Jeanne Nicholson, Peak to Peak. Would the mountain community like more access to affordable health care? That is the question the Mountain Community Health Task Force plans to explore. Ten members of the mountain community in partnership with Clinica Family Health will be assessing the need for more access to health care. Mountain members of the Task Force include Bonnie Albrecht, Brandon Daruna, Karen Gerrity, Sandy Hollingsworth, Greg Moates, Jeanne Nicholson, Claudia Schauffler, Colleen Sinclair, Janette Taylor, and Kristi Vendetti.

Two years ago, Jeanne Nicholson and Claudia Schauffler asked several Colorado community health centers to consider establishing a location site in the Peak to Peak mountain community in response to preliminary findings demonstrating a need for increased access to health care. Clinica Family Health responded to the local request with an offer to work with the Peak to Peak community to determine the need and level of support for more health care services. 

Clinica Family Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center headquartered in Lafayette, Colorado, with locations in Boulder, Lafayette, Thornton, Westminster and unincorporated Adams County. Clinica Family Health is a non-profit organization serving people who have Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Health Care insurance as well as people who are uninsured. 

In late 2020, Clinica Family Health received a grant from the Colorado Community Health Alliance to explore the viability of expanding primary health care services in the Peak to Peak area. The local Task Force’s first virtual meeting with Clinica Family Health will be February 4, 2021.  

The Task Force will be interviewing Peak to Peak community stakeholders, surveying residents and collecting data to determine the need and interest in expanding access to primary health care. Depending on demand and resources, services in the future might include telehealth, immunizations, preventive screenings, prenatal care, oral health care as well as treatment services for chronic conditions with referrals to specialists when specialty care is needed. 

Dr. Camarata, Nederland's only doctor, supports Clinica exploring having a presence in the mountains. 

The Task Force welcomes your input. 

Contact Jeanne Nicholson nicholsonjeanne@gmail.com or Claudia Schauffler nedadvocate@gmail.com with suggestions, comments, and questions.

(Originally published in the February 4, 2021, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)