care, people did not know where to go other than the emergency room. People who are working, or who have family members who are working, but whose jobs provided no health insurance, often think they have no other access to care. They live their lives thinking, “Lord, help us not to get sick.”
We first got involved with Medicaid and CHP enrollment. We helped many people, especially children, find coverage but much more work needs to be done. There are still many people in our community who need access to health care.
Health care providers are sometimes perceived as being indifferent to those who lack access to health care. What’s your take?
I think just the opposite. The providers in our community truly recognize they have special gifts and a terrific education. They want to use these gifts to benefit as many people as possible. At same time they must make a living. They are busy with the day-to-day work of their practice. Providers need the support of the community or all they will be able to do is piecemeal work – an uninsured patient here and there. Our job is to open doors so providers can better use their gifts and skills to benefit more in the community.
Health care reform is often thought of as a state or federal issue. Why do you think of it as a community issue?
No reform works without community support. Neither President Obama, Governor Hickenlooper nor the Colorado Health Care Policy and Finance Department can ensure people living in Aurora have access to health care. We do indeed need government resources. But, we can’t leave things to the government acting in a vacuum. That would be like having a ship with no pilot. Community members are in a position to direct government resources in a way that will truly make a difference in people’s lives. Those of us in the community can see the icebergs better than those in legislatures or bureaucracies because we are much closer to them. The community must be the one to guide the ship.
What do Aurora families think about health care reform?
Families are very confused by the whole health care picture. Families who have access to programs – private or public – understand that things are not ideal. But, for now, things are going relatively well – for them. They empathize with those who don’t have insurance. But, they are very wary of losing what they have now.
What many people in our community miss is that we have the most costly health care system in the world, by far, yet large numbers of people don’t have access. People know they are paying more for less, but people don’t know what to do about it. That uncertainty is what makes people uneasy about health care reform.
On the other hand, those without healthcare are desperate. We cannot let go of the health care reforms that have been made. For instance, requiring coverage for those with pre-existing conditions is very important because those people are priced out of care.
That’s the best part of health care reform. It provides a vision of more people having access to health care and more people living healthy lives. We need to protect that vision. Where there are weaknesses in health care reform, we should try to change those things. We should try to deal with those questions head on. But, we shouldn’t throw it all out.
How do you maintain a patience to keep working for reform and, at the same time, working to address people’s urgent needs?
You have to be patient. There aren’t easy solutions but there are solutions. We can find those solutions if the community is willing to work together. Everyone who is part of this understands there is no silver bullet. There’s no magic to it. It takes patience, determination, energy and dedication to keep working toward the goal of a community health system that meets the needs of all the residents of Aurora.
I maintain patience, as do the community members who work with us, because we understand that. We just need to keep making progress. The progress, often in baby steps, may be slow but it also validates that we’re doing the right things in this murky world of health care.
What gives you hope that Aurora Health Access can change the health care system in Aurora?
We’ve kept involvement high. People are truly participating. I was thrilled to see so many people come to our first public meeting and stick with us. It makes our hearts ache when we see people who don’t have access to care. We all wish we could snap our fingers so people wouldn’t have go to the ER for care. But, we all know it’s not that easy.
That’s why so many want to be part of the solution. It’s not enough to just provide charity care. We can’t leave it to school based health clinics, Tri-County Health Department, MCPN, Children’s Hospital or any of the other wonderful groups working independently. There’s too much to be done for anything less than community collaboration. It has given me so much joy to come together with others and make progress. It’s not one group that’s done this, however. It really is Aurora Health Access.
On February 16, we’ll be able to announce that we haven’t solved world problems but we’re making progress, come join us!
Chris Beasley, Psy.D., is Deputy Director of Adult Outpatient Services and Information Services at Aurora Mental Health Center (AuMHC). A licensed Psychologist, Chris joined AuMHC in 1995, the same year he earned his Doctorate in Psychology. With more than 20 years practicing in the mental health field, his experience and leadership led him to be named the AuMHC Manager of the Year in 2002. Chris has special expertise in integrated care, treatment of bipolar disorder, and clinical management of medical records. He’s been involved with Aurora Health Access since its inception.
You’ve been passionate about health care for many years. Where does that passion come from?
I was lucky enough to do an internship at the Denver VA Hospital from 1994 to 1995 as part of my Doctorate of Psychology. I’ve always had some interest in physical health and mental health and how the two fit together. I began seeing the relationship between the two while working at the VA. I also saw the struggle people go through to get health care. I’ve paid attention ever since.
The more time has passed, the more difficult it’s become for people to get care. Aurora Mental Health Center has an integration team where we have behavioral health specialists working in health care clinics to provide mental health services. Through this process, too, I’ve seen all kinds of people who needed specialty care, but couldn’t get it. This has been a struggle for everybody. So my interest in this problem has kept my passion for this work.
Health care providers are sometimes perceived as being indifferent to those who lack access to health care. What’s your take?
I don’t know if providers are indifferent. I believe providers can become numb. When you can’t help somebody and your whole purpose in life is to help people, that’s a difficult spot to be in. And I think everybody manages this reality in their own way.
I know medical providers are very busy people and there’s more demand than there is time. If you have a for profit clinic, margins are incredibly slim. So how do you carve out time to treat people who can’t pay when you’re already backed up? And even at that it may or may not be enough money to keep your practice going. I think it’s a very complex problem that I have trouble attributing to just indifference.
Health care reform is often thought of as a state or federal issue. Why do you think of it as a community issue?
A lot of communities are waiting for all the rules and regulations to pass and let health reform happen to them. We in Aurora Health Access are being much more proactive and thinking about how to get started at a grassroots level to make changes that coincide with health care reform.
We’re trying to do a service to the members of Aurora’s community to put some things in place so undeserved folks can get the services they needed. It’s not a matter of just passing reform; there are some real barriers that we need to address at the community level.
What do Aurora families think about health care reform?
I was afraid you were going to ask me that. [laughs]
I honestly don’t know. When I talk to people in the community I hear equally strongly that “it’s a wonderful thing and why isn’t it here yet” to “oh my god, this can’t happen, it’s terrible and I’m glad it hasn’t happened yet.”
There hasn’t been enough education around why health reform is a good thing. I don’t think the average, middle-class, insured person has any sense of the nature of the problem. I was listening to a story on NPR and they were reporting on a physician’s group that was meeting around health care reform. The spokesperson for the group said “we have the best health care system in the world, why would we want to change it?” And I’m thinking, no we don’t! You can look at any number of sets of data and our system is terrible. But again, if you’re middle-class, well-insured, our health system is pretty good. If you’re not, it’s horrible. And even for insured people the system’s priorities are often misplaced.
I don’t think we’ve done enough to get that information out in the community.
How do you maintain a patience to keep working for reform and, at the same time, working to address people’s urgent needs?
It’s a marathon and not a sprint. So you just have to have a steady pace and know that you can keep taking bites at it. Doing things like Aurora Health Access and educating when you can. It’s not going to happen tomorrow.
What has your role been in Aurora Health Access?
I’m on the Health Information Exchange committee. We’re looking at the process of getting providers hooked up to the network so we can exchange information about care for shared patients. As with all things around health care, it’s been a very slow process. We’re working on getting a community established that will commit to going forward with the endeavor.
It’s been slow, but we have a plan and people are willing to hear about it and talk about it. I try to keep a very positive outlook on it. We can do this.
What gives you hope that Aurora Health Access can change the health care system in Aurora?
The group represents the city well, in terms of the diversity of our membership. We have most of the key players involved. And everybody keeps coming to meetings, which is amazing. [laughs]
So the passion is there to make it work. We’ve identified meaningful sub-committees that can make a difference and there are enough people involved that we’re making progress. I think we’ve already made an impact and I think we’ll continue to do so.
This week we celebrate the one year anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The past year has seen much debate about the merits of the national reform law. While the national law is not perfect, it contains important tools to help us create the change we need in our health system.
Through this law, we are improving access to private and public health insurance, which is necessary to obtain primary and preventive care services. We are also making critical investments in our health care workforce and our health care system infrastructure. We are making strides toward improving the quality of our health care services and developing ways to pay health care providers for how they help people, not how much they do to people.
This video explains the impact of the new law:
But a law is just words on a page without action. The residents of Colorado must work together to use the tools within the law to make the commitment to ask, “How can we create a community health system that meets the needs of all our residents?”
Aurora is making this commitment through Aurora Health Access.
Let’s build on the great work going on in local communities and commit to creating health care systems that meet the needs of all Coloradans. If we are successful, we will begin to improve health, save money and ensure that every resident of our state has the opportunity for a life full of health and dignity.
