Doctors Care Blog

Doctors Care Celebrates 25 Years of Service

Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

For 25 years Doctors Care has been providing access to health care for the medically underserved in south metro Denver. To commemorate the occasion, Doctors Care recently executed two very different projects; one quite traditional – we threw a big party! Check out pictures of Doctors Care staff, volunteers, community partners and supporters, foundations and individual donors as they gathered at the Inverness Hotel on April 5 to celebrate and thank all those who have lent a hand in helping the organization provide access to health care in south metro Denver.

The second project offers wider reach and longer lasting impact. To celebrate 25 years of achievement, Doctors Care is sharing the story of its model, complete with best practices and sample documentation in a free handbook and responsive web based guide, “Maximizing Health Care for Colorado’s Underserved”. Click out www.maximizinghealthcare.org for details. The sample documents include MOU’s, patient applications, physician recruitment handouts, data collection charts and much more. No cost downloadable attachments provide users with more immediate access to resources and help keep the information relevant. It is our hope that providing this resource to the community, at no charge, will serve as a welcome response to the needs of advancing health care delivery to the uninsured and underinsured.

Executive Director Bebe Kleinman and Founder Dr. Gary VanderArk

Patient Care Coordinator Char Patton and Volunteer Ellen Aldrich

Patient Dianne Jordan and her parents, Shirley and Joe Harris, spoke of Doctors Care's impact.

The Development Team, consisting of Whitney Abraham, Barb Hanson and Sarah Spearman, made this night possible.

Blog post submitted by Development Director Barb Hanson.

Bike Safety

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Bike riding is a lot of fun but accidents can easily happen – even with the best of riders. With the warmer weather finally here and children anxious to get out on the road, let’s consider a few things to keep your child safe out there.

The safest and easiest step to prevent children from going to the emergency department is simply to wear a bike helmet. While many bike accidents may consist of a skinned knee, there are many others that are serious enough to be fatal. While we often think of serious, life-altering accidents to be those where a child is hit by a car, this is not always the case. Often, what appears as a simple fall can in reality cause serious, lifelong impairments or worse. A child’s head must always be protected!

When you are shopping for your bike helmet, the most important aspect to your purchase should be that the helmet fit properly. Ask the store employee to help you choose the right helmet based on the appropriate fit. Once you have the right helmet, your child needs to wear it the right way so that it can do its job of protecting her. The straps should always be fastened. If the straps are not in place or loose, the helmet is likely to fall off your child’s head when she needs it most. Make sure the straps are adjusted so that you can’t pull or twist the helmet around on his head. Make sure your child takes care of her bike helmet and that she doesn't throw it around. Helmets can easily be damaged and a damaged helmet is less likely to protect your child. If in doubt, buy a new helmet. And yout child should ALWAYS wear the helmet every single time she rides even if she is going for a short ride.

The right sized bike and a bike kept in good working condition can help in protecting your child, as well. Here are a few tips to remember:
• Make sure the seat, handlebars, and wheels fit tightly.
• Check and oil the chain regularly.
• Check the brakes to be sure they work well.
• Check the tires to make sure they have enough air.
• Knee pads and elbow pads are an extra way to keep your children safe.

And let’s not forget general bike riding safety!
• Be careful where your child rides. A bike path is a great choice if there's one in your area. Just remember to share the path with the other riders. Use bike lanes or bike routes wherever you can.
• And for a long ride, make sure your child takes water with her.
• Keep an eye on the road for wet leaves, rocks, big puddles, curbs, and other people.
• Always ride with hands on the handlebars.
• Always stop and check for traffic in both directions.
• Ride on the right-hand side of the street, so you travel in the same direction as cars are traveling.
• Never ride against traffic.
• Don't ride too close to parked cars. Doors can open and hit a bike rider.
• And always follow the stop signs and traffic lights just as cars do.

Have fun pedaling and stay safe out there!

Blog post contributed by Medical Assistant Martha Zamudio.

If I Had More Than 24 Hours in a Day

Tue, 14 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

I’m sure we have all thought, “What if we had more than 24 hours in a day? Just think of all the things we could do!” Let’s say we now have a 28 hour day. Well, I’m sure your mind will be in overdrive as you come up with that long, long list of “to do’s” that in no way can fit into the now fictitious longer day. So, what do we do? We start to remove items from the list (hopefully leaving the important things) or we just dream – “What if I had more than 28 hours in a day?!”

Hold up! What just happened? You now realize that your longer day is now just as packed as the once shorter day. That’s not what you expected, is it?

My thoughts of a longer day brings me to the realization that maybe, just maybe, we should take a look at how we spend our time in the all too short 24 hours we have been so blessed with. I think the thing we should really be doing is looking in the mirror and asking ourselves, “How I am spending my time?” I’ll bet you will find that you are not very efficient in how you spend your time (just like the rest of us) and you probably do things you don’t really need to do.

My thought is that the old adage, “Stop and smell the flowers or coffee or whatever it is”, is something we should all embrace. Maybe it is time to just stop, reflect and prioritize our time to include the really important things in life and not just fill the time we have with unnecessary activities because we have that time to fill.

Blog post contributed by IT Assistant John Cacace.

Adopt an Exam Room

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

In a departure from our usual blog postings, we want to share a press release about an event that recently occurred at Doctors Care that demonstrates an outstanding act of volunteerism from one of our partners. Thank you COPIC and your Community Action Team (CATeam)!

Press Release

May 2, 2013

Doctors Care Partners with COPIC on “Adopt an Exam Room”

Volunteer Project

Denver, CO – Doctors Care—a nonprofit organization that helps underserved children, adults and families receive the medical attention they need—has teamed up with COPIC for its “Adopt an Exam Room” project. Twelve employees from COPIC, a leading medical liability insurance provider, volunteered to help transform a standard exam room at Doctors Care Clinic into a more vibrant setting for patients and medical staff.
The project took place on Saturday, April 20, and was scheduled to coincide with the kick-off of National Volunteer Week (April 21-27). COPIC employees painted the exam room to have a “jungle” theme, making it the second time the two organizations have worked together on a similar project (in 2004, an exam room at Doctors Care’s previous location was transformed into an “underwater” scene).

Doctors Care Clinic is located in Littleton and was a medical home for more than 4,300 patients and provided nearly 8,000 office visits in 2012. In addition, nearly 1000 primary and specialty care physicians in 98 different specialties including surgery, neurology, cardiology and many more comprise the organization’s volunteer network.

“The people we serve either don’t have medical insurance or have Medicaid but can’t seem to find access. As a medical home, Doctors Care can provide both access and education. And this is so valuable to teach patients how to navigate the system and empower them to understand what they need to do,” said Dr. Steve Conner, Vice President of the Doctors Care Board of Directors and a volunteer at the clinic. “COPIC is a great partner in helping us deliver care, especially by providing no-cost medical liability coverage for volunteer physicians who donate their time to serve patients at our clinic.”

This project was organized through COPIC’s Community-Action Team (CATeam)—a group of employees that oversee community involvement projects that benefit local non-profit organizations committed to improving health care.

“This is the type of project that COPIC and its employees love to be involved with—it impacts patients and medical providers in a positive way and supports organizations, like Doctors Care, that are truly making a difference,” said Dr. Ted Clarke, COPIC’s Chairman and CEO. “It all ties back into our mission of improving medicine in the communities we serve and allows us to stay connected to health care on a personal level.”

About Doctors Care
Doctors Care provides access to affordable health care, through a coalition of health care providers, to the medically underserved in South Metro Denver. For more information, including how you may donate, visit our website www.DoctorsCare.org.

About COPIC
COPIC’s mission is to improve medicine in the communities we serve by providing education to physicians, hospitals, and health care facilities and by advocating for accessible, affordable care. COPIC consists of COPIC Insurance Company, COPIC Financial Service Group, Ltd., and COPIC Medical Foundation—all of which work together as a diversified service organization that collaborates with key stakeholders and the broader health care community to foster innovation through the commitment of our employees. www.callcopic.com

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A Good Cupcake

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Sharon Fisher, Volunteer Coordinator for Doctors Care, organized a wonderful volunteer appreciation celebration last week. Staff brought in a pot-luck lunch as a way to say thanks to all those who make our work possible. Dr. VanderArk gave us all a reminder about where we've been and how far we've come. And Sharon ensured that the whole event went off without a hitch, and that every volunteer received a small token of our appreciation.

A special thank you to our staff for cooking up a storm, to Dr. VanderArk for inspiring us to keep on keeping on, and to our volunteers for standing with Doctors Care as we work to achieve our mission to serve our community by insuring access to care to those that need us. And to Sharon, thank you for “a good cupcake."

Blog post contributed by Executive Director Bebe Kleinman, MNM.

Data About New Patients

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Doctors Care is a part of our community and our staff love being integrated health caregivers and a family medical home to our neighbors. Since our clinic now has Electronic Health Records, we have a wealth of data for statistical analysis which allows us to discover trends about our patients. The most important piece of data to me, as the Director of Practice Management, is how new patients find us and where we could enhance our outreach efforts in the community.

For instance, our clinic welcomes and treats an average of 20 new patients per week, and we are very proud of that number! In fact, since January 1, 2012, Doctors Care has had the privilege of treating close to 1,400 new patients at our clinic. These patients have a variety of reasons for coming to see us, such as a sore throat, a physical, a gynecological exam or the need for counseling.

How do our new clinic patients find us? Here are some examples below:
• 27% are referred by neighbors, friends or see our sign when they drive by
• 16% are referred by a current patient
• 13% are referred by their hospital or doctor
• 13% find us on the Medicaid or CHP+ provider website
• 11% find us by searching the internet for “Low Cost Clinics”

This is all great information, but the place I really learn the most occurs in the areas that are low and get lumped into the "other" category. For example, a mere 2% come from our local schools, and that tells me we should focus more there in our outreach. Ultimately, the more we know about our patients' needs are and where they come from, the more we learn about our community. And as an active member in this community, that is important to me.

Blog post contributed by Director of Practice Management Shera Matthews.

Doctors Care in the Media

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:00:00 GMT

On April 5, 2013, Doctors Care celebrated our 25th Anniversary and the launch of our new handbook and responsive web guide called "Maximizing Health Care for Colorado's Underserved" at the Inverness Hotel. The event was a huge success, and we loved being able to celebrate this achievement with our friends, partners and patients.

Recently, three different media outlets wrote about our event, and we have links to those articles here:

The Denver Post
Doctors Care celebrates 25 years of providing affordable healthcare
By Joanne Davidson

The Villager
Doctors Care celebrates 25th year of giving
By Matthew Rowles

Littleton Independent
Doctors Care reaches 25-year mark
By Jennifer Smith

Additionally, you can check out our responsive web guide and download the full handbook at www.MaximizingHealthCare.org.

Blog post contributed by Program Director Michelle Johnston, MA.

A Focus on Employee Strengths

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:00:00 GMT

Walking through any local bookstore or looking online, it is obvious there are many self-help books and assessments ready to identify our characteristics that need improvement. Our society seems to have an obsession with focusing on weaknesses. Fortunately, author Tom Rath feels differently about this approach, and he, along with the Gallop organization, have developed an assessment tool focusing on individual strengths. Why not focus our energies on the areas we excel and where we can find success? Strengths Finder 2.0 is the latest edition by Tom Rath that provides individuals the opportunity to identify their 5 top talents or strengths.

With this in mind, Doctors Care purchased the Strengths Finder book for all employees, and asked staff to take the assessment to identify individual strengths. The goal of this activity was clearly to continue to improve productivity and working relationships at Doctors Care, as well as give employees enlightening information to use in all areas of their lives.

The Strengths Finder activity has had a positive impact on the work environment at Doctors Care. We have encouraged employees to not only approach job tasks with their strengths in mind, but to try and understand and appreciate the strengths of coworkers. It can be very beneficial to work with people with different strengths who might provide a different perspective and new ideas on various issues. We will continue to focus on the positive and explore ways to incorporate Strengths Finder as part of our culture at Doctors Care.

Blog post contributed by Human Resources and Benefits Director Ann Harden.

A Wonderful Learning Experience

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:00:00 GMT

I am currently in my last semester at Regis University pursuing my Masters of Science in Nursing/Family Nurse Practitioner and have been granted the exceptional opportunity to spend the last two months at the Doctors Care Clinic. My time at Doctors Care has been the best clinical learning experience I have had during my academic career. Doctors Care’s goals and mission allow for optimal learning as I have been exposed to a such diverse patient population. Exposure to such a rich and vibrant cultural population helped refine my cultural sensitivity and Spanish-speaking skills, which contribute to optimal patient outcomes. The clinicians I have learned from are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and great teachers. Each one took the time needed to help me grow as a provider. My ability to obtain thorough health histories and perform accurate physical examinations has improved significantly due to the extraordinary knowledge and professionalism of each and every team member. My experience at Doctors Care has significantly enhanced my critical thinking ability and enthusiasm for becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner. Thanks to everyone for such a wonderful learning experience.

Blog post contributed by Family Nurse Practitioner Student Armando Reyes, BSN, RN, MS/FNP (c).

Outdoor Safety Tips for Your Family

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 06:00:00 GMT

I write this on a beautiful sunny day; the temperature is 60 degrees and I just heard an ice cream truck driving through my neighborhood. Although I cannot promise that winter is over or we won't see any more snow in the coming weeks, there are many signs that spring is coming. As we look forward to warmer weather and start spending more time outdoors, here are some safety tips for you and your family:

Teach your child how to swim. Supervise your child while swimming. Never swim alone.
Teach your child sports safety, including use of helmets and safety equipment.
Teach your child to always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, using roller skates or skateboards.
Make sure playgrounds have safety mats or loose-fill materials. Make sure playground equipment is well maintained and does not have any open hooks or protruding bolt ends. Make sure slides, swings and other playground equipment is cool and won't burn children's legs.
Limit sun exposure between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm. Use waterproof sunscreen with SPF of at least 15 for children older than 6 months old; reapply every 2 hours.
Use insect repellents containing DEET for children over 2 months old; do not reapply.

Blog post contributed by Clinic Health Care Provider Kriste Hardt, PA-C.

25 Years of Service to Our Community

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:49:00 GMT

Doctors Care is excited to announce our 25th Anniversary celebration on April 5, 2013!

We encourage our community partners and friends to join us as we celebrate 25 years of service to our community and launch our exciting new project “Maximizing Health Care for Colorado’s Underserved – An Operational Handbook and Responsive Web Resource.”

This guide will share our lessons learned and the steps we've taken to grow our network of partner providers to 1000 strong. From scripts and forms to seasoned advice, this piece will become a model for other safety-net organizations in the community.

If you'd like to join us at our celbratory launch, please visit www.DoctorsCare.org/rsvp to RSVP.

Blog post contributed by Development Director Whitney Abraham.

Cavity Free at Three

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:08:00 GMT

Who wants to go to the dentist? No one. That’s who. It’s because often times, seeing the dentist involves pain. However, we can intervene in our patients’ lives by educating families on the importance of routine dental maintenance before any dental work is required. By encouraging simple lifestyle changes, we can enhance the relationships between patients and their dental providers, thus improving their overall health. We’re in a unique position to capture the attention of families during our routine well child visits to help our patients grow up cavity free.

Here at Doctors Care, we’re fortunate to be able to partner with Cavity Free at Three to provide fluoride treatments, toothbrushes, and toothpaste to all our patients under three. Our providers not only give these physical tools to help prevent dental decay, but also provide education to empower families to do their best to avoid cavities. While the importance of brushing teeth is widely known, the detriment of excessive juice use (particularly if delivered in a bottle), bottle use beyond a year of age, and of using bottles to help children get to sleep are still not pervasive in our patient population.

Nearly 40% of children under age three suffer from dental decay and cavities requiring dental work. These children are learning that dentists are painful and unpleasant, thus influencing their families not to take them again. Avoiding routine cleanings and maintenance only perpetuates the problem leading to more discomfort. These problems are 99% preventable! Cavity Free at Three gives us a unique opportunity to help stop the cycle of poor oral health in our patients and their families.

To learn more, visit CavityFreeAtThree.org.

Blog post contributed by Clinic Provider Kristin Reck, PA-C.

Looking Outside of the Box...And Into the CAJA

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 07:00:00 GMT

I recently returned from a medical mission trip with Common Ground International, an organization that provides medical and language immersion in Costa Rica for medical, nursing and pharmacy students and working professionals. My role as a preceptor was to assist the coordinators with oversight of the medical aspects of the volunteer work we provided. Another element which was equally as important as teaching medicine was raising awareness of the need for culturally sensitive and responsible care that will be sustainable in the communities in which we work.

One of the most impoverished barrios in Costa Rica is a community called La Carpio, which is a Nicaraguan refugee settlement. La Carpio experiences parallels in many ways with the same barriers to health care as our undocumented population in the US. Many of these people left Nicaragua after the massive earthquake in 1972. Once these immigrants begin working in Costa Rica they are eligible to buy into the CAJA for health care. Costa Rican citizens have access to primary care for all through the CAJA - the government subsidized health care system. This provides everyone with access to care and is, for the most part, very efficient in addressing the prominent needs of the population (mostly diabetes and hypertension). We provided La Carpio and several other organizations with "charlas" or chats about nutrition, oral hygiene and and other primary care concerns. This was an enlightening process where the students interacted with a very gracious and interested population.

The beauty of this process was the exchange of medical and cultural information as we learned to better communicate in Spanish. Now as our students return to the US, they have a better understanding of Latin American culture as well as culturally sensitive aspects of providing medical support in an ethical and sustainable way. In addition, I learned that with a priority of health care for all, even a developing country can take care of its population. Common Ground International is a wonderful organization that is opening doors and breaking down barriers, and I am grateful to Leslie and Rory Foster for asking me to participate with them.

For more information on Common Ground International, go to commongroundinternational.com.

Blog post contributed by Clinic Director Sue Covington PA-C.

Storytelling With Doctors Care - Henry's Story

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:00:00 GMT

It is unfortunate, but not all stories have happy endings. Fortunately, if we can learn from unhappy endings, something good can be exposed………like a silver lining in a cloud!!!

Not so long ago I encountered a patient that seemed really gruff on the outside (I will refer to him as Henry) but once I got to know him I realized he was really just a big teddy bear needing some TLC and a little extra help. Maybe it was his pride that made him seem gruff or maybe it was due to the fact that his health was deteriorating very quickly and he was frightened. Who really knows?!

Henry was not able to afford insurance and he was too young for Medicare. But health-wise he was not doing well. He had gone to the ER for heart issues and while there, one of our providers from South Denver Cardiology took care of him. When this Doctor realized Henry did not have insurance, he immediately contacted his office and had them call Doctors Care. Together, the doctor’s office staff, his good friends and I got him onto the Sliding-Fee-Scale Program. I have to tell you, Henry was a bit stubborn. So it did take the help of the staff of South Denver Cardiology and his very good friends to get him onto the program.

Things seemed to be going rather smoothly. Doctors Care was able to provide him with the specialists he needed, he was able to feel good about paying the providers his percentage and Doctors Care was able to help him apply for a new program called Adults without Dependent Children Medicaid. Shortly after all of this, Henry’s health started to change. About a week before Christmas of 2011, I received a call from Henry (this patient would call me weekly – I think he did this for support and just to let me know how things were going). He stated that his doctor told him to enjoy this Christmas as it would probably be his last as his health was deteriorating so quickly. I tried to encourage him because several times before this incident, he didn’t think he was going to make it because of his deteriorating health. I told him, “you beat the odds before, you can beat them again!” However, just days after Christmas, I was contacted by Henry’s good friends stating that, “we need to get a referral to hospice. Henry can no longer care for himself and he has little to no family support. And as much as we would like, we are unable to meet all of his medical care needs.” It was with a heavy heart that I arranged home hospice care with one of our providers for Henry. Shortly after that, I lost contact with Henry as he had been accepted onto the Medicaid program that Doctors Care had helped him apply for.

Sadly, at the end of October of 2012, I received a letter from Henry’s kind and loving friends, stating that he had passed away. I was devastated. Our goal at Doctors Care is to help people get well, help them get the care they need so that they can continue to lead healthy, happy, fulfilling lives. In some ways I thought I failed this patient. He was too young to die. But then I read on… “Doctors Care took care of our good friend. Without your support and that of the Doctors Care organization, our friend’s last months would have been horrible. Our friend received high quality medical care, visiting nurse support, psychological services, and hospice care that helped him live and die with dignity. Henry had little family support, so your services were invaluable to him and to us, his loving friends.”

Although the story has a sad ending, I learned something invaluable. Not only did I or Doctors Care not fail this patient, we helped this patient “live and die with dignity.” Wow! What a revelation that was! This would be what I would call the “silver lining” in that grey cloud.

Blog post contributed by Patient Care Coordinator Char Patton.

Dealing With Negative Feedback

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:35:00 GMT

The journey through life would not be complete without positive and negative feedback. In my opinion, the way in which a person handles negative feedback is how their character is determined.

Over the last two and a half years I have been applying to Physician Assistant (PA) School. I have received a stack of rejection letters. Fortunately, I saw the rejections as an opportunity to learn. I contacted the schools to see why I had come up short. Many times it was due to the fact someone interviewed better than I did or that I was missing a class. I took the last two years to update the missing classes as well as practice interview skills. The opportunity to learn from my feedback has allowed me to achieve a long term dream, acceptance in to PA school.

Recently, the Doctors Care Behavioral Health Team (BHT) requested general feedback from our patients. We hope to take these comments and truly evaluate what we are doing well and areas on which to improve. We want to receive this feedback in order to better treat you, our patient. Be looking for our feedback cards when you come in for your appointments, and be prepared to give us honest opinions. If you had a negative experience, please let us know. If you had a positive experience, please let us know. If you haven't received a feedback card, ask for one from any member of the BHT staff or volunteers. If you prefer personal notes or letters, those are also welcome.

Our goal is to help patients attain a better quality of life. Only by hearing the truth will we be able to ensure we continue the aspects of our care that work well and make positive changes where needed.

Blog post contributed by Behavioral Health Assistant A'lanne Conrad.