To Our Community,
2023 was a year of change for the Colorado Health Institute. Perhaps the most visible change came in June when I was named President and CEO, becoming only the third in CHI’s history. But CHI’s evolution began long before I stepped into this role.
Since our founding in 2002, CHI has filled a need for nonpartisan, independent data and evidence-based analysis to support decision-makers. While our early efforts focused primarily on access to care, our work today encompasses all the factors that influence health. We don’t just provide data; we connect with decision-makers at all levels and help them advance equity and well-being.
In 2023, this meant elevating our partnership and community engagement work. CHI fully committed to this priority by adding bilingual Community Engagement Specialists to our team. These talented teammates have been exploring CHI’s potential to engage in on-the-ground community outreach with a focus on implementing equitable best practices, while reducing the burden on community by better coordinating our outreach efforts. They have been instrumental in advancing our Metro Denver Partnership for Health outreach with partners in the Connected Communities of Care initiative and Mental Health Community Ambassador program.
CHI took a more community-driven approach to the 2023 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS) as well, forming community advisory committees with stakeholders in El Paso County and Southern Colorado to learn more about the data they need to inform local health policies. This outreach was in addition to the statewide focus groups and other engagements that help us create the survey. Although this locally informed approach takes longer — pushing the 2023 data release into 2024 — we believe it will lead to more useful CHAS data statewide.
Understanding that CHI’s work needs to be accessible to anyone seeking to improve health in Colorado, we simplified our website and added Recite Me, an on-demand accessibility toolbar that lets visitors customize how they view our site based on their specific needs. Recite Me also translates CHI’s content into 127 languages and provides text-to-speech capabilities in 64 languages.
When I reflect on the changes and achievements of 2023, I am proud of the ways this team has acted purposefully to make our work more accessible and representative of the people and communities we serve. I also know that this is just the beginning of our journey together and look forward to all that we can accomplish in the coming years.
Sara Schmitt, President and CEO
