In Good Health

Our mission at the Colorado Health Foundation is to improve the health of Coloradans. It’s a bold goal – and one that can only be achieved through boldness in our everyday work and our everyday thinking.

Influencing public policy is one of the primary – and most effective – tools the Foundation uses to drive our mission forward. Our newly released white paper, Creating a Healthier Colorado, demonstrates how the Foundation leveraged resources to influence public policy and amplify the voice of Coloradans on important issues affecting their health.

Our unprecedented journey to creating and endowing a 501(c)(4) organization arose in 2011, when the Foundation began to transition its nonprofit tax status from public charity to private foundation. At

A question we often hear at the Foundation is: what exactly is patient engagement?

In 2012, Leonard Kish, a health IT strategy consultant, described patient engagement as “the Blockbuster Drug of the Century.”¹ Indeed, there is mounting evidence that activated and engaged patients have better health outcomes and care experiences, as well as significantly lower costs.

But it’s much more complex than a simple definition. By way of recent work in this important area, we’ve come to understand that patient portals can be a key tool to encouraging patient engagement.

At health clinics, the use of patient portals represents an increasingly significant innovation in support of patient engagement, patient‐centered care and effective use of health care services. They are

Rural communities run on pride and social cohesion. There are many reasons why rural communities are great places to live: they are often home to resilient and committed residents who provide innovative and creative solutions to the challenges they face. However, they are also places with some of the most challenging access to care issues. Good access to care is the lifeline we all need, and when it’s not accessible or affordable, it becomes hazardous to our health.

I grew up in rural North Carolina. When we needed to go to a doctor, my parents couldn’t necessarily get off work to take us. And to top it off, there were only a couple of doctors in the county, and only

You can fit a whole neighborhood into a good home.

The kitchen is where the community gets fed. The study is where mom and dad get business done and keep the house going. The playroom is where the kids come to learn and grow. The garden nurtures everyone with health. And the porch is where people gather to talk about their triumphs and tragedies.

The Mental Health Center of Denver’s Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-Being was designed from the first brick to be a home that contained an entire neighborhood. Conceived and built with grant support from the Foundation and many other partners, Dahlia Campus combines a preschool, one-acre farm, dental care, aquaponics greenhouse, community kitchen, meeting space, and