United Health Foundation & the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence Partner to Increase Access to Behavioral Health Care Se...
November 25 2019 - 5:03PM
Business Wire
- $1.5 million, three-year United Health Foundation grant will
enable the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence to support 39
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Behavioral Health Fellows to
receive Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
certificates
- 39 fellows will provide behavioral health care services to
as many as 12,000 rural Colorado residents annually, increasing the
capacity of rural clinics to provide behavioral health care
services by approximately 25 percent
The United Health Foundation is partnering with the Colorado
Center for Nursing Excellence (the Center) to address the shortage
of mental health providers in rural Colorado communities.
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The United Health Foundation announced a
three-year, $1.5 million grant to the Colorado Center for Nursing
Excellence. Pictured left to right: North Range Behavioral Health
Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist Dan Frantz, Center Board
Member and Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist Ruby Martinez, Lt.
Governor Dianne Primavera, Sen. Cory Gardner and UHC Government
Programs CEO Brian Thompson (at podium). (Photo: Business Wire)
Nine of the 10 Colorado counties with the highest drug overdose
death rates are rural counties, and the average suicide rate in
rural Colorado is 40 percent higher compared to state-wide
rates.
The United Health Foundation will make a three-year, $1.5
million grant to the Center to recruit and support 39
currently-employed rural Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
Behavioral Health Fellows so they can return to graduate school and
earn a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
certificate. Fellows will receive application assistance, a
financial stipend, support in securing their required 600 hours of
behavioral health clinical practice and additional support services
to ensure they successfully complete the certificate program and
are eligible to receive a psychiatric-mental health credential from
a national nursing board.
Once they are certified, the 39 PMHNPs will commit to providing
behavioral health care services for a minimum of two years in rural
areas and support an estimated 3,000 to 12,000 rural Colorado
patients annually, increasing rural clinics’ behavioral health care
services capacity by approximately 25 percent.
“The Center’s vision is to transform health care through
workforce innovation and this generous grant from the United Health
Foundation will help us do that,” said Ingrid Johnson, DNP, MPP,
RN, chief executive officer and president of the Colorado Center
for Nursing Excellence. “Colorado’s population is growing and
changing rapidly so we need new approaches like this behavioral
health fellowship program to meet residents’ health needs,
especially in rural communities.”
“I want to commend the United Health Foundation and the Colorado
Center for Nursing Excellence for their innovative partnership to
improve access to behavioral health care services,” said U.S. Sen.
Cory Gardner. “A zip code should never stand in the way of quality
health care, and this collaboration will ensure expanded capacity
to better serve the needs of Coloradans living in all four corners
of our state.”
“As thousands of rural Coloradoans struggle with mental health,
these types of partnerships between non-profits like the Colorado
Center for Nursing Excellence and companies like UnitedHealth Group
will be critical to expanding access to much needed behavioral
health care services,” said Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera. “I
am thankful for United Health Foundation’s generous partnership to
help train local nurses who are on the ground and delivering
critical care to those who need it most. This is an exciting day
for Colorado and a great opportunity to keep improving the health
of our most vulnerable neighbors.”
“Advanced Practice Registered Nurses are essential for providing
primary care and behavioral health care in rural and underserved
communities, and there is a pressing need for expanded behavioral
health care services in rural Colorado,” said Brian Thompson, chief
executive officer, UnitedHealthcare Government Programs. “This
partnership with the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence will
help rural Colorado residents lead healthier lives by training
APRNs to provide the right care in the right place at the right
time.”
About the United Health Foundation Through collaboration
with community partners, grants and outreach efforts, the United
Health Foundation works to improve our health system, build a
diverse and dynamic health workforce and enhance the well-being of
local communities. The United Health Foundation was established by
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) in 1999 as a not-for-profit, private
foundation dedicated to improving health and health care. To date,
the United Health Foundation has committed $430 million to programs
and communities around the world. Learn more at
www.unitedhealthgroup.com
About the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence Formed
in 2002, the Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence (the Center) is
the only neutral, nursing workforce-focused organization operating
from a system- and state-wide perspective while at the same time
working on the ground with over 175 clinical and educational
partners from all segments of Colorado’s health care workforce
pipeline. Learn more at www.ColoradoNursingCenter.org
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The United Health Foundation Jenifer McCormick
jenifer_mccormick@uhg.com, 952-936-1917
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