Community Owned:
Honoring Our Board of Directors and Jon Fox-Rubin
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by Ross Brooks, CEO, patient
Community Health Centers nationwide are governed by patient-majority boards of directors comprised of at least 51% patients who use the services of their local Community Health Center. At Mountain Family today, our Board of Directors is led by patients, more than 65% of whom receive their medical, dental, and/or behavioral healthcare at Mountain Family. Our patient-centered governance model ensures that Mountain Family remains focused on serving the needs of the patients we serve. In essence, it means that Mountain Family Health Centers is owned by the communities we serve.
MFHC’s Board is comprised of talented, service-oriented individuals and patients helping to guide MFHC’s mission across Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin Counties. This month, we recognize and honor Board member and patient Jon Fox-Rubin, who, after eight years of service, will be stepping down from the Board this coming summer 2022. Read more
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Honoring Nurses at Mountain Family on
National Nurses Day - May 6, 2022
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As Ross Brooks, CEO of Mountain Family Health Centers, shares, “I applaud the valuable work our nursing staff does at Mountain Family, caring for more than 22,400 patients at our 10 health center sites in Western Colorado. We could not provide the exceptional quality of patient-centered, bicultural, and bilingual care we do without our nurses.”
Nataly Meraz, RN, BSN, of our school-based health center in Glenwood Springs, also celebrates the work of nurses nationwide and the 14 members of our nursing staff who work at Mountain Family.
In Nataly’s words,
“There is a short story adapted by a book of author Loren Eisley that I love and live by- ‘The Starfish Story.’ Basically, the story is about a little kid walking along the ocean where thousands of starfish had been washed up after a big storm. The kid walked by each starfish, picked it up, and then threw it back into the ocean. There was a man that noticed these actions since the kid had been doing it for some time. The man approached the kid and asked, ‘Why are you doing this? Look at how many starfish there are! You can't save all of them!’ The kid seemed sad at this statement, but after a few seconds picked up another starfish and threw it as far into the ocean as possible, then looked up at the man and replied- ‘I made a difference for that one.’ Read more
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Ways to Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month |
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We at Mountain Family Health Centers are committed to reducing the stigma around mental health and treatment.
Community Health Centers and many other community partners play an important role in providing behavioral health care and helping patients find resources available in their community. Mountain Family Health Centers creates unique partnerships to address behavioral health issues in non-traditional ways. Many of our bi-cultural and bi-lingual team members are leading innovations in the way behavioral health disorders are identified and treated—through the integration of medical, dental, and behavioral health services. This integrated approach to care improves the overall value of healthcare and can lead to improvements in patient outcomes, quality of care and total costs.
In the words of Dr. Gary Schreiner, Mountain Family’s Behavioral Health Director,
“Recognizing the strain that COVID has had on all of us, we have created more immediate access to our behavioral health providers. We have made it our goal to have 'warm handoffs' whenever possible so patients have access to behavioral health at any appointment, even if they are just here for a medical or dental check-up. We honor that behavioral health is health, period.”
Here are a few ways that YOU can participate and celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month:
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Wear a green ribbon.
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Donate to support behavioral health and be supportive of those with mental health concerns.
- Share your mental health story. Speak up and share your story with friends, family or via social media.
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Take a mental health screening
- Call Mountain Family at 970-945-2840 to schedule an appointment with a behavioral health provider (and also find a primary care provider or dentist).
Mountain Family has nine behavioral health providers and one psychiatric nurse practitioner. For our school-based health centers (SBHCs), we have a provider at our SBHC at Glenwood Springs High School and one at Avon Elementary. Our new therapists are Katie Forman, LCSW at the Glenwood Springs High School and at our Glenwood Springs clinic; Marissa Josub, LSW, now works at our Edwards clinic; and we just hired a new Licensed Professional Counselor who will start June 1 in Rifle.
Thank you for support and awareness.
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Health For All Fund - Your Generosity Makes A Difference |
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by Jan Jennings, Director of Development
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Health For All Fund. We are pleased to share that over 145 donors have stepped forward during our fiscal year which continues until May 31, 2022. Thanks to extraordinary generosity, Mountain Family was able to meet our goal of $100,000 in matching funds from the 2020 Rescue Fund.
We welcome you to make a gift to our Health For All Fund and hope that you may wish to support us before May 31st so that we can include you on our Honor Roll of donors in our annual report for this fiscal year. Read more
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For more information on giving:
Jan Jennings
Director of Development
(617) 595-8500
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9 Health Fair is May 7th in Glenwood Springs |
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Date: 05/07/2022
Time: 9:00AM - 1:00PM
Location: 1521 Grand Ave., Glenwood Springs, CO, 81601
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED from 8 am - 2:30 pm on Saturday, May 7. If you are able to draw blood, speak Spanish, or just want to help with this great community event, please feel free to sign up to volunteer or the 9 Health Fair at Glenwood Springs High School.
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Advance Your Career with NIMAA Training |
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Did you know that Mountain Family has a partnership with NIMAA to help train and employ medical assistants?
The National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA) is a nonprofit education institute that trains medical assistants to work effectively in today’s high-performing primary care settings. NIMAA was created by community health centers to provide access to education and employment opportunities in the communities they serve, while addressing a critical workforce shortage.
Click HERE to learn more about this amazing opportunity and apply today.
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The Gift that Keeps on Giving |
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Since 1978, Mountain Family has had a lasting belief: we believe healthcare is a human right. We improve the health of our community by providing equitable and affordable medical, behavioral, and dental healthcare for all.
You can join Mountain Family in securing this legacy of care.
By remembering Mountain Family Health Centers with a gift in your will, trust, retirement plan, or life insurance policy, you can leave a legacy and:
- Help perpetuate healthcare for all for future generations
- Join our Legacy Society
- Save taxes
Thank you for considering making a gift above and beyond your lifetime.
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Gladys Andrade Celebrated Her 20 Year Anniversary April 5, 2022 |
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Thank you Gladys Andrade, CCMA as she celebrates her 20 year anniversary with Mountain Family Health Centers.
"MFHC is lucky to have had Gladys working on our team for two decades. She is a pleasure to work with and kind to patients and co-workers alike. Gladys also has quiet, but witty sense of humor and can make even the busiest work day more fun. She also is an extremely talented artist and could probably work in artistic design if she wanted, but we are glad she continues to serve our team instead. Her wisdom and experience developed over her 20 year career are invaluable to us in Rifle. Lastly, I appreciate her introducing me to all sorts of delicious foods including tacos from El Primo and quesabirrias from Patron. I am proud to work with Gladys daily and would like to wish her a very happy 20 year anniversary at MFHC." - Matt Percy, MD
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Art Fernandez Wins Inspirational Leadership Award |
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Congratulations to Art Fernandez
Congratulations to Mountain Family Health Centers' Chief Operating Officer, Art Fernandez, on receiving an Inspirational Leadership Award from the Colorado Association for School-Based Health Care at the 2022 Annual CASBHC Conference last week. Here is an excerpt from his recognition:
"He brings such great humor and congeniality to the work... Mountain Family saw some incredible growth with his leadership as he truly believes in the model and sees that it would make a difference in the lives of young people in the Roaring Fork area."
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"You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. "
– Mary Tyler Moore
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Congratulations to our Award Winners |
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Exemplary Care Award Winner: Karen Torres |
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Congratulations to Karen Torres RN, BSN
“Throughout the COVID pandemic, Karen has been a leader in the Rifle Clinic. (Hey Karen, remember when you went on maternity leave in 2020 and thought that COVID would be over when you got back??) There is a patient in the Rifle clinic with a severely compromised immune system from myeloma and a recent transplant. When his wife called the clinic looking for help because she tested positive for COVID, Karen provided excellent patient education, including the instructions for the patient to monitor himself for symptoms and call the clinic if he developed any. Unfortunately, a few days later he developed symptoms, and because of Karen’s great clinical judgement, the patient was tested at the clinic immediately and able to receive treatment, which Karen (and Molli) also helped with by calling every hospital from Glenwood to Junction looking for the last dose of monoclonal antibodies. Finally, a shout out to Dr. Mizner who helped to order the treatment at Aspen Valley Hospital.”
– Kyler Hijmans, FNP-BC
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Mariposa Award Winner: Laura Guttierrez |
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Congratulations to Laura Guttierrez, Behavioral Health Advocate
“Laura recently took on the responsibility of becoming our lead BHA and has been going above and beyond in her transition of rolls. She has worked hard to train and support new staff , organize and take ownership of projects, and also serve on various committees in the organization and community. I am so proud of the way Laura balances being a full time student, leader and mom. I can’t wait to watch her grow in her career. Laura is going to make one heck of a counselor someday! Laura cares so deeply about the well being of the patients she serves, but also of her co workers. Laura is a queen at setting boundaries and advocating for people. I am so grateful for her everyday!”
– Annie Edgecombe, Behavioral Health Program Manager
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