PMC Celebrates Safety Net Clinic Week

PROWERS MEDICAL CENTER CELEBRATES THE 3rd ANNUAL SAFETY NET CLINIC WEEK, AUG 20 – 24 WITH A VISIT FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. CONGRESSMAN, CORY GARDNER.

Lamar, CO – August 16, 2012 – Prowers Medical Center, along with other Colorado community-funded safety net clinics and federally certified rural health clinics are celebrating the third annual Safety Net Clinic Week, August 20 – 24, 2012. Safety Net Clinic Week is a time devoted to educating the public and policy makers on the essential healthcare services these clinics provide to uninsured, underinsured and low-income individuals. Prowers Medical Center will host a tour at the clinic for staff members of U.S. Congressman, Corey Gardner, Colorado District 4, on Monday, August 20 from 12 – 2 PM in celebration of Safety Net Clinic Week 2012.

Colorado’s Community-Funded Safety Net Clinics and federally certified Rural Health Clinics encompass 88 clinics located in 33 counties throughout Colorado. Annually, Colorado’s CSNCs and RHCs provide an estimated 750,000 visits to approximately 300,000 Colorado residents, many in rural parts of our state. The clinics provide primary healthcare and chronic care services to low-income, uninsured and underinsured Coloradans.

ClinicNET’s Executive Director, Sharon Adams, said one size does not fit all in the healthcare safety net. “All parts of the safety net and its varied models of care delivery are essential in order for every Colorado resident to have access to high quality healthcare,” Adams explained.

The Colorado Rural Health Center’s Interim Chief Executive Officer, Michelle Mills, said people often think all parts of the critical health care safety net are supported by federal funds, but the realities are startlingly different. “Rural Health Clinics and Community-Funded Safety Net Clinics often receive very little, if any federal funding; instead they rely on complex and vulnerable funding streams. Mobilizing efforts to ensure all safety net providers are recognized and adequately funded is essential to ensuring our ability to continue delivering care to some of the state’s most at-risk residents,” Mills explained.

About Prowers Medical Center

Prowers Medical Center is owned and operated by the Prowers County Hospital District. The District is governed by a board of directors elected by the citizens who reside in the district (Prowers and Baca Counties). Although the district receives tax support, in order to maintain high quality state-of-the-art healthcare services, Prowers is dependent upon revenue generated from providing healthcare services and contributions to the Prowers Medical Center Foundation.

About The Colorado Rural Health Center

The Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) is an independent, nonprofit, membership-based organization that serves as the State Office of Rural Health for Colorado. CRHC offers programs and services to ensure that rural communities have access to high quality healthcare services. For more on the Colorado Rural Health Center call 303-832-7493 or go to www.coruralhealth.org.

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