Gunnison Valley Health to Participate in the Colorado Health Innovation Community

Gunnison Valley Health recently announced their acceptance into the Colorado Health Innovation Community (CHIC). The CHIC initiative works to help organizations “identify, test and evaluate innovations with the potential to improve care experiences for low-income Coloradans.” Joining CHIC will provide Gunnison Valley Health the opportunity to collaborate with peers and implement new initiatives to improve health care for the Gunnison Valley.

Gunnison Valley Health CEO, Jason Amrich, said that initiative brings together groups of motivated and engaged healthcare professionals which drives new opportunities for access and provision of healthcare services.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this incredible initiative and believe that it will bring new opportunities for us to continue improving the health system for everyone,” Amrich said. “The landscape of healthcare is constantly shifting, in order to continue meeting the needs of our community we must innovate and look for new ways to deliver quality, local care.”

The CHIC initiative is part of the Center for Care Innovations (CCI), a nation-wide organization dedicated to cultivating innovation within organizations delivering care and services to low-income people. CCI not only provides financial support and resources they also foster partnerships and work to spread successful innovations thereby increasing healthcare access to historically underinvested populations.

Amrich believes that looking for new technological solutions and establishing strong partnerships will be key to keeping more care local while ensuring access to specialized care.

“The Gunnison Valley is often too small to support specialized care on a daily basis,” Amrich said. “We need to look beyond traditional visits to a provider’s office and develop ways to utilize technology to access care for which people would otherwise be forced to travel.”

The timing of Gunnison Valley Health’s acceptance into the innovation community is well aligned with the completion of the 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment.

“We were fortunate enough to receive a huge response to our recent assessment and have identified a number of needs that we are committed to addressing over the next three years,” Amrich continued. “Our participation in the CHIC will offer new options and will enhance our implementation plan exponentially.”