History
In response to an urgent need that was identified by the 2003 Chaffee County Health Assessment conducted by Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) in December 2005, CCPH was awarded a planning grant from The Colorado Trust to address the problem of a lack of access to health care in Chaffee County. Information was gathered from interviews with individuals, organizations and agencies, statewide data from Healthy Colorado 2010, and the local hospital.
With this background of knowledge, a health initiative group comprised of many local community members, including members of the local medical community, determined the importance of providing care to adults and children who cannot access existing health care services, helping them find insurance coverage if possible, and connecting them to other needed social and medical services. An implementation grant was then received to accomplish the following goals:
1. Increase communication and coordination within the health care community.
2. Educate and enhance awareness of available health care services and resources.
3. Make health care services available for medically underserved people by establishing a sliding scale community clinic to provide direct primary care services.
The Chaffee People’s Clinic opened on Oct. 9, 2006, and the immediate response was evidence of the need. On the first day, a patient appeared with blood pressure so high she was in danger of an immediate stroke. Patients with untreated diabetes and other chronic diseases came in, as well as those with an acute illness.
In June 2007, CPC’s 501(c)3 nonprofit status was finalized. Since that time, our facilities have grown from a two-drawer filing cabinet and shared space in the cramped County Health Department office to a three-exam room office in the renovated Touber Building in Salida. The Buena Vista office expanded in 2010 to two exam rooms with a private waiting area.