CENTRAL COLORADO AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER
10200 E GIRARD AVE NO B131, DENVER, CO 80231 www.ccahec.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: WITHIN AN INNOVATIVE FRAMEWORK, CCAHEC PARTNERS TO CREATE AND IMPLEMENT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, ADDRESSING THE DYNAMIC NEEDS OF STUDENTS, PROVIDERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

PROVIDER AND COMMUNITY EDUCATION: COMMUNITY OPIOID RESPONSE PROGRAM SINCE 2017, THE COLORADO AMERICORPS VISTA COMMUNITY OPIOID RESPONSE PROGRAM (VISTA CORP) HAS WORKED TO BUILD CAPACITY, EXPAND SCALE AND REACH, AND LEVERAGE RESOURCES TO BENEFIT COMMUNITIES ADDRESSING THE OPIOID CRISIS. MEMBERS WERE PLACED THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF COLORADO, WITH EMPHASIS ON COMMUNITIES WORKING TO ADDRESS THE OPIOID CRISIS WITHIN COMMUNITY-BASED COLLABORATIONS. THE PROGRAM PLACED MEMBERS WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME POPULATIONS IN THE AREAS OF PREVENTION, INTERVENTION, AND RECOVERY. VISTA CORP MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT BY PERFORMING CAPACITY-BUILDING SERVICE ACTIVITIES. DEPENDING ON THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF PLACEMENT SITE ORGANIZATIONS, MEMBER SERVICES MAY INCLUDE ACTIVITIES THAT: * EXPAND AND STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS; * EXPAND SCALE AND REACH TO INCREASE COMMUNITY AWARENESS AND PROGRAM ENGAGEMENT; * BUILD CAPACITY FOR FINANCIAL RESOURCES, * EXPAND TECHNOLOGY USE; * DEVELOP PROGRAM AND DELIVERY CAPACITY; * INCREASE PARTICIPANT OUTREACH CAPACITY; * BUILD VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS CAPACITY; AND * ADDRESS POVERTY IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.AS THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR CAME TO A CLOSE, MEMBERS AND SITES HAD TO REVISE HOW SERVICE WAS DELIVERED IN LIGHT OF COVID-19. SOME MEMBERS TOOK EMERGENCY LEAVE FOR A PERIOD WHILE OTHERS PERFORMED TELESERVICE. MEMBERS WERE ALLOWED TO SHIFT SERVICE ACTIVITIES TO DIRECT SERVICE TO SUPPORT THEIR SITES IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC.

EDUCATION REFRESHER COURSES THE RN AND LPN REFRESHER COURSES AT CCAHEC ARE SELF-PACED, INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSES FOR NURSING PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE BEEN OUT OF THEIR FIELD FOR TWO YEARS OR LONGER AND WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING RE-LICENSED AND RETURNING TO WORK. THE REFRESHER COURSES, REQUIRED AND APPROVED BY THE COLORADO STATE BOARD OF NURSING, ARE DESIGNED TO HELP STUDENTS REVIEW AND UPDATE THEIR NURSING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, ALLOWING THEM TO RETURN TO WORK WITH CONFIDENCE AND THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE SAFE, QUALITY NURSING CARE OF ADULT MEDICAL-SURGICAL PATIENTS."FACULTY." HOWEVER, THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION TEAM REGULARLY INTERACTS AND SUPPORTS STUDENTS IN SUCCESSFUL RE-LICENSURE. ROLLING ENROLLMENT PROVIDES AN ONLINE "ANYTIME, ANYWHERE" PROGRAM IN WHICH STUDENTS DIRECT THEIR OWN LEARNING; THEY SIMPLY NEED A COMPUTER OR TABLET AND AN INTERNET CONNECTION. FOR STUDENTS WHO WISH TO PRACTICE THEIR CLINICAL SKILLS PRIOR TO ENTERING PHASE II OF THE COURSE (CLINICAL PLACEMENT), CCAHEC HAS PARTNERED WITH PLATT COLLEGE TO OFFER SIMULATION LAB EXPERIENCES AND HOPE TO EXPAND OFFERINGS VIRTUAL SIMULATION OFFERINGS IN THE FUTURE.THE GOAL OF THE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAM IS TO STRENGTHEN AND EXPAND THE HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE THROUGHOUT COLORADO. ENCOURAGING NURSES TO RETURN TO THE WORKFORCE HAS A POSITIVE IMPACT ON HEALTHCARE QUALITY. AS THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR CAME TO A CLOSE, WE SAW A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN ENROLLMENT IN LIGHT OF COVID-19. RETIRED NURSES WERE ENCOURAGED TO RETURN TO THE WORKFORCE AND OUR PROGRAMS ENABLED THEM TO DO SO QUICKLY. CCAHEC ALSO BEGAN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ONLINE VIRTUAL SIMULATION TO ALLOW NURSES TO COMPLETE CLINICAL HOURS ONLINE AS SITES WERE UNABLE TO PRECEPT STUDENTS DURING COVID-19 SHUTDOWNS.

HEALTHCARE CAREERS: COLORADO AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTER PROGRAM - EXPENSE CCAHEC DEVELOPED AND ENHANCED EDUCATION AND TRAINING NETWORKS WITHIN COMMUNITIES, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS. THESE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS SUPPORTED THE BUREAU OF HEALTH WORKFORCE'S STRATEGIC PRIORITIES TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AMONG HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, BROADEN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE HEALTH WORKFORCE, ENHANCE HEALTH CARE QUALITY, AND IMPROVE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY TO RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREAS AND POPULATIONS. ACTIVITIES THAT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSED THESE PRIORITIES INCLUDED DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS, CREATING AND DELIVERING INTER-PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING, WORKING WITH PROVIDERS TO FACILITATE AND SUPPORT PRACTICE TRANSFORMATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND DIVERSITY, AND OFFERING SPECIALIZED COMMUNITY-BASED TRAINING. CCAHEC SERVED ADAMS, ARAPAHOE, BOULDER, BROOMFIELD, CLEAR CREEK, DENVER, DOUGLAS, EL PASO, GILPIN, AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES. THE TEN COUNTIES ENCOMPASS 9,059 SQUARE MILES AND A POPULATION OF 3,791,663 (US CENSUS BUREAU, 2015). CCAHEC'S SERVICE AREA MAKES UP BOTH THE LARGEST POPULATION (81% OF RESIDENTS) WITH THE GREATEST DIVERSITY IN COLORADO. ADDITIONALLY, ALL CCAHEC'S COUNTIES ARE DESIGNATED AS HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS (HPSA) AND/OR MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS (MUA).AS THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR CAME TO A CLOSE, AHECS RECEIVED ADDITIONAL CARES FUNDING. CCHAEC DEVELOPED AND DELIVERED EDUCATIONAL COURSES FOCUSING ON STRATEGIES TO COMPEL THE PUBLIC TO WEAR MASKS BY FOCUSING ON CHANGING BEHAVIORS. CCAHEC EXPLORED HOW TO ENCOURAGE CHANGES IN ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS ABOUT MASKS AND INCORPORATED THE STRATEGIES INTO EXISTING CCAHEC EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS. CCAHEC DELIVERED EVIDENCE-BASED TRAININGS AROUND TRAUMA INFORMED CARE AND TELEHEALTH COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES TO ASSIST WITH CURRENT AND FUTURE PROVIDER BURNOUT DUE TO THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC. THIS INCLUDED TEACHING SELF-CARE STRATEGIES TO HEALTH PROFESSIONS THROUGH EXISTING EVIDENCE-BASED RESILIENCY TRAINING.

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