March Madness at CHI
The NCAA’s 2015 March Madness basketball tournament kicks off this week in Dayton, and in offices around the country eager onlookers are taking a shot at filling out that perfect bracket. Here at the Colorado Health Institute office, we’re celebrating the occasion in our own way: a March Madness-themed presentation to the legislature.
Senior Communications Expert Joe Hanel and Policy Analyst Allie Morgan are teaming to deliver a legislative half-time report during the third and final legislative lunch and learn of the session on Wednesday. They’ll discuss patterns and themes that we’ve seen so far and make predictions on what might happen during the second half. Which bills will make it to the championship round? Only time (and our weekly legislative blog) will tell. View the first three legislative learning series’ presentations here.
What else is in the playbook for this week?
CHI’s Safety Net Advisory Committee will meet for another SNAC Lab this Thursday to discuss the Colorado Access to Care Index. The Index, a collaboration between CHI and the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU), looks at data on access to care in Colorado from three perspectives: potential access, barriers to care and realized access. Each of Colorado’s 21 health statistics regions will be scored. Along with regional scores, the Index also provides scores on the statewide level based on income and race/ethnicity. Look for a brief, blog and presentation on the index following Thursday’s SNAC lab meeting. Until then, you can find the materials from all past SNAC lab meetings here.
On Thursday, CEO Michele Lueck and Research Analyst Tamara Keeney will give a presentation on mental health to a group of stakeholders convened by Mental Health America Colorado. The talk will go over the latest data on mental health in Colorado, the role stigma plays in inhibiting help-seeking and current initiatives focused on mental health around the state.
Along with these presentations, the team is working on a number of reports and briefs to be released in the coming weeks.
Director of Community Health Policy Sara Schmitt and Research Analyst Hannah Wear are finishing up research for a follow-up report to last year’s Legal Marijuana in Colorado. A year after the legalization of retail sales, CHI is looking at Colorado’s policy successes, what hasn’t gone according to plan, issues the state is still addressing and legalization’s impact on health and the state’s bottom line.
A number of 2013 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS) briefs are also in the works. Senior Analyst Tasia Sinn is writing about older Coloradans, Research Analyst Nina Roumell is researching the health differences between Spanish speakers and non-Spanish speakers in the state and Public Interest Fellow Sara Robbins is finishing up a brief on barriers to care. You can find all of our previous CHAS briefs here.