Rural Health
Resources by State: Colorado
Comparison of Discharge Disposition and AHA Prehospital Stroke Compliance among Urban, Suburban, and Rural EMS Agencies
Compares patient outcomes and compliance with quality of care guidelines among rural, suburban, and urban EMS agencies. Utilizes prehospital encounter data from 31 Colorado and Wyoming hospitals from 2020 to 2022.
Author(s): Daria S. Nicke, Courtney Wham, Ian Espinoza, et al.
Citation: Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases, 34(9), 108402
Date: 09/2025
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Compares patient outcomes and compliance with quality of care guidelines among rural, suburban, and urban EMS agencies. Utilizes prehospital encounter data from 31 Colorado and Wyoming hospitals from 2020 to 2022.
Author(s): Daria S. Nicke, Courtney Wham, Ian Espinoza, et al.
Citation: Journal of Stroke & Cerebrovascular Diseases, 34(9), 108402
Date: 09/2025
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Time is Tissue: How CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital is Revolutionizing Rural Cardiac Care
Podcast episode discussing how CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital in Durango, Colorado, uses a communications platform that connects emergency medical services and pre-hospital providers with patients who are having chest pain and cardiac-related issues with on-call cardiologists.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Podcast episode discussing how CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital in Durango, Colorado, uses a communications platform that connects emergency medical services and pre-hospital providers with patients who are having chest pain and cardiac-related issues with on-call cardiologists.
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Beyond Our Walls: Leveraging Pharmacies for STI Services and Care
Profiles NACCHO and CDC-funded partnerships between local health departments and pharmacies to expand sexually-transmitted infection (STI) services and access to care in their communities. See Appendix 2 for discussion of observations and implementation of HIV/STI programming in rural Chaffee County, Colorado.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials
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Profiles NACCHO and CDC-funded partnerships between local health departments and pharmacies to expand sexually-transmitted infection (STI) services and access to care in their communities. See Appendix 2 for discussion of observations and implementation of HIV/STI programming in rural Chaffee County, Colorado.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials
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Selected Rural Healthcare Facilities in Colorado
Shows the state's Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), as well as Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites and short term/PPS (Prospective Payment System) hospitals located in rural areas.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Shows the state's Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), as well as Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites and short term/PPS (Prospective Payment System) hospitals located in rural areas.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Evaluation of the Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model: Fourth Annual Report (Implementation Year 3)
Provides an overview of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Model, which provides evidence-based integrated care and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Describes activities MOM Model awardees undertook during the MOM Model's second implementation year, July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024, and summarizes qualitative and beneficiary-level process data findings by state awardee. Discusses barriers pregnant and postpartum women with OUD face in accessing high-quality, continuous care, specifically in rural areas.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Westat
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Provides an overview of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Model, which provides evidence-based integrated care and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Describes activities MOM Model awardees undertook during the MOM Model's second implementation year, July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024, and summarizes qualitative and beneficiary-level process data findings by state awardee. Discusses barriers pregnant and postpartum women with OUD face in accessing high-quality, continuous care, specifically in rural areas.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Westat
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Health Care Use Preceding Suicide by Firearm Compared with Suicide by Other Means — Alaska, Colorado, and Washington, 2020–2022
Discusses use of healthcare services, including mental health services, in the year prior to suicide for those who died by firearm versus other means, based on data from three healthcare organizations in Alaska, Colorado, and Washington. Includes the number of suicides by location of residence for rural, suburban, and urban areas.
Author(s): Julie E. Angerhofer, Maricela Cruz, Jennifer Shaw, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(21), 365-371
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Discusses use of healthcare services, including mental health services, in the year prior to suicide for those who died by firearm versus other means, based on data from three healthcare organizations in Alaska, Colorado, and Washington. Includes the number of suicides by location of residence for rural, suburban, and urban areas.
Author(s): Julie E. Angerhofer, Maricela Cruz, Jennifer Shaw, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(21), 365-371
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rural Hospital Experiences in the Colorado Hospital Transformation Program
Provides an overview of the Colorado Hospital Transformation Program (CO HTP), a 5-year program that ties Medicaid supplemental payments to hospitals' ability to meet performance targets through September 2026. Describes the experiences of three Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and explores how CO HTP impacts rural hospitals. Covers planning and community engagement, quality of care, and healthcare costs.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Provides an overview of the Colorado Hospital Transformation Program (CO HTP), a 5-year program that ties Medicaid supplemental payments to hospitals' ability to meet performance targets through September 2026. Describes the experiences of three Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and explores how CO HTP impacts rural hospitals. Covers planning and community engagement, quality of care, and healthcare costs.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise Annual Report
A report to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing regarding the assessment, cost, and administration of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee for Colorado hospitals between October 2023 and September 2024. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise
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A report to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing regarding the assessment, cost, and administration of healthcare affordability and sustainability fee for Colorado hospitals between October 2023 and September 2024. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Healthcare Affordability and Sustainability Enterprise
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A Summary of State Innovation Models (SIM) Evaluation Results Across 17 States (2013-2020)
Summarizes evaluation results of the State Innovation Models (SIM), which examined the ability of 17 state governments to implement and test innovative value-based payment (VBP) healthcare models across multiple payers between 2013 and 2020. Presents findings regarding the implementation and impact of 29 delivery and payment models, including patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, behavioral health integration, and more. Covers state contracting and consensus building, practice transformation, pediatric care, behavioral healthcare, beneficiary and provider perspectives, and more. Includes a section on payment model designs tailored to unique state needs, including rural populations, as well as rural references throughout.
Additional links: A Summary of State Innovation Models (SIM): Focus on State-Led Transformation - Findings at a Glance, Executive Summary, Findings at a Glance
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Summarizes evaluation results of the State Innovation Models (SIM), which examined the ability of 17 state governments to implement and test innovative value-based payment (VBP) healthcare models across multiple payers between 2013 and 2020. Presents findings regarding the implementation and impact of 29 delivery and payment models, including patient-centered medical homes, accountable care organizations, behavioral health integration, and more. Covers state contracting and consensus building, practice transformation, pediatric care, behavioral healthcare, beneficiary and provider perspectives, and more. Includes a section on payment model designs tailored to unique state needs, including rural populations, as well as rural references throughout.
Additional links: A Summary of State Innovation Models (SIM): Focus on State-Led Transformation - Findings at a Glance, Executive Summary, Findings at a Glance
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Strengthening Indiana's Clinical Training: Exploring Opportunities to Support Clinical Preceptors through Tax Credits
Provides background on healthcare workforce development in Indiana and utilizing state income tax credit programs to help recruit and retain clinical preceptors. Provides case studies on preceptor tax credit programs from Colorado and Hawai'i, with the Colorado program focusing on rural and frontier settings. Includes policy suggestions for incorporating similar funding mechanisms in Indiana to support clinical preceptors and develop the healthcare workforce.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Provides background on healthcare workforce development in Indiana and utilizing state income tax credit programs to help recruit and retain clinical preceptors. Provides case studies on preceptor tax credit programs from Colorado and Hawai'i, with the Colorado program focusing on rural and frontier settings. Includes policy suggestions for incorporating similar funding mechanisms in Indiana to support clinical preceptors and develop the healthcare workforce.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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