Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics Awarded $150,000 to Improve Primary Care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact person: Dalia Garfinkel
Telephone number: 303 450 3690 X1311
Email address: dgarfinkel@rmyclinics.org
Web site address: everychildpediatrics.org

Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics Awarded $150,000 to Improve Primary Care

New Grant will Strengthen the Delivery of Integrated, Team-based Care

Thornton, CO, 10/12/2015 — Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics (RMYC) recently received a $150,000 grant from the Colorado Health Foundation to support  team-based care practices that have been shown to increase team satisfaction and improve patient health outcomes.

Over the next three years, RMYC’s medical staff, behavioral health consultants, dental professionals, care navigators, clinic manager and administrative leadership will carry out a plan focused on four main goals—1) encouraging consistent connections between patients and their primary care provider, 2) adopting and implementing a framework for quality improvement, 3) expanding team member roles and responsibilities based on evidence-based research, and 4) providing proactive care planning and effective population management for our high risk patients.

“At Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics, we strive to offer high quality and comprehensive services to our patients,” says Jessica Dunbar, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics. “The support from the Colorado Health Foundation will enable us to act on the latest evidence-based research in primary care, so we can continue to provide the best possible care for our patients.”

The Colorado Health Foundation will connect RMYC with a technical assistance provider and provide access to a learning collaborative and practice coach during the 3 year term. These tools will help RMYC advance basic principles of team-based care such as shared goals, clear clinical roles, mutual trust, measurable processes and outcomes, and effective communication.

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About Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics

Founded in 1996, Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics provides accessible, affordable, high-quality health care and integrated support programs to children and youth across Colorado, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. RMYC has grown from a single clinic that provided 2,000 patient visits a year to a vast network of traditional clinics, care mobiles, and school based clinics that serve approximately 22,000 kids annually. More than 85% of the patients served by RMYC live at or below 250% of the federal poverty line.

The care Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics provides for its patients goes far beyond medical services.  We offer a comprehensive integrated medical home model that includes medical, dental, behavioral health care and wrap around family support services.  To support the needs of patients and their families, RMYC offers numerous special programs such as the Get Fit Clinic that encourages eating healthy and active living to prevent and address childhood obesity, a Thrive Clinic that supports children who are failing to grow at a normal rate, a food pantry that responds to food insecurity and offers nutritious food for families in need, and a Care Navigation program to help families navigate complex health care systems and access resources for basic needs. These are just some of the many programs that RMYC offers at no additional cost to its patients.

About the Colorado Health Foundation
The Colorado Health Foundation works to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation by ensuring that all Colorado kids are fit and healthy and that all Coloradans achieve stable, affordable and adequate health coverage to improve their health with support from a network of primary health care and community services. To advance our mission, the Foundation engages the community through grant making, public policy and advocacy, private sector engagement, strategic communications, evaluation for learning and assessment and by operating primary care residency training programs. For more information, please visit www.ColoradoHealth.org.