A year has passed since Valley-Wide Health Systems and Southeast Health Group combined forces to better serve the Lower Arkansas Valley in whole-person healthcare. The year came with changes in processes, staffing, and access. We greatly appreciate the community’s patience and want to assure you that Valley-Wide staff is continuously working to ensure you receive the high-quality care that patients have come to expect for over 30 years.
In order to improve our Lower Arkansas Valley operations, Valley-Wide has made quite a few changes according to Dr. Joseph Carrica, Vice President and Chief of Healthcare Innovation & Strategy.
“In healthcare, changes often come in waves like this. We are putting in a lot of work behind the scenes to find ways we can support our staff, so they can focus on good patient care,” Carrica explained. “It has been encouraging to see our staff coming together and doing whatever it takes to deliver quality care to our patients, knowing we, and other health care provider organizations across Colorado and the nation, are facing staffing shortages.”
Dr. Jania Arnoldi, President and Chief Executive Officer at Valley-Wide shares “all the changes that we are making are to better serve our patients and our community. Large organizational changes like transferring our Obstetrical services to the local hospital and selling Fullers Engine Repair, will help Valley-Wide focus our services in the areas that we are confident that we provide the highest quality services; medical, dental, physical therapy, and behavioral health services”
More detailed operational changes happening include promoting former Clinic Manager, Reyes Hernandez to Human Relations Manager in La Junta, adding to the already robust local HR team to redouble recruitment and retention of staff; creating a new Patient Experience department to address communication and the clinic environment; and increasing local leadership through our Regional Operations Director, Stephine Mendez, who works to ensure all clinics have the resources needed to operate efficiently.
In an effort to address the workforce shortage concern, Valley-Wide offers a wide array of incentives to our staff, including participating in the Colorado Health Service Corps, National Health Service Corps, Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program, and our own Valley-Wide sponsored scholarship program
“We want to be very intentional in these changes, and make sure that first and foremost our staff feel supported. We understand the phrase ‘you can’t pour from an empty cup’, and I think the changes we have made so far support that strategy,” Carrica said.
Carrica further explained that Valley-Wide will be looking closely at community partnerships, as well as long-standing contracts to ensure we are not adding to employee burnout, and still contributing to the mission of the organization.
“We have plenty of agreements that outdate our current employees,” Carrica said. “While we are looking to change and restructure, we are also making sure we are not overreaching. We have seen a lot of new resources in our area, and have seen others leave; this is an opportunity for us to look at service offerings, community needs, and our own mission of serving the medically underserved.”
More information about the changes happening in the Lower Arkansas Valley will be detailed on the Valley-Wide Health Systems Facebook page in the coming weeks through a series of videos.
Questions can also be sent to Jennifer Pollmiller, Director of Public Affairs and Outreach at PollmillerJ@Valley-WideHealth.org or by calling 719-383-5500, Extension 4723.
To schedule an appointment at Valley-Wide, call 1-833-350-1113 or online through the new patient portal by visiting Valley-WideHealth.org and clicking on the “Schedule an Appointment” button.
