Cheers to 2022!

Below is a partial list of resources that may be able to help people facing eviction due to COVID-19.

• 2-1-1 Colorado (United Way), Housing & Utility Expenses (or dial 2-1-1)
• Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)
• Brother’s Redevelopment, Inc
• Northeast Denver Housing

We need to hear from you about how to improve communication between patients and their support networks, how to better link to the care team and resources, and what role technology plays in these efforts.

Please share your experience by participating in an one hour interview or focus group in the fall of 2020. To join in the discussion, please take a moment to fill out the survey to share your contact information and availability.

As a thank you for participating in the interview/focus group, you will receive a Amazon $25 gift card for your time.

Information from these interviews and focus groups will be used to improve technology to better serve patients and caregivers after a cancer diagnosis.

Project Funding: SBIR NCI Funded, Lead Agency – University of San Diego – Colorado Collaboration

We have just scheduled two upcoming  Level 1 courses – one in Colorado Springs and one in Aurora!

Level 1: Health Navigation Fundamentals is a three-day in-person course with online prework designed to improve your navigation skills. Topics in this comprehensive “Level 1” training include patient communication, health promotion, professional conduct and motivational interviewing.

Perfect for: Patient navigators, health navigators, care coordinators, community health workers or anyone working with clients to overcome barriers to care.

Don‘t miss this opportunity to network with other navigators!

Cost: $500 Colorado navigators, $750 out of state

Level 1 Colorado Springs, CO: Aug. 6-8

Level 1 Aurora, CO: Sept. 18-20

Fall course preview

Registration is opening soon for these fall courses!

• Level 1: Health Navigation Fundamentals Online
• Level 1: Health Navigation Fundamentals in Spanish
• Emotional and Social Aspects of Disease Online (Level 2)
• Basic Motivational Interviewing
• Care Coordination Online
• Care Coordination ECHO series

Bring on spring!
Join us for an upcoming course.

Level 1: Health Navigation Fundamentals
Topics in this comprehensive “Level 1” training include patient navigation history and role, patient communication, health promotion and professional conduct.
When: April 16-18
Where: Aurora, CO
Cost: $500 Colorado residents/$750 out of state
Register

Level 1: Health Navigation Fundamentals Online 
This 8-week virtual course includes both online coursework (reading, quizzes, assignments) as well as Live Learning Sessions via Zoom web conferencing.
When: April 1-May 24
Cost: $550
Register

Save the Date! Advanced Motivational Interviewing
In this course, you will expand your MI skills related to the strategic use of questions and reflections to build upon and deepen client change talk.
When: June 13
Where: Denver metro area
Registration Opening Soon! 

Level 1: Health Navigation Fundamentals
Join us in Arvada on Jan. 30-Feb. 1 for Health Navigation Fundamentals. Topics in this comprehensive “Level 1” training include patient communication, health promotion, professional conduct and motivational interviewing. This course will be offered quarterly, depending on demand. Our online Level 1 course will be offered in March.

Basic Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is a patient-centered communication technique that helps people resolve ambivalent feelings and insecurities to find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior. In this interactive workshop, you will learn basic MI techniques you can use with patients to help support behavior change: open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening and summarizing. This one-day course will be offered Jan. 24 in Arvada. Please note: This is the same content that is covered on Day 2 of the Health Navigation Fundamentals Course. It is designed for those new to MI or who would like a skills refresher.

Care Coordination Online 
Join us online in March for this 4-week course! We will explore care coordination and related concepts, including their application to practice and commonly encountered challenges. You will be guided step-by-step to learn the basic skills and advanced strategies to enhance team-based care and client engagement for better health outcomes, patient safety, and workflow efficiency.

Care Coordination ECHO series
Learn practical care coordination skills from experts and peers within a multi-professional team during this free six-week learning series. You will connect with your peers in an interactive, virtual setting to work through case examples and practice skills.  Learn how you can better understand, communicate, and work at the top of your scope. Recommended Prerequisite: Care Coordination for Health Navigators course. This series will be offered quarterly in 2019 as part of a study in partnership with PNTC. Learn More

Dates coming soon …
We will also offer Advanced Motivational Interviewing and Care Coordination in-person in 2019. Social and Emotional Aspects of Disease Online course will be offered in fall 2019.

Join us online for a virtual MI workshop Oct. 23!

This event is sponsored by the Colorado Community Health Worker, Patient Navigator and Promotore de Salud Alliance.

Please join the CHW PN PdS Alliance for the first installment of a three part series focused on motivational interviewing for patient navigators, community health workers and promotores.

This series will specifically target reaching the “hard to reach’” population for cancer screening.  The first session will focus on the basic skills of motivational Interviewing and applying case studies around specific barriers to apply and practice motivational interviewing.  This work is based off of the experience of the Colorado Cancer Screening Program for colorectal cancer and now expanded to also include breast and cervical screening, HPV vaccination, lung cancer screening and also prostate screening.

We encourage participation statewide and specifically invite rural partners to join us for this special event.

This “virtual workshop” will be held using Zoom, which is free and easy to use. Zoom will allow us to connect face-to-face, without requiring travel. The trainer for this workshop will utilize breakout rooms so that participants have an opportunity to practice skills.

Funding for this initiative is provided from the Colorado Cancer Coalition, so it is FREE for participants.

 Register  

Space is limited and we ask that anyone registering is planning to actively participate in this interactive online session.

Audience
This course is designed for care coordinators, case managers, patient navigators, health navigators and others who want to provide high quality, coordinated care to their clients. Also appropriate for nurses and social workers doing care coordination.

Cost
This is a pilot course and is being offered free of charge to Colorado residents. Out of state participants are $75.

Course format
This course is an instructor-led virtual course (not self-paced). The format include both online coursework (reading, assignments, quizzes) as well as Live Learning Sessions via Zoom web conferencing.

When
This course runs Oct 13-Nov. 9 with live sessions at noon MT on Fridays.

This two-day course examines the effects of social determinants of health such as economic status, stigma, homophobia, racism and other social and political issues on risk, prevalence, and access to services.  Participants will become familiar with strategies for improving health equity so that individuals are more empowered to make healthy choices regardless of their living condition, income, sexual orientation or ethnic background.

Upcoming courses:

May 2 & 3: Glenwood Springs, CO
Register

June 12 & 13: Arvada, CO
Register

This course is brought to you by the Denver Prevention Training Center. Due to grant funds through June 2018, this course is FREE.

WITH A PRESENTATION FROM:
Tamas Farkas, Interpreter and Program Manager at the Interpreter Network, a program of the Spring Institute. Born in Budapest Hungary, Tamas moved to the United States in 1999. He attended university at Metropolitan State University of Denver, spending one year abroad in Fribourg, Switzerland studying at the University of Fribourg. After graduating with a B.A. in German and French, he spent a year in San Juan, Puerto Rico learning Spanish. At Spring Institute, Tamas is excited to do everything he can to help everyone have access to the public services they deserve.

Tamas will talk with us about the importance of literacy as it relates to interpretation, as well as using plain language when interacting with an interpreter.

ATTEND TO:
• Connect with other champions of health literacy.
• Increase your knowledge of and skills in health literacy.
• Improve written and spoken communication with your patients or clients in a variety of settings.

LOGISTICS:
• Parking: Metered parking and paid lots.
• Refreshments: Visit the Spring Café on the first floor for a FREE drip coffee and sweet bread.
• RSVP here.

The Advanced Health Literacy course is designed to help Patient Navigators recognize patients with low health literacy and how to increase comprehension, readability, retention and apply skills to increase health outcomes.

Learning Objectives

This 1-day training will be highly interactive and activity based. By the end of the training, you will be able to:

• Identify a variety of health education materials that are appropriate for your patients/clients.
• Modify your verbal communication (e.g. word choice, explanations) to increase patient/client understanding of health-related information.
• Use appropriate strategies to checking for understanding in order make sure that the patients/clients that you work understand important health information.

Advanced Health Literacy for Patient Navigators
When: 9-5 pm Nov. 28
Where: Mile High Youth Corps, 6740 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80220
Register

• Define care coordination
• Describe Care coordination activities
• Describe which patient groups would most benefit from care coordination
• Demonstrate 9 Foundational Care Coordination Activities
• Demonstrate how to support patient self-management goals
• Create, communicate review and revise a plan of care
• Discuss ways to measure effects of Care Coordination

Prerequisite: Level 1: Patient Navigator Fundamentals

Care Coordination for Patient Navigators
When: 9 am-5 pm Thursday, Nov 2
Where: Mile High Youth Corps Community Room at East Montclair Community Center, 6740 E. Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 802270

The Advanced Health Literacy course is designed to help Patient Navigators recognize patients with low health literacy and how to increase comprehension, readability, retention and apply skills to increase health outcomes.

Learning Objectives

This 1-day training will be highly interactive and activity based. By the end of the training, you will be able to:

• Identify a variety of health education materials that are appropriate for your patients/clients.
• Modify your verbal communication (e.g. word choice, explanations) to increase patient/client understanding of health-related information.
• Use appropriate strategies to checking for understanding in order make sure that the patients/clients that you work understand important health information.

This workshop will be held in partnership with the Patient Navigator/ Community Health Worker/Promotor de Salud Alliance and will include a meeting over lunch featuring PN work and opportunity in Southern Colorado. The featured speaker will be Michelle East with Pueblo Community Health Center.

Advanced Health Literacy
When: 8:30-5 pm Oct. 10
Where: Pueblo Community College, Pueblo, CO
Register

To register for the Oct. 10 Alliance meeting ONLY (not the Health Literacy course) click here.

Social Determinants and Health Equity: Widening the Lens of Health Promotion

This two-day course will examine the effects of social determinants of health such as economic status, stigma, homophobia, racism and other social and political issues on risk, prevalence and access to services.  A continuum of approaches will be introduced to assist patient navigators with implementation strategies to address these concerns.
When: Sept 28 & 29
Where: Community First Foundation, Arvada, CO
Register