Q&A: Gretchen Hammer, Park Hill Public Health Expert
Gretchen: Most Denverites are in good health and have access to safe places to exercise, high quality food, and access to needed medical care – the things they need to keep their families healthy. However, in some areas of the city, individuals and families do not have these things and as a result they struggle with health conditions that can be prevented or managed with good care. For these residents, their lack of good health has a big impact on their ability to work, recreate, and live a full and productive life. It is the gap in access to health within the city that concerns me most.
How is your organization involved in those issues?
The Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved was founded by a group of dedicated physicians and health advocates who wanted to address the barriers and challenges faced by Coloradans without health insurance, with low-incomes, or who faced other systemic barriers to getting health care services. As our health care system has grown more complex and difficult to navigate, even people with insurance and lots of resources can be underserved. We firmly believe that Colorado is better for all of us when everyone has the opportunity to lead a healthy life.
Why does Denver need health advocacy?
We believe the saying, “If you haven’t got your health, then you haven’t got anything” really is true. The evidence is abundantly clear that a safe and healthy childhood, access to a good education, and access to needed health care services are key ingredients to a healthy and rewarding life. An unhealthy childhood, a single injury that does not get good treatment, a chronic condition without good management or a lack of access to the supports and structures to make healthy lifestyle choices – these can undermine a person’s ability to life a fulfilling and successful life.
It is more important than ever that we have a dedicated voice for those who are not well served by the health care system today. As our understanding of the impacts on health grows and as the health care system goes through a tremendous time of change, we must be an active leader in pursuing new approaches that will ensure the health care system in Denver meets the needs of everyone in our community.
How do the different health initiatives work together in the city and state? How do you help facilitate that?
At the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved we work hard to support the development of public policy that helps Coloradans access quality, timely, affordable health care. This includes work to increase health insurance coverage options and improve access to health care services. At the same time, we work to support local level health care improvement and innovation efforts led by residents and leaders, because we know that these reforms will only be successful if local communities take the lead in implementation. Park Hill is incredibly lucky to have a wealth of health-focused resources including be well, the City of Denver Parks and Recreation Department, our community funded safety net clinics, and health centers that are active in the community and working hard to improve its health.
Recently, Colorado HealthStory profiled the Park Hill neighborhood. Based on that report, what can you tell us about the health of our neighborhood?
Colorado HealthStory is a project that the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved is involved with in partnership with ClinicNET and the Colorado Rural Health Center. We began the project two years ago because we were concerned that far too few conversations about health and the health care system were being grounded in the experiences of everyday Coloradans. Sharing stories is the most powerful, effective form of communication people have – and when you bring together the stories of a community, it can spark a really powerful discussion.
When we started collecting the stories of Park Hill residents three important themes emerged:
1. People in Park Hill take their health seriously – there are strong community – and individual-level investments in health in our community.
2. Many residents face challenging chronic health care conditions like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
3. Positive relationships with a health care provider are important to our community.
You live in Park Hill. What is your perspective on the health of our community?
My perspective matches the themes from our Colorado HealthStory work. I believe our community has a great commitment to health and is actively engaged at both the policy and local level to improve health in our neighborhood. I am concerned that we have gaps in our experiences of health with some of our neighbors facing greater challenges to accessing healthy foods, good support for managing a chronic illness, or getting needed health care services, but we have so many great neighbors working together in innovative ways to address these issues, I am confident we can make progress so that everyone in Park Hill can lead a healthy life.