Local Data, CHAS On the Road, and Peru

Almost all of our work is taking place within the walls of the Colorado Health Institute this week. Except, that is, for several staff members traveling around Colorado. And one volunteering in South America.

Amy Downs, Senior Director for Policy and Analysis, is in Peru for more than a week working at a local health clinic, taking her knowledge of health care to the real world. While her work abroad isn’t affiliated with CHI, we are wishing her luck in South America and will provide exciting updates upon her return!

Working within Colorado state lines, Policy Analyst Allie Morgan and CEO Michele Lueck were in Golden on Saturday to deliver a presentation focusing on health and the Eastern Plains. Their presentation was part of the annual High Plains Research Network retreat, part of the SNOCAP annual convocation.

Jeff Bontrager, Director of Research on Coverage and Access, and Natalie Triedman, Policy Analyst, continue highlighting findings of the 2015 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS) on the road this week. They presented at the Building Better Health conference in east Denver on both Monday and Tuesday. Their presentation focuses on findings from the 2015 CHAS with an eye toward potential outreach tactics.

Emily Johnson, Policy Analyst, and Maggie Bailey, Public Interest Fellow, are attending an All Kids Covered Coalition Meeting at the Colorado Children’s Campaign to dive deeper into how to estimate the Eligible but Not Enrolled (EBNE) population in Colorado.

Meanwhile, CHI is proud to partner with the Colorado Health Foundation on a series of community-specific publications for the #HealthiestCO Statewide Listening Tour by the foundation’s new president and CEO, Karen McNeill-Miller, that starts today on the Western Slope.

Together, we gathered local data and created a series of Data Spotlights as part of the year-long Colorado Health Report Card release schedule. You can find the first six publications, titled “Healthiest Colorado: Our Community, Our Story” here. They cover Delta, Garfield, Gunnison, Mesa, Montrose and Pitkin counties.

Sara Schmitt, Director of Community Health Policy, is leading this project, working with Senior Director of Communications Deborah Goeken and Manager of Creative Services Brian Clark.

This week we have an exciting event for our CHI staff: the annual dinner with members of our Board of Trustees.

Heating up the back burner, but soon to make its debut, is our now annual Hot Issues in Health Care conference, which is scheduled for Monday, December 14, at the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center in south Denver.

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Alice Rivlin, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. will be our keynote speaker.

Invitations have gone out, so watch for yours in your email. We expect it to fill up fast, so don’t forget to RSVP. If you didn’t get an invitation, but would like to attend, follow this link.

See you there!

Don’t forget that our staff is happy to answer data and information requests on the 2015 CHAS or other topics of interest. Please email us at CHAS@coloradohealthinstitute.org with any questions.