Sunday, June 1, 2025
6/1/2025
Fiscal Year 2025 Expanded Hours. - DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATON: High Plains Community Health Centers (HPCHC) was established in 1995 to provide primary and oral health care to the communities in the frontier counties of Prowers, Bent, Baca and Kiowa, as well as the surrounding counties of southeastern Colorado and western Kansas. Behavioral health services were initially launched in 2013. NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED & POPULATION TO BE SERVED: The region served by HPCHC has a population of approximately 23,000 with an average median household income of $42,560. Nineteen percent of the population in these counties lives in poverty; additionally, 19% of the population of the area served by High Plains identifies as Hispanic. Agriculture is a primary source of employment in our service area, and statistics consistently identify depression among the top five conditions that rural residents need to travel 2 to 3 times farther than urban residents to access appropriate care. Since its inception, HPCHC has been the primary care provider for residents of our four-county service area who are underserved, underinsured and uninsured. For many of our patients, their primary care provider is their first point of access for any health care need; therefore, a multidisciplinary care model that unites primary care, behavioral health and oral health services within a fully integrated primary care setting is essential to minimize barriers and provide comprehensive, whole-person care. Access to healthcare continues to be a dominant issue. As households throughout the US struggle with inflated food, housing, and other costs, 1 in 10-11 people are now working multiple jobs. Remarkably, 1 in 5 Americans 65+ are working (more than double the rate a generation ago), with 62% working full time. Teens 16-19 are working at the highest annual rate (55%), since 2009. PROPOSED PROJECT: HPCHC will utilize Expanded Hours funding of $500,000 per year from 12/1/24 – 1/30/2026 to increase healthcare access for new and established patients of all ages. To better serve our patients, High Plains Community Health Centers (HPCHC) will expand Primary, Oral and Behavioral Health service hours at two locations currently in our scope of service. This expansion of service hours will include both in person care and remote Behavioral Health Telehealth services. The expansion of telehealth service will be offered via a contracted behavioral health service provider as well as PRN staff willing to work with flexible scheduling. Since the Holly Clinic is 30 miles east of the Main Clinic in Lamar, expanding hours at that location will increase access to care and reduce travel time for those patients. In person Primary Care will be made available on Friday afternoons in our Holly clinic, currently closed at 12:30, using current staff to start, but adding an additional provider to better meet the demand of our patients. Oral Hygiene Care will be added one full day each week, currently not available at the Holly clinic using current staff. Oral Health services will also be offered on Saturdays at the Main clinic with current staff rotations. With the addition of a full-time Licensed Clinical Social Worker, HPCHC will be able to provide in person Behavioral Health Services during the same hours Primary Care services are provided at the main clinic in Lamar as well as the Holly clinic during the expanded hours of operation. HPCHC will assess the hours in which BH is in the greatest demand to best serve the needs of our community and will also consider access via the new Call Center contractor, Octiva, to offer 24/7 service with nurse triage, urgent APP access and potentially Behavioral health services. It is estimated this Extended Hours project will result in HPCHC providing 2.855 additional encounters and 1,200 patients, 300 of those are new. Long-term, sustainable results will continue well after the end of the project.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).