For over 60 years, Longmont United Hospital has provided compassionate care in this community. Now as a member of Centura Health, our ability to treat patients, as well as help improve the health of this community is greatly enhanced. Centura is more than just Colorado’s largest network of hospitals, it’s a system focused on health inside and beyond the walls of a hospital. Centura’s vision is “Every community, every neighborhood, every life — whole and healthy,” and we are continually looking for opportunities to realize it. Thanks to the Longmont Leader, Centura Health has a unique opportunity to feature a weekly column on health and wellness and to answer your questions about health care.
Each week you’ll find a column from a member of our hospital, local clinic or physician practice. We look forward to talking about ways to live healthier, lower the risk of disease and help you better understand your health and wellness.
To kick off our column, I want to talk about two subjects that are relevant to this week. First, our hospital recently held our community benefit forum to highlight LUH’s investment in the Longmont community. This was the first of an annual meeting we will hold to report our yearly investment in community health and to solicit feedback from health care stakeholders and the public about the services we provide.
For the fiscal year ending in 2019, Longmont United Hospital invested $16.3 million into community health. This figure includes charity care, health professions training, community health improvement and the cost of treating uninsured and Medicaid patients. While the cost of providing care to uninsured and underinsured patients is reflected in our figures, we are proud to provide nationally recognized health care to every person who comes into our hospital.
In addition to the cost of care, our investments are part of two systemwide initiatives focused on improving access to behavioral health and reducing food insecurity in Colorado. Given the growing need for mental health services in our community, improving access and supporting community programs helps ensure those in need can get necessary treatment. Additionally, food security also affects overall health, and we recognize that many Coloradans lack access to clean, fresh food. Centura’s goal is to decrease the number of food deserts by 20% by working with partners to identify the areas of greatest need and identify ways to ensure Coloradans have access to healthy food. I hope sharing our annual investment will help demonstrate our commitment to you and to a community we have served since 1959.
Secondly, I want to provide a brief COVID-19 update and talk about what LUH is doing to ensure patient and caregiver safety. Unfortunately, Colorado is seeing a slight uptick in COVID-19 from a month ago. While I am encouraged the medical community has made progress treating the virus, the best way we can protect ourselves and others is to wear a mask and keep 6 feet from people in public spaces, and frequently wash our hands. In our hospital, masks and face shields are required for staff members who provide direct patient care, every person is symptom checked when they enter the hospital and we always require masks. As the CEO and a former emergency room physician, I could not be prouder of the team at LUH and am confident our hospital is very safe for patients and staff.
Stay tuned for our weekly column and if you have topics, questions, or concerns you would like addressed please email [email protected]. I want to thank The Longmont Leader for this opportunity and look forward to this weekly column.
Editor’s note: The Longmont Leader accepts contributions, photos, and op-eds for publication from community members, business leaders and public officials on local topics. Publication will be at the discretion of the editor and published opinions do not represent the views of The Longmont Leader or its staff. To submit a contribution, email [email protected].
