DURANGO, Colo. — Southwest Colorado’s collaborative healthcare efforts healthcare are making waves far beyond its rural borders.
“You all are punching way beyond your weight,” U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper told a group of healthcare and education leaders at Fort Lewis College on Thursday during a roundtable discussion focused on the industry's pressing needs and ongoing collaborations to train healthcare workers. 
The event, part of Hickenlooper’s Southwest Colorado tour, included representatives from Durango 9R School District, the Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative, and industry partner executives, including Animas Surgical Hospital, Axis Health System, CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital, La Plata Economic Development Alliance, and Southwest Health System.
Hickenlooper's visit also included a visit to the construction site of the CU Nursing Fort Lewis College Collaborative. The program, a partnership between the University of Colorado College of Nursing at the Anschutz Medical Campus and Fort Lewis College, will offer nursing courses tailored to the unique healthcare needs of rural and Indigenous communities. The first cohort of 24 students is expected to begin classes in 2025.
In 2023, Hickenlooper played a pivotal role in securing $1.3 million in Congressionally Directed Spending to support the program and construction of the nursing training facility. FLC has raised more than $2.7 million in philanthropic and institutional funding.
“Nursing is going to be all important in rural healthcare. This collaborative is delivering the fundamental components of how we’re going to create that system,” said Senator Hickenlooper. “Students can stay here where their roots are and they’ll have a better life and the community will be stronger.”
Identifying needs
During the roundtable, CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital CEO Josh Neff highlighted the critical challenge of finding and retaining frontline healthcare workers in rural areas.
“One of the bigger challenges that we face across all the hospitals, both here in this region as well as Eastern Plains and certainly Western Colorado, is access to these frontline caregivers,” Neff said.
Sarada Leavenworth, vice president of strategic initiatives at Axis Health System, echoed Neff’s concerns, emphasizing these workers' vital role in the overall healthcare system.
“If we don't have those frontline workers, everything else comes to a halt,” she said, emphasizing that the community has rised to the challenge by thinking creatively. “It's been really exciting to work with the folks at this table to develop workforce lifelines for those positions, which are also great positions to upskill.”
Building talent pipelines
For example, Sarah Tober, Executive Director of the La Plata Economic Development Alliance, highlighted how the Alliance, FLC, and community stakeholders rallied to secure an Opportunity Now grant of $1.2 million grant, to respond more effectively to industry needs in developing the workforce. The program has offered two leadership micro-credentials, with future offerings to address digital literacy and childcare.
“This summer, we started two leadership classes because that’s what the industry wanted, to be able to move people up from middle management,” Tober said. “We've been able to meet industry where they're at.”
FLC Provost Mario Martinez said that in responding to industry needs, the college is developing stackable credentials, such as the Medical Assistant Certificate program it offered last spring.
“Often, our college students have to work during their education as well,” he said. “Of that initial cohort, which filled within 48 hours, 75% were FLC college students. This is an opportunity for them to work, and to put a foot in the door where they want to go.”
Starting early
Education leaders also emphasized the importance of developing and building a pipeline of workers earlier in students’ careers.
“Research has shown it is very important to reach them by sixth grade because by about that time is when they're actually showing where their passion is and where they want to go,” said Clara Raley, the executive director of Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative,
“We have a lot of people on our team that are super passionate about making sure that students can find that passion and know which career pathway they want to go into.”
“Our continued work is to both inspire at a young age and empower students to see a big vision for themselves,” added Dylan Connell, chief academic officer at Durango 9R School District, adding their goal is by the time students finish high school they not only know what their career path can look like but also have the skills to follow it.
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