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• Federal grant assures contin-ued treatment of uninsured
• Award being spread over three-year period
• Needs assessment finds com-mon concerns in three counties
BY KATHARHYNN HEIDELBERG
River Valley Family Health Center landed its third round of funds to provide health care to the uninsured, migrant workers and others who struggle to afford needed care.
The clinic, a federally qualified health center (FQ), received about $5.2 million in Service Area Competition money through the Health Resources & Services Administration, equating to more than $1.42 million a year for the three-year funding period.
“The base grant funding really allows us to have our sliding-fee scale for all of the uninsured patients that we have. That is probably the No. 1 most important mission for FQs, is to offer highly discounted ser-vices for all of our uninsured patients,” River Valley CEO Jeremy Carroll said Wednesday.
A patient without insurance who is under 100 percent of the federal pov-erty level might pay $15 for his or her visit to River Valley. The Service Area Competition grant is why the clinic is able to offer that rate. The amount the clinic writes off in charity care each year eats up most of the money it re-
ceives through the grant, Carroll said.The award further provides the clin-
ic with authority to operate a heavily discounted pharmaceuticals program for patients and qualifies it for reimburse-ment through Medicaid and Medicaid.
The next three years of funding also help cover the clinic’s migrant farm-workers’ program, which last year served about 450 people. The current COVID-19 pandemic may affect the numbers of visa workers who come to the area and in
turn, the program. Carroll said outreach this year would be conducted with safety procedures in mind, including screening, when migrant farmworkers are registered.
•Local 9-year-old sends letter to city council
•Former mayor “disappoint-ed” by fence construction
•City council hopes to meet with community following pandemic
MCKENZIE MOORE
Following a frustrated community’s re-sponse to the magnesium chloride storage tank site that was recently constructed on Selig Avenue and North Ninth Street, the company that owns it, GMCO, erected a slatted chain-link fence to help decrease visibility of the tanks. Multiple communi-ty members, however, remain disappoint-ed about the look of the area.
One of the concerns came in the form of a letter that was sent to city council member and former mayor Dave Bowman. The let-ter was received on March 19, but Bowman was not able to retrieve it until May due to social distancing measures at City Hall. He read the letter during the May 4 city council work session.
“‘Dear Mr. Mayor, I want to talk about the magnesium chloride tank. Yes, I understand why you did it, but I have an idea to make it better. My idea is to have a fundraiser for the homeless and the food bank by having an option for a panel. When someone buys a panel, they can paint a mural on each panel. Please tell me your thoughts. Respectfully, Corbin, a concerned nine-year-old.’”
Aside from the chemical tank issue, Bowman said the letter was a testament to the community’s involvement in the city’s progress.
“I thought that spoke to the sense of com-munity in Montrose,” Bowman said. “Here we have a 9-year-old boy who pulled out his pencil… and said, ‘I want to do something for our community to make it better.’ To me, that’s truly the spirit of Montrose.”
However, the subject of the letter was something Bowman expressed his own concerns about, saying he was disappoint-ed with the fence in its current state and that it negates city efforts to beautify the north part of town.
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MONTROSE PRESSDA
ILY
montrosepress.com | Friday, May 8, 2020
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MONTROSEDAILYPRESS @montrosepressPublished for the Uncompahgre Valley
and Ralph Zmuda of Montrose
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River Valley nabs $5 million to help patients afford care
River Valley Family Health Center’s Montrose location, which also hosts a drive-through pharmacy. The clinic recently received a three-year federal grant worth more than $5 million, that will allow it to continue serving uninsured patients. (Montrose Daily Press/file photo)
Community responds to GMCO chemical tank fence
• Rec District released an up-date in its newsletter
• Program leaders reach out to community
• Timetable to reopen of facili-ty still uncertain
JOSUE PEREZ
The Montrose Recreation District released an update this past Sunday for its summer programs. At the moment, registration for those programs is still being taken. However, indoor recre-ation is considered high risk at this time and is not included as an option with the program list.
“First and foremost is our duty to keep our patrons, staff, and communi-ty safe. This is an enormous undertak-ing, and there will be lots of changes that our patrons and user groups will need to adapt to for an indefinite peri-od of time. We are excited to open up, too, but it will be at least mid to late May until that can happen,” wrote the MRD staff in the newsletter.
The Summer Enrichment program is moving forward as planned. The format for the program will be different as safety precautions are considered and are the main concern. The program is sched-uled to be hosted at the Montrose Field House at 25 Colorado Ave. Enrollment is limited to 50, but there will be a waitlist in case more children are allowed in the program safely.
The newsletter provided an update on Holly Park and Riverbottom Drive. A new playground was installed at Holly Park, and the opening of Riv-erbottom Drive should make the commute much easier. An increase in parking and new bike path are some benefits the community can use from the project.
MRD staff recommended in the re-lease that community members inter-ested in summer activities to register for programs that begin after May 26.
For youth sports, other programs may be added to replace spring programs that were cancelled due to COVID-19. All spring activities in April were cancelled.
Some of the MRD team sent out letters to those who are involved in the summer programs. Liz Gracesun, activities aquat-ics coordinator, wrote that aquatics staff is anxiously waiting for the reopening of pools, and the team plans to make the environment a safe one once residents are able to return.
Wade Ploussard, Jada Redmon, and Katy French were among other pro-gram leaders who reached out to the community.
MRD also addressed the reopening of of the facility:
“The Montrose Recreation District will be following the directives set forth by the State of Colorado, Montrose County, and City of Montrose. Indoor recre-ation facilities are considered high risk, and are not included within any of the business classifications that have been provided options to open. Currently, there is no date set where we can legally consider opening our indoor facilities,” the MRD newsletter states.
The MRD team has been able to pro-vide almost 200 lunches to local students daily, Monday through Friday, during the school closures. A joint effort from MRD, Montrose School District, and local business partners has made the outreach possible.
For more information, visit montros-erec.com, head to MRD’s Facebook page @montrose.recreationdistrict, or call rec-reation district staff at (970) 249-7705.
Josue Perez is a staff writer for the Mon-trose Daily Press
Rec District still closed, but registration for summer programs is available
Residents of the Tortilla Flats neighborhood and Montrose community have expressed concern about the appearance of the magnesium chloride tanks. A slatted chain link fence was installed to improve the situation, but many feel it does not adequately reduce unsightliness. (Mckenzie Moore/Montrose Daily Press)