Looking Forward to a New Year and New Work Ahead

The Broncos may have lost their playoff game, but spirits are still high at the Colorado Health Institute with another year of health policy and fun ahead of us.

The CHI team kicked off the year with our team retreat on Monday. Each staff member presented their accomplishments and lessons learned from 2014 and goals – both professional and personal - for 2015.

Some left the comfort of PowerPoint to present their reflections with a more creative flair.

Nina Roumell, Research Analyst, led the team through a game of Pictionary, Director of Community Health Policy Sara Schmitt changed shoes to represent different points in her talk and Public Interest Fellow Sara Robbins created an animation to illustrate her thoughts.

Through sharing personal resolutions, we found out that our team consists of a triathlete in training, runners, writers, a Spanish language learner and dedicated dog parents.

The start of the new year also signals the start of another session of the legislature. The duo of Policy Analyst Allie Morgan and Senior Communications Expert Joe Hanel will be heading CHI’s legislative activities in the coming months. CHI is excited for opportunities to present to legislators and answer legislative requests.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read CHI’s 2015 legislative forecast – Winds of Change at the Capitol – for policy trends we expect to see during the session.

On Thursday, Director of Research on Coverage and Access Jeff Bontrager and Policy Analyst Natalie Triedman will present at the Colorado chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Uninsured Conference. Their session will use images and data to explore the Affordable Care Act’s impact on Colorado.

If you haven’t read our predictions for the year, read them here before the year unfolds and we begin to find out which are accurate and which miss the mark.