Connecting Students to Careers, Professionals to Communities, and Communities to Better Health
Welcome to the Central Colorado AHEC monthly newsletter for July 2018.
Read below for information on upcoming community events, new employment and service opportunities, updates on our programs, and more.

If you haven't noticed yet, our new website is still undergoing changes. We recently re-designed our home page to provide more information about our programs. To see the exciting changes click the button below!
Community Opioid Response Program Participates in Community Education.
In 2017, a state-wide study conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that in Colorado there were 536 reported opioid deaths, a rate of 9.5 deaths per 100,000 people, in the 2016 calendar year. While state-wide endeavors to combat this epidemic are making positive impacts in Colorado, such as those from the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, there continues to be a yearly increase in opioid-related deaths. In efforts to address the issue from ground up, the Community Opioid Response Program (CORP), with guidance from the State Attorney General’s Office, has made it one of their priorities to educate community members across Colorado about safe use of prescription drugs, safe disposal/storage of opioids, and reduction of the stigma associated with substance abuse and recovery/treatment.
Upcoming AmeriCorps CORP Events
Provider Education events:
  • July 18 - Fort Collins (5:30 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • July 25 - Loveland (5:30 PM – 8:00 PM)
  • August 8 - Greely (5:30 PM – 8:00 PM)
Community Events:
  • July 21 - ShatterProof 5k – 9:30 AM (Register for the CORP Team here)
  • August 4 - Community Event: Addressing the Opioid Crisis (10AM – noon at Highlands Church, 2644 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211)
  • August 25 - Aurora Opioid Awareness Block Party (10AM – 3PM) – 1298 Peoria St., Aurora, CO, 80011
Student Housing: Meet a Host!
Interview with LeAnn Vasquez

Personal Background – I’ve lived in Colorado Springs since 1973 with my husband John. We’ll have been married 46 years next month! We have 3 kids, ages 44, 38, and 36. We also have 4 grandkids, ages 7, 5, 4, and 2. I became a host through my relationship with the Colorado Springs City Employee Pharmacy. There seemed to be a new student every time we went in to the pharmacy, so we eventually talked to them and got to know them. The pharmacist knew we had just finished our basement and I had just retired from work. It seemed like a perfect fit! I love the college age students and hearing their stories.

How long have you been a host? 6th Year in September

Why did you become a host?

Click below to continue reading the interview.
If you'd like to know more about hosting medical students, or if you're a student who needs housing, please follow this link: http://www.ccahec.org/student-housing/
R.I.C.H. (Recipes Improving Colorado Health) Cookbook
Need some delicious and healthy recipes to help you get through summer? Students from the University of Colorado Denver and Central Colorado AHEC have partnered to develop the R.I.C.H. Cookbook to offer food pantries, grocery stores and consumers a quick way to use food items commonly found in food pantries to make healthy meals. Click the button below to explore the many recipes we offer!
Employment & Service Opportunities
STAFF POSITION: Professional Education Assistant Manager

STAFF POSITION: CORP VISTA Coordinator (NEW)

SERVICE POSITION: AmeriCorps VISTA Leader (NEW)

SERVICE POSITION: AmeriCorps Community Opioid Response Member

SERVICE POSITION: AmeriCorps VISTA Community Opioid Response Member
Upcoming Community Events
Biomedical Research Bootcamp | July 23-17
Find out what it’s really like to be a biomedical scientist!
FREE YHC Castle Rock Medical Clinic

Saturday, July 14th, 2018, 8:30 am - 10:30 am
St. Francis of Assisi Church
2746 5th Street, Castle Rock, Colorado

Northwest Regional Primary Care Association: Available Courses and Opportunities

Northwest Regional Primary Care Association is a member organization that strengthens community and migrant health centers by leveraging regional power and resources on their behalf. They are offering many great conferences and training opportunities.Follow the link below to learn more.
Rocky Mountain Public Health Training Center: Training Opportunities

Check out free training opportunities provided by RMPHTC and it's partners. These online courses start this summer and go through the fall:


  • Evidence-Based Public Health
  • Health Equity: LGBTQ
  • Social Justice Approach to Youth Engagement
  • Leading Effective Coalitions


19th Annual Donor Dash
Sunday, July 15th 8:00am
Washington Park, Denver, Colorado
This 5K is for runners, walkers and the entire family to honor the lives of organ and tissue donors, celebrate the lives of organ and tissue recipients and recognize those waiting for a lifesaving transplant.

Visit www.DonorAlliance.org/DonorDash for more information and to register!
School Nurses' Role within HPV Vaccine Uptake: A Model for Interprofessional Collaboration
Wednesday, July 25, 3 p.m. ET

Presented by: Brittany L. Rosen, PhD, CHES, Assistant Professor in Health Promotion and Education at the University of Cincinnati

This webinar will provide an in-depth review of school nurses’ HPV vaccine knowledge and attitudes, along with their perception of their role as opinion leaders for the HPV vaccine and their professional practice in providing HPV vaccine education and recommendations to parents. In addition, we will identify barriers preventing school nurses from providing HPV vaccine education and recommendations, including time constraints, job requirements, and school policies. Next, we will examine how to address these barriers through implementing a model for interprofessional collaboration offering examples from local (Ohio) school nurses. Last, we will review resources and toolkits school nurses and partners can use to educate and recommend the HPV vaccine to parents.
2018 CHAMPS/NWRPCA Fall Primary Care Conference
The 2018 CHAMPS/NWRPCA Fall Primary Care Conference, in partnership with WCN, to be held in Denver, CO, October 20- 23, 2018, provides education and training, information and resource sharing, coalition building, and program and policy development for like-minded community health professionals and their partners.

Get Back into Nursing!
Our refresher courses help LPNs and RNs renew their Colorado license if they have been expired for more than two years. These online "anytime, anywhere" programs are self-paced and approved by the Colorado State Board of Nursing.

Click on one of the logos above for more information.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback,
please email us at: support@centralcoahec.org