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TOWAOC \u2013 As part of a whirlwind tour of health clinics in Southwest Colorado, the Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera stopped by sites in Towaoc and Cortez on April 26.<\/p>\n
Primavera spoke with health care providers and community leaders after Gov. Jared Polis\u2019 release of a legislative \u201croad map<\/a>\u201d aimed at reducing health care costs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope to continue the relationship,\u201d Primavera said during a tour of the Ute Mountain Ute Health Center in Towaoc, following a conversation with tribal leaders.<\/p>\n At the Towaoc health center, CEO Kyle Gropp showed Primavera and her staff the different parts of the clinic. Some of the features he highlighted included the center\u2019s new X-ray room, additional chairs in the dental office, and the child behavioral health services the clinic offers.<\/p>\n While the site is not an urgent care facility, the clinic sometimes serves as a place to treat and stabilize patients in emergency situations, before an ambulance can arrive on-scene, Gropp said. The Towaoc ambulances, he said, are located within a quarter-mile of the clinic, and don\u2019t take long to arrive.<\/p>\n The health center is hoping to expand to three times its current size, Gropp said. The clinic is currently in talks with tribal leaders to make this happen.<\/p>\n Immediately after the Towaoc tour, Primavera and her team traveled to the Axis Health System health center in Cortez, to speak with behavioral health staff there.<\/p>\n Polis revealed his health care policy proposals on April 4. His bills aim to address hospital charges, a state-backed insurance plan, a reinsurance pool, and prescription drug prices, among others.<\/p>\n Health care and access to affordable health care has long been a stated priority for Primavera<\/a>. Prior to becoming lieutenant governor, she was a state legislator and CEO of Susan G. Komen Colorado, a nonprofit dedicated to breast cancer prevention, treatment, research, and education.<\/p>\n Primavera\u2019s tour also included stops in Fairplay, Buena Vista, Salida, Saguache, Alamosa, Monte Vista, Del Norte, and Pagosa Springs. It concluded when she spoke at Fort Lewis College commencement ceremonies<\/a> last Saturday.<\/p>\n