 Please enjoy the first edition of The Pulse, a Doctors Care newsletter. Our goal is to keep you informed about our services, goals and other relevant issues that impact our stakeholders and the community. As always, we would love to hear from you. If you click on my name, you can send me an email.
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A Year Full of Achievements
2013 was a year filled with so many achievements by Doctors Care they're hard to summarize in this small space. I am very proud of our efforts as an organization to creatively look at ways to expand coverage including becoming an entry point for Connect for Health Colorado, and helping patients gain coverage. Creating the website and companion guide, MaximizingHealthcare.org, and our 25th anniversary celebration were inspired moments in our year.
Inside and outside construction projects are winding to a close after more than three years. The clinic
 | | Bebe Kleinman Executive Director |
achieved Stage 2 Meaningful Use, and we
closely examined patient satisfaction and practice efficiencies - things we will continue to focus on in 2014.
I am incredibly grateful to our board, staff, and the amazing volunteers that stay present in our lives and those of our patients. You make me smile, think a little deeper, and push all of us forward - through whatever challenge awaits us next. Thank you for sticking with Doctors Care and our mission to provide access to health care for underserved patients in South Metro Denver.
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Volunteers - The Ultimate Gift
Our volunteers impact the organization at every level. They are the first and last point of contact for patients, striving to make every patient's experience a good one.
Sharon Fisher, Doctors Care Volunteer Coordinator, has been managing one of our most important resources for nearly  three years. "Our volunteers bring so much with them, like data entry skills, medical care expertise, friendly smiles and compassion - from sewing quilts to wrap around a sick child, to making hats so others stay warm. Our volunteer doctors have loving hearts and no agenda but to help other people," says Sharon. Volunteers can be any age and from any walk of life. Sharon says, "It is a real pleasure to be able to work with such a gifted group of men and women. We even have student interns who want to learn the "craft" of giving. So many lives have been touched by giving medical care, a warm handshake or a listening ear. Watching people move from tears to smiles and provide a small piece of hope - that is the best part of what I do."
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Welcome Aboard Armando Reyes
Doctors Care has added another stellar provider to our clinic. Armando was born and raised in Alamosa, Colorado. He earned a master's of science in nursing/family nurse practitioner from Regis University. Armando also holds a bachelor of arts in biology from Adams State
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Armando Reyes
Clinic Provider
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University, and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado, College of Nursing with his bachelor of science in nursing.
Prior to joining Doctors Care, Armando worked as a maternal child public health nurse at Jefferson County Public Health and as a medical/surgical nurse at Denver Health. To fuel his passion for social justice and public health, as a youth, Armando volunteered with various organizations to promote HIV/AIDS prevention. He is a regular volunteer for the 9News Health Fair and takes every opportunity to teach undergraduate students the scientific rigors and art of nursing.
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Clinic Corner
Quality Improvement Update
Doctors Care has been accepted into a pilot program from HealthTeamWorks called PCMH Innovation, which is designed to incorporate advanced curriculum into practices that have already successfully integrated many of the elements of Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH).
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Sue Covington
Clinic Director
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Doctors Care will participate in the Behavioral Health Integration curriculum track to assist us as we rebuild the behavioral health program. The program will be made up of milestones to achieve in set time frames, and Doctors Care will work with a Quality Improvement Coach (QIC) to achieve these milestones.
Coaching support will begin January 2014 and continue through February 2015. Doctors Care will collect, report and analyze quality measures monthly to help drive and evaluate the transformation work taking place.
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Quilts Stitched with Love 
We are grateful for the special gifts we receive throughout the year from generous volunteer organizations. Always made with love, handmade quilts and hats are periodically delivered right to our doorstep. Elk Club 212 (led by Lila Engelbert), Scraps to Treasures (led by Ginny Masimer), Littleton Adventist Hospital and Swedish Auxillary have created these original works of art for our patients. In 2013, we estimate the Clinic received over 120 quilts and 30 hats, that were then given to our small patients and their families. Thank you to all our seamstresses and knitters!
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Colorado Gives Day Results
December 10, 2013 was a great day for Colorado nonprofits! Colorado Gives Day is an initiative to increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving. The day was presented by Community First Foundation and First Bank.
 Doctors Care was one of 1,442 nonprofit organizations who benefited from the fourth year of the program. On a state-wide level, $20 million was raised, surpassing last year's $15.4 million total. Read the press release
Doctors Care is happy to report a 21% increase (over 2012) in individual gifts. All in all, donors gave $10,334. These funds will be utilized for Doctors Care's vital programs and services. Thank you to all our donors who continue to make our important work possible.
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Connect for Health Certified Assistance Site Update
From October 1 - December 31,2013, our Certified Health Coverage Guides conducted over 300 appointments
 | | John Cacace Health Coverage Guide |
that provided over 200 individuals with assistance navigating the Connect for Health Colorado online insurance marketplace.
To date, Doctors Care has helped at least 100 formerly-uninsured individuals obtain coverage. Those who have been helped by the Assistance Site Team are extremely grateful for the help they received at Doctors Care.
Open enrollment ends March 31, 2014. If you or someone you know would like assistance in enrolling for coverage, please call 720-458-6185 or Email Us to schedule an appointment with a Health Coverage Guide.
Learn More About Getting Health Insurance Coverage
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Coming Soon
A Patient Navigation Program
Beginning in February, Doctors  Care will begin offering patient navigation services to individuals. These services will be available to people who enter our organization through the Clinic, Assistance Site or Sliding-Fee-Scale Program. Stay tuned for more details about this impactful program.
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Patient Spotlight
Finding Loving Care
 Jeff likes to introduce himself as a Doctors Care success story. His problems began with what he thought were dental issues. After having eight teeth extracted in one day, and paying $3,000, he was sicker than ever. Not knowing what else to do and not having insurance, he ended up in the ER, where he was treated for acute tonsillitis. But his problems persisted. Read the full story - Finding Loving Care |
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Kids of Doctors Care
Not a day goes by without our staff enjoying smiles from our younger patients. Visit our Facebook page to see some of the little darlings we care for each and every day.
Kids of Doctors Care
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Our 4-Star Rating
 Charity Navigator, America's largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities, has awarded Doctors Care its second, consecutive 4-star rating for good governance, sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency. Only 18% of the charities rated have received at least 2 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Doctors Care outperforms most other charities in America. |
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