Villager Corridor Health

Covering business

in the DTC & Denver south

A supplement to The Villager Newspaper September 24, 2015

the

On the cutting edge of health care

O

BY JAN WONDRA STAFF WRITER

ver the past decade, the best word to describe the new reality of the south metro area is “dynamic.” That’s because new medical and specialty hospitals, new clinics, nutrition, weight loss and fitness facilities, medical spas, kidney dialysis centers, wellness centers and public health information organizations now call the Denver south area home.

Need a massage therapist? This area has dozens. Need to lose weight?

There’s probably a weight loss center a mile or so away. Need emergency medical care, a podiatrist, outpatient mental health care? You’re likely only minutes away.

There are a number of impressive stats behind the human face that health care is assuming in the Denver south area. We are home to seven hospital facilities, one of them Sky Ridge Medical Center, which is continuing to expand its bed space and recently added a new women’s health hospital. Children’s Hospital opened its new south campus here in 2013, significantly improving accessibility for families to pediatric care. When you consider that the entire Denver metro area is home to 33 hospitals, and the state has 47 hospitals, the south metro is definitely well served.

Of the more than 2,000 health and wellness companies that operate in the Denver south area, almost 94 percent of them are in Arapahoe and Douglas counties – 48 percent in Arapahoe and 46 percent in Douglas. Mindful of this, the state’s largest nonprofit health care insurance provider, Kaiser Permanente, now lies at the southern end of the corridor just off I-25 and Lincoln. The south metro area is home to a growing number

of national headquarters, including companies like American Medical Response, whose national headquarters just happens to be in Greenwood Village. This is no accident.

What’s driving this growth? It’s a combination of things, all underlying population shifts. People are moving here to pursue good jobs, great residential areas and general quality of life.

Health care follows population.

The economic impact is huge. While the industry is serving health needs, it is creating an economic windfall with positive impact on the community.

Health care costs are coming back into the community, meaning every dollar spent for health care translates into monies coming back into the Denver south area.

Not only is the area reaping the benefits of superior health care services, the jobs created are good jobs and they are being created in companies of all sizes.

In fact, around 85 percent of the regions health care and wellness companies are small businesses, employing 10 or fewer people. This fact alone helps explain the breadth and depth of the economic impact on the economy.

While it may not be a by product of the wealth of health care services here, Colorado continues to be ran ked the leanest state in the nation. Colorado has the lowest levels of obesity, according to the trust for Public Health. According to the United Health Foundation of the American Public Health Association, it is the eighth healthiest state in the country. All this means that here in the Denver south corridor, there is the ability to recruit and retain a healthy, skilled and productive workforce. And when they arrive, those people can be taken care of, which means good things for us all.

Sky Ridge Medical Center added a new Women’s Hospital, which opened in March.

Children’s Hospital South, off Lucent Boulevard in Douglas County, among our newest health care centers, opened in in 2013, offering 25 pediatric specialty clinics along with a 16 bed in-patient hospital.

Photo courtesty of Scott Dressel-Markin, Children’s Hospital Colorado

How south Denver health care stacks up Area hospitals meet a growing south metro Denver population

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PAGE 2 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2015 the

HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES How healthy is the exchange?

Connect for Health Colorado has felt its share of queasiness since launching in 2013 as the state’s official health-insurance exchange.

The regulated online marketplace – part of the federal Affordable Care Act – was established by the Colorado legislature as a place where individuals and businesses could compare and contrast approved health plans available in their area. It is the only marketplace in the state where the ACA’s mandated federal subsidies are offered to those who meet income requirements.

Last year, Connect for Health was subject to a blistering 92-page state audit that accused the exchange of “unallowable or unreasonable” payments to its vendors of almost $489,000 and $32 million in documentation problems. The agency has also found itself in hot water over raises and bonuses paid to some of its top executives, including the then-CEO. On the bright side, the exchange has helped lower Colorado’s uninsured rate to 6.7 percent and has insured more than 150,000 people.

“That’s even more successful than a lot of folks assumed we would be,” said Kevin Patterson, Connect for Health’s interim CEO. “When you look at the growth in terms of the number of people that are being insured, it is still a little more difficult than buying your European vacation online.”

In addition to individual policyholders, the exchange has serviced more than 330 businesses that have opted to send their employees to the website with extra cash instead of establishing a group policy for the workplace.

The Villager recently spoke with Patterson about some of the issues that have plagued the healthexchange system and Connect for Health’s prescription for getting even more Coloradans the healthcare they need.

Villager: The exchange has seen its share of controversy. How would you assess how things are going at this point?

Patterson: I’m cautiously optimistic. What we’ve tried to do is take a pretty clear focus on improving the customer experience.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking to the stakeholders, our sales channels, brokers, business network guys and

Connect for Health grows coverage, faces controversy

Kevin Patterson, interim CEO for Connect for Health Colorado, is “cautiously optimistic” about the health exchange’s future. advocates to say, what can we do to make this process work a little bit better for folks? We’re not saying we’re going to make it perfect, but we’re feeling pretty good right now.

Villager: With all the stories we’ve heard about the federal website, one wonders if there is anything intrinsically difficult about running a health-exchange website?

Patterson: I’ve talked to a number of my colleagues across the nation. Sometimes the federal

More than 150,000 people have purchased health insurance at www.connectforhealthco.com since 2013.

Photos courtesy of Connect for Health Colorado a start-up trying to figure out how to implement this huge new federal program at the same time that we had to figure out how to build an infrastructure and create policies and procedures that allow us to have the right kind of documentation the federal government requires. We have

Patterson: Our board has passed a plan and a budget that shows us being sustainable. It assumes we’re moving from the 150,000 covered lives to 192,000. From our perspective, we’re moving away from the federal grant and moving to having our own sources of revenue.

We’re not saying we’re going to make it perfect, but we’re feeling pretty good right now.

- Kevin Patterson, interim CEO Connect for Health Colorado

guidance is not as specific as we would hope so there’s a lot of variety to how people might try it at first, but then we learn from each other the things that work really well and the things that don’t. But at the same, health insurance itself and the healthcare market are changing.

There’s a lot more moving parts that are being implemented. It’s a complicated product.

Villager: How has the organization responded to last year’s audit?

Patterson: It’s going reasonably well. The organization started with basically eight people and we’ve gone to about 70. We’ve gone from

One consumer’s experience with the Colorado healthcare exchange

While predictions of disaster, and much higher insurance costs, floated around the launch of Connect for Health Colorado, the results show otherwise. This chart displays actual costs of insurance prior to the launch, and the next year, with insurance obtained through Connect for Health Colorado: *Includes reduced price due to income

to make sure we’re being very good stewards of those public dollars.

Villager: Were the bonuses to executives a mistake in retrospect?

Patterson: It’s always difficult to explain a bonus in a public setting. Because this is neither a state agency nor a full private organization, it kind of falls in this neitherfish-nor-fowl kind of place. We still do bonuses at lower levels of the organization, but that’s not part of the package for the CEO anymore.

Villager: This is the first year Connect for Health Colorado is supposed to be financially self-sustaining. How is that going?

Villager: Those numbers include the underinsured.

Patterson: That’s a very good point. We try to tell people that when you’re looking at the total cost of your healthcare, you’ve got to think about your conditions, how you use health insurance, prescription medication. You’ve got to think about more than just the monthly premium when you’re looking at your total cost. If you’re going to do a high-deductible plan, does that mean you need to have a health savings account? That’s one of the things that we need to continue to work on.

Old Insurance Monthly rate $405 Preventative care 80% Deductible $3,000 Annual maximum out-of- $5,000 pocket Prescriptions Generic/out-of-pocket $10 Branded $25, No maximum Dental No dental Percent

80/20 “Cover Colorado”

Villager: How do you think the wider availability of health insurance has affected public perceptions of health and healthcare?

Patterson: Nobody gets auto insurance and says, “Well, I’m going to take off my seatbelt and just drive around really fast and run into stuff so I can use my auto insurance.” It is helping people understand that getting insurance is just the first step.

It’s about the wellness check, taking care of yourself and what you eat. It’s not just so you can go to the emergency room.

Villager: The Affordable Care Act has been so wrapped up in partisan politics. Do you foresee a time when Connect for Health will serve its function without some controversy in the background – or even foreground – of the conversation?

Patterson: Maybe, maybe not.

What I’m focused on is what things are functional and how do we make improvements. How do you work with carriers, brokers, accountants and small businesses to understand how to make this program work for them? We’ve gone from zero people to 150,000 in a relatively short period of time. From my perspective, it’s a really exciting time for statebased exchanges and marketplaces like these. We think we’re making a significant impact to the Colorado economy and helping families get quality healthcare at rate that is more affordable than it was before.

New Insurance* $216 N/C $1,500 $3,000 Generic $5 Branded $10 Free, after maximum out-ofpocket $19.95/month Free dental checkups/2x year 80/20 “Colorado Health Op”

September 24, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 3 the

FINANCE Government, by another name, means business

BY JAN WONDRA STAFF WRITER

If you are an entrepreneur, does receiving up to $350,000 to help grow your business sound good to you? If your answer is “Great, where can I sign?” then you need to explore the programs of the government organization that is focused solely on helping business grow: the Small Business Administration.

The above-mentioned resource is a line-of-credit with an SBA guaranty. The SBA offers dozens of programs specifically focused on businesses attempting to scale their operations, reach new markets and launching products to meet market needs.

It may be news to some that government is open for business. In fact, speak the word “government” to a businessperson and the reaction can wildly vary. You could get a blank look that indicates the person has no idea what it can do to help business, a sigh or outright hostility. Rarely is delight a reaction. Our government often gets a bad rap from businesses, but if you are an entrepreneur, the U.S. government has programs and processes in place that can help you grow your business, guarantying loans and lines-ofcredit to move companies to the next stage of growth.

“Our flagship program is our small business loan guarantee program,” said Matt Varilek, chief operating officer of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“We focus on what we call ‘growth stage companies.’ These are companies that have revenues, but need to scale their operations.

Our SBA program is very good at this.”

If you’re a small business, the government can be your financial partner, guaranteeing financial resources to help you grow. If the business owner happens to be a veteran, that means that up to $350,000 in capital may be available.

“The SBA is here to fill the gaps in funding that can occur as a small business grows. Our Small Business Investment Company provides leverage to venture capital. We match private equity

funding 2-to-1 with low interest debt,” said Varilek.

The government is careful to vet the funding sources it guarantees.

“We have a saying here at the SBA, ‘We fund first time funds, but not first-time fund managers,’” said Varilek. “So our guarantee allows us to ride on the brainpower of these investment firms. For our guarantee, a business team has to be at the right stage and do the qualifying steps.”

Common sense says a business needs a business plan. Qualifying for an SBA loan is a process, but one that is well worth the effort.

The principle players in an SBA guaranteed loan is the small business applicant, the lender and the SBA. The SBA encourages businesses to explore the variety of

SBA loan programs. These are distinguished by their different uses of the loan proceeds, their dollar amounts, the specified uses for the funds, as well as the oversight requirements placed on the actual lenders.

At the moment, Colorado, unlike most other states, has no SBA-verified financial funding partners located within the state. This can be a problem in many parts so the state, where businesses like to know their lenders, and lenders often focus on investment within their state.

“For instance, in Boulder there’s this sense that people work with companies they can ride their bikes to,” said Varilek, who was formerly the District 8 director handling the mountain region. “So this is something that probably needs

to change for Colorado small businesses to receive more SBA guaranteed funding. It’s unusual, and now that it has been identified, we can look

more closely at it.”

For more information about SBA loans, go to www.SBA.gov.

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PAGE 4 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2015 the

HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES

Medical records go digital

BY JAN WONDRA STAFF WRITER

If you’ve been to see a doctor, visited a clinic, or been admitted into an emergency room or hospital in the past couple of years, you may have noticed a major change in how things work. Gone are the thick manila or color-coded files and reams of paper and cardboard charts that represent your entire medical record. Enter the computer screen and handheld tablets.

“Digitized records creates a continuous loop of health care,” said Cirrus MD Product Manager Araron Duke. “The files are instantly accessible to the patient’s doctor, where ever the doctor is.”

The stage was set in 2009, when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act provided the framework for physicians, hospitals and other health care providers to shift to electronic health records systems (or EHRs, often also called electronic medical records or EMRs). Colorado appears to be on the cutting edge of the shift to digitized records, or what the industry sometimes refers to as “digitized health.”

This shift has seen the growth of technology companies offering software programs, scanning programs, all requiring digital storage, many depending upon what is called “cloud” services for storage of EMRs. The primary purpose is to create a more efficient health care management system that, over time, will drive cost out of the health care system. A side benefit of advances in services and tech applications is the creation of learning pathways for consumers, giving them access to better health care information.

Cirrus MD is a new technology health services company based on Brighton Boulevard, in the RiNo District of Denver. Its health care communications platform allows people to contact a doctor via text message, or schedule a video doctor’s appointment, to handle nonemergency health issues.

“Our founder, Dr. Andrew Altorfer, created it after realizing that his own family and friends, in text and phone contact with him, got a more

Cirrus MD, based in the RiNO District, whose mobile communications platform is rolling out in several states across the country, relies on an encrypted EHR process to protect patients information, as well as mobile patient Cherry Creek, has communication.

EHR clients crossimmediate lev- ing hospitals, labs, physician’s ofel of health care,” said Duke. “So we fices, skilled nursing and behavioral created this mobile communications health providers along the Front platform.”

Range. Among their clients are the Its primary client in Colorado is Department of Health Care Policy Rocky Mountain Heath Plans, and & Financing and Rocky Mounits information-sharing platform is QHN, on Colorado’s Western Slope. tain Youth Clinics, which provides The sharing of digital technology is health care to more than 22,000 critical to its operation, which has children in hospitals, clinics, schools rolled out in Colorado, New Eng- and mobile units across the state.

According to Corhio, it has seen land and Texas in the last two years. the highest number of physicians “We perform the patient contact, then the physician writes a resolu- adapting to digital software among tion note which goes in digital for- primary care physicians and offices mat to QHN, which passes it for with five or more doctors, allowing digital storage within a health in- the flow of health information beformation exchange where it goes tween physician practices, hospitals, into the patient’s permanent record, long-term care, labs, radiology cenor EMR,” said Duke. “That way ters and other health care organizathe patient’s regular doctor has all tions.

The number of companies enthe information for follow-up, with whatever our doctors saw the patient tering the digitizing software field about. All of our work is encrypted, is mind-boggling. Just one website, Capterra, which says it sorts through so there is end-to-end security.”

Corhio, a Colorado-based health the top digital health care software information exchange located in resources, listed more than 350 digi-

tal health care software resources.

The reality of digitized care may have unintended consequences. The newest hacking frontier: health records are often closely tied financial records.

Companion to the digitizing of health care records is the growth of computer security focused on the category. This is the reality of cyber space, as criminals are bound to focus on how to turn every piece of our digital life into cash. Security experts say health data is showing up in the black market. This is because health records typically contain a Social Security number and often one’s mother’s maiden name.

This makes the records golden targets for identity theft.

“A data set containing health information alone, diagnosis information or treating physician name and information, can get $40 to $50 per record on the black market,” said Katherine Keefe, who heads a global cyber security response for a firm that insures businesses against data

breaches. “Versus one credit card number [which] can garner between $4 and $5 on the street. So you see kind of the relative weights.”

“I mean, I know it’s the cloud,” said one woman. “But hackers are everywhere now and into everything. I don’t necessarily want my stuff there.”

The caution may be well placed.

From 2013 to 2014, the latest full year data, there was a 72 percent rise in cyber attacks on health care companies, according to the security firm Symantec. By law, companies are required to do a public disclosure of major health data breaches. In the past two years, there have been 270 such disclosures nationwide.

Anthem, whose Colorado office is at 700 Broadway in Denver, revealed last February that it had been attacked, resulting in t h e nationwide theft of up to 80 million people’s records.

It has since tightened its security.

The security answer to the problem is file encryption – coding the digital information in a way hackers or identity thieves can’t get to it. Health care companies are subject to federal HIPPA rules, designed to protect privacy.

But when they take a loose interpretive approach, it tends to circumvent encryption within their own networks, making records more vulnerable.

One of the benefits of digitizing health records is supposed to be that doctors, while treating patients, will have access to all the records, so the doctors can give patients better care.

This digital shift is not without its critics. First and foremost are patient claims that medical staff appears not to be entirely comfortable with digital records.

“The doctor spent more time fiddling with the computer and staring at the screen than he did looking at me or talking with me,” complained one patient recently, after visiting a back specialist. “I mean, how much time would it take to stop and look at me? I’m the patient, not the screen.”

With more time and experience with EHRs, health care staff will surely become more accustomed with the technology and look up occasionally. Patients, for the time being, may need to be a bit “patient”.

Tri-County Health Department works for everyone

BY JOHN M. Healthcare Centers with multiple facilities, and DOUGLAS, JR., M.D. three community mental The Tri-County health service providers.

Health Department TCHD currently has been an improvides a full range of portant part of the traditional public health landscape of public services, as well as a health in Colorado variety of innovative since 1948, and we services to the diverse John M. Douglas, now proudly serve communities we serve.

Jr., M.D. more than 1.4 milThese include more lion people in Adams, Arapahoe than 60 programs, ranging from and Douglas counties, from 11 of- birth certificates, immunizations fices in this 3,000 square mile area. and health care referrals, to restauWith our headquarters in Green- rant inspections, infectious disease wood Village, TCHD’s jurisdic- investigations and supplemental tion includes 26 municipalities nutritional services for women, inand three unincorporated counties, fants and children.

15 school districts with more than Our vision is optimal health 360 public schools, 12 acute care across the lifespan for the populahospitals, three Federally Qualified tions we serve, and our mission is

to promote, protect and improve the lifelong health of individuals and communities in Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties through the effective use of data, evidencebased prevention strategies, leadership, advocacy and partnerships.

While public health services have traditionally been directed toward vulnerable populations experiencing health disparities, our work at TCHD is increasingly population based—that is, it focuses on improving the health of the entire community. TCHD aims to help make the healthy choice the easy choice for everyone in the community.

As a result of many remarkable public health programs, Americans are enjoying longer, healthier and more active lives than was conceiv-

able only a few decades ago. But we still have much work to do with many new challenges. We face growing problems such as obesity; mental health and violence; widening income inequality and persistence of poverty; as well as environmental challenges, especially climate change. Yet the news is also full of exciting possibilities: healthy aging; more people with access to essential health services through the Affordable Care Act; new information technology that can help us better measure community health; and communication opportunities that the Internet and new forms of social media are providing.

At TCHD, our public health efforts target preventable conditions that yield the greatest health benefits. Improving our biggest

population health problems means addressing issues that affect the community broadly and contribute the most to health care costs and premature deaths: obesity; chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer; tobacco use and substance abuse; and mental health issues, including depression and suicide. Public health has always been collaborative, but in order to address these health problems, strengthening partnerships with our residents, the health care sector, our schools, communitybased organizations, and our businesses is more important than ever.

For more information, visit www. tchd.org.

John M. Douglas, Jr., M.D. is the executive director of Tri-County Health Department.

September 24, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 5 the

HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES

Health care facilities alive and well in south I-25 corridor

Skyridge Medical Center during construction The south I-25 corridor population continues to make quantum leaps in the burgeoning population and related development.

When Sky Ridge Medical Center, a HealthONE facility, opened its doors in 2003, the hospital was surrounded mostly by ranch fields and undeveloped property. Sky Ridge had constructed a major health facility with future growth in mind, as only a portion of the hospital was initially utilized within the overbuilt shell.

While health care prognosticators predicted significant future growth, they could never have anticipated the population surge and the resulting increased demand for healthcare in this corridor.

“It’s really a result of this community exploding,” said Susan Hicks, president and CEO of Sky Ridge Medical Center. “I think what it has done around us, is a lot of other offices and other medical facilities have sprung up.

“Some of the biggest challenges are keeping up with the growth and just making sure we are offering the services that the community needs,” said Hicks who has worked for the health care corporation for 30 years and still retains a current nursing license, going back to her roots as an operating room nurse. “We usually put in about a 3 to 4 percent growth factor, which is what we anticipate, however, we’ve been growing at a much faster pace than that over the last few years.”

The growth of the area will continue as the RidgeGate community will be expanding east of I-25, with additional residential and related development expected.

This thriving health care campus will be opening a third, fivestory medical office building in February, which will provide an additional 125,000 sq. ft. of space.

Sky Ridge will also be opening a pediatric emergency department in February. The new department will provide imagining designed especially for pediatric patients.

Just last year, Sky Ridge completed a $117 million expansion.

The facility expanded its birthing center to two floors, added labor and delivery rooms, neonatal intensive care units, four additional operating rooms and 90 more beds, bringing the total count to 286 beds.

The entrance for Sky Ridge’s Women’s Hospital

Susan Hicks Kaiser Permanente east view

Sky Ridge continues to be one of the largest employers in the community employing 1,200.

Currently, there are 300 core doctors serving the medical facility, as 1,600 total doctors are credentialed with privileges.

provide access to specialty-care services to around 150,000 customers living in the south I-25 corridor, comprising 25 percent of Kaiser’s statewide base.

“Our average number of scheduled appointments in 2015 is now just over 750 a day. From a total year to date this year, we’ve served approximately 130,000 members with scheduled appointments,” said Greg Mills, south area administrator for medical specialties. “We’ve seen that number nearly double in ap-

Kaiser doubles appointments in a year

Nearly two years ago, Kaiser Permanente opened a multispecialty facility two blocks west of the Lincoln Avenue Light Rail Station. The goal of this relatively new Lone Tree facility was to A

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proximately just over a year and a half.”

Kaiser’s goal is to expand all sub-specialty care services to their customer base. In the last month, the medical center added neurology and rheumatology departments. A full service cardiology department is on board for later this year. A new urology department and related surgical services will be added this winter.

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feet that are shelled within the building, the building will support us to grow through about 2020,” said Mills. “However, the site plan itself is about 20 acres and can allow us to allow additional buildings and parking structures in the future based on growth.

Currently there are 45 physicians at the Lone Tree office.

Kaiser utilizes Sky Ridge Medical Center as its primary hospital, which is a mile and a half away.

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PAGE 6 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2015 the

Life sciences and health care

BY MIKE FITZGERALD The Denver south region is home to a growing cluster of innovative health care and life sciences companies that are changing the industry, with support from leading research institutions, scientific talent and unique assets. The region’s aggregation of scientific and entrepreneurial talent, life science-focused professional services, and investment capital supports thriving health care and life sciences companies.

With nearly 17,370 health care and life sciences workers with average annual salaries ranging between $58,490 and $93,350 and approximately 1,650 companies across the Denver south region, the health care and life sciences cluster offers numerous opportunities in both academic and clinical discovery and is one of the fastest growing industry clusters in the region. In fact, employment growth in the region’s health care and life sciences cluster averaged 10.9 percent per year over the past five years, compared with a 3.2 percent and a 1.4 percent

increase in the nine-county Metro Denver and Northern Colorado region and nationwide, respectively.

Health care and life science companies in Denver South include Sky Ridge Medical Center, Rocky Vista University, AlloSource, Cochlear, Kaiser Permanente, Children’s Hospital Colorado’s South Campus and many others.

The Denver south region also hosts an exciting and emerging digital health community. Founded in July 2012 by the Denver South Economic Development Partnership and

Innovation Pavilion, Prime Health is a growing statewide community of 1,200+ health care executives, physicians, technologists, academics, entrepreneurs, and investors dedicated to improving health and lowering healthcare costs through the commercialization of digital health technologies. Prime Health is a resource ecosystem for digital health—the convergence of the digital and genetics revolutions with bioscience, health care and wellness, and information technology-software.

The Digital Health Challenge was created by Prime Health in 2014 to galvanize the burgeoning digital health ecosystem and accelerate digital health technology commercialization – including mobile apps, wearable tech, data analytics and telehealth technologies, among others – oriented toward achieving the “Triple Aim” of improved patient experience, improved population health and lower costs.

The three-month program, powered by The Colorado Health Foundation, is a process of mentoring and refining plans and pitches for

digital health companies seeking to pilot their products. The program concludes with a “shark-tank” style event, where finalists companies pitch their products live in front of a panel of health care executives, and an audience of hundreds, to win a portion of $150,000 and the opportunity to pilot their product.

More than 50 health care executives participated as judges and mentors to 21 companies in this year’s program. Eight finalists companies will be named to proceed to the Challenge finale taking place Sept. 30 at the Denver Art Museum. The Digital Health Challenge is a free, premiere event of Denver Startup Week and open to the public. Seats can be reserved through Prime Health Meetup website at www.prime healthco.com.

The health care and life sciences companies located in Denver South’s premier office parks serve regional, national and international clients. Denver South EDP is proud to represent many of these firms and promote business friendly public policy on their behalf. The digital

Elected capital – adding to the bottom line

BY DOUG TISDALE Sophisticated investors and corporate executives appreciate the importance of human capital to economic development. The quality of an organization’s leadership and workforce – its human capital – has a demonstrated positive impact on income growth. Economists have noted that an additional role for human capital is that it serves as an engine for attracting other factors, such as physical capital, which contributes measurably to per capita income growth.

What has not been academically studied is the impact of what I choose to call “elected capital” and its impact on economic development. I suggest to you that elected capital is a significant driver of economic development.

We’re all familiar with the term political capital. But that’s the inverse of elected capital. Political capital refers to the trust, goodwill, and influence a politician has with the public and other political figures.

Political capital adds to the politician’s bottom line.

Elected capital, as I use the term, refers to the value that a company, a city, a region derive from the quality, talent and effectiveness of its elected

officials. The question is, do your elected officials add value to your bottom line, creating elected capital?

This proposal for a new factor in assessing potential for economic development presents some challenges.

People might attach nefarious meanings to the concept. This is perhaps best illustrated by the memorable exchange between Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in George Roy Hill’s famous 1969 film, when Butch asks, “Who’s the best lawman?”

Given their chosen occupations, the Sundance Kid understandably seeks clarification: “The best, how? You mean toughest? Or easiest to bribe?”

Similarly, some cynics might view elected capital the way Don Vito Corleone dealt with it in The Godfather, whose balance sheet included significant accounts receivable in the form of favors to be performed in the future. Others, however, will view it the way Frank Capra depicted it in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In short, elected capital can be viewed differently by different people at different times.

On balance, I’m suggesting that prospects for positive economic development can be predicted, at least in part, by measuring the value, the benefit, that an economic unit

(whether a company, a nonprofit, or the populace as a whole) enjoys – or endures – as a result of the quality of its elected leaders.

Just as it has been a challenge for economists to measure the impact of human capital on economic development, it is difficult to craft a metric for this new concept I call Elected Capital. Like goodwill and human capital, elected capital is an intangible asset.

But I submit that it is an asset.

If you agree, you might be interested in what your elected capital account looks like here in south metro Denver, along the I-25 Corridor and beyond. I think your elected capital is very high. Let’s look at a few facts.

The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs has the job of interacting with local, county, tribal and state offices around the country.

The White House has commented that the Denver Region is the most collaborative region in the country.

We serve as a model for the rest of the nation. The Denver Regional Council of Governments and the Metro Mayors Caucus are viewed as remarkable examples of regional inter-governmental cooperation. When the Republican National Committee sent its 2016 RNC Convention site selection committee to Denver last year, every one of the delegates told me personally that they had never seen a region work together so well, pulling and speaking as one.

The south metro Denver region is particularly skilled at collaboration.

For example, Greenwood Village Mayor Ron Rakowsky and I formed the South Metro Mayors Monthly Munch while I was mayor of Cherry Hills Village. This provided a monthly opportunity for Centennial, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, Greenwood Village, Littleton and Sheridan mayors to meet to share ideas, best practices, news – and, yes, complaints – about our cities, our citizens and our councilors. (I’d tell

health industry will continue growing in our region and expanding investment, high paying jobs, increasing office space and creating more entrepreneurial companies as Colorado moves from sixth in the United States towards the goal of becoming the top digital health cluster in the United States. TheCorridor.biz is sure to showcase more of these innovative companies as it continues to enhance The Villager’s business coverage of the Denver south region.

Mike Fitzgerald joined the Denver South Economic Development Partnership as president and CEO on July 1, 2010. He has led similar public/private organizations in Montana, Washington, Florida and Hawaii. Throughout his economic development career, Fitzgerald has worked with several governors, created economic development strategies for states, communities and companies. He set up and directed trade and investment offices in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America, Canada and Mexico.

Fitzgerald has built teams and coalitions that have created thousands of jobs, hundreds of businesses and billions of dollars of new investment. you more, but “what happens at the Mayors Munch, stays at the Mayors Munch.”)

That regional collaboration yields results. Things get done. Projects get approved, in a timely manner. Deals happen. Positive responsible growth occurs.

We’re not perfect. There are still disappointments and problems.

There are still disagreements to be resolved (urban renewal authorities come to mind). But we are better at dealing with these disappointments and disagreements than any other region in the country. We have a construct for dealing with these, and a documented history of dealing with them. With rare exceptions, we have an attitude and an approach that is conducive to economic development and expansion in the south metro Denver region. Like your South Metro Denver Chamber, your elected officials have a commitment to help your business PROSPER! That commitment adds to your elected capital account. And that adds to your bottom line.

Doug Tisdale is the Executive Vice President for Economic Development at the South Metro Denver Chamber. He is a former Mayor of Cherry Hills Village, Secretary of DRCOG and Executive Committee Member of the Metro Mayors Caucus.

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September 24, 2015 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 7 the

Bringing promise to America’s patients

By Diana DeGette U.S. House of Representatives, Dist. 1 When you look at Congress recently, it is easy to be discouraged by the harsh rhetoric and politics that dominates the news. For years, it has seemed impossible to make progress on even the most fundamental issues of the day.

That is why I am particularly proud of a recent bill I authored that cut through the partisan dysfunction and earned broad support from members of both parties. Along with my bipartisan partner, Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, a Republican from Michigan, I wrote the 21st Century Cures Act to support medical research and modernize America’s system for developing, approving, and delivering new treatments and cures for patients.

Before we put pen to paper, we began by reaching out to

experts and asking them what needed improvement. We spoke with virtually everyone who had an interest: patients, researchers, health and safety experts, people with decades of experience in public health, venture capitalists, and government officials, and we asked them how we could improve medical research and deliver better results for the 30 million Americans who live with more than 7,000 rare diseases.

To hear this wide variety of perspectives, all bringing their own expertise, we hosted dozens of roundtables across the country, including one in Denver that examined personalized medicine in great detail. At every one of those roundtables, we heard great ideas and a common refrain: if Congress could make some of these changes, patients could have renewed hope for a life-changing

treatment or cure.

Chairman Upton and I then went to work refining those ideas into a bill. The 21st Century Cures Act invests in new research efforts by providing nearly $9 billion in new funding for the National Institutes of Health and the groundbreaking research performed by its scientists.

The bill also makes comprehensive

updates to the regulations and policies that deal with the development of new treatments, drugs, and medical devices. Our goal was to take advantage of new developments in medicine such as the mapping of the human genome while maintaining our high standards for quality.

This July, the 21st Century Cures Act passed the House 344-77. Such a strong vote in support of our efforts showed that Congress can come together and make progress on important issues if we commit to focusing on substance and working together. This effort was bipartisan from the beginning, and we prioritized our shared commitment to improving medicine on behalf of patients. That made a tremendous difference in our success so far.

Before 21st Century Cures makes it to the president’s desk, the Senate will have to act. Chairman Upton

Doctors Care: Bridging the gap between access and health care

BY GARY VANDERARK, M.D. In 1987, Denver Health and Hospital began to exclude suburban, medically-uninsured patients from their facilities. This decision eliminated a major source of affordable medical care for the approximately 20,000 uninsured residents of Arapahoe, Douglas and Elbert counties. In response to this decision, we gathered the physicians of the Arapahoe Medical Society together with Porter Memorial Hospital and Swedish Medical Center to create Doctors Care.

Through a network of volunteer physicians and partner hospitals, Doctors Care began providing care on a sliding scale, targeting the working poor whose earnings were above the criteria to qualify for Medicaid, but below the level necessary to pay for health care or private health insurance. Over the years we have grown to more than 950 physicians and six hospitals in south metro Denver: Swedish Medical Center, Porter Adventist Hospital, Littleton Adventist Hospital, Sky Ridge Medical Center, Parker Adventist Hospital and Castle Rock Adventist Health Campus.

Doctors Care has always been a community response to a community need. Our mantra has been, “If everyone does a little bit, no one will have to do too much.”

After the successful establishment of this network, Doctors Care opened a clinic to treat medically-underserved children and young adults. In the 27 years since its founding, Doctors Care has served more than 25,000 lowincome residents of south metro Denver and provided more than $100 million in medical services to individuals who likely had nowhere else to turn for medical help.

With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the health care landscape has changed dramatically. Connect for Health Colorado, our health care exchange program, and the expansion of Medicaid have significantly reduced the number of uninsured in our community.

While this is an important step in improving health access for

the medically underserved, many of the newly insured still face significant socioeconomic barriers to health, including access to

Dawn The

of

affordable care. The social and economic circumstances that contribute to poor health, unhealthy lifestyles, and a limited ability to comply with complicated medical treatment plans remain. Moreover, this population faces a complex health care system, which can be difficult to enter and navigate. The newly insured require support, guidance, and education to access a model of health care that emphasizes preventive, primary care.

For these reasons, the Affordable Care Act and the expansion of Medicaid have not made Doctors Care’s efforts to improve access for the medically under-

served less necessary. It has transformed the health care landscape and redefined the nature of the problem, but not eliminated the need for our services. To meet the needs of our community, Doctors Care has always been willing to be flexible. So, to adapt to changes brought forth by the ACA, Doctors Care now offers new program like Connection to Coverage and Health Navigation, where staff and volunteers offer assistance with attaining coverage, along with support on how to utilize that coverage and/ or address any medical or nonmedical barriers that may exist for the newly insured. These new

With the “dawn” of theCorridor.biz section, The Villager is taking this opportunity to look back at the early development and history of the I-25 Corridor. The Villager has been covering the area for more than 30 years. To contribute photos or stories of the early years of The Corridor, please send to Becky at info@thecorridor.biz.

from the early files of The Villager With the “dawn” of thecorridor.biz section, The Villager is taking this opportunity to look back at the early development and history of the “I-25

and I look forward to continuing our partnership and will work with leaders in the Senate to ensure we bring new treatments and cures for the millions of American families in need. But we can’t do it alone. For these ideas to become law, patients and their families need to continue to make clear how important it is for us to make improvements that deliver more treatments and cures to those who need them.

If you would like to know more about the 21st Century Cures Act, I encourage you to visit http://degette. house.gov/21stCenturyCures, where you can access all of my work on this effort. If you agree that these improvements can help change patients’ lives for the better, I hope you will join me in calling for the Senate to act and support the medical treatments and cures that will make the difference for patients.

services are free and available to any individual in need.

The Doctors Care model is built on a commitment to providing long-term solutions to health care access, which begin with coverage, extend to care, and ultimately succeed with the overall health and well being of those we serve in the south metro Denver community. If you would like to learn more about Doctors Care, visit www.DoctorsCare.org or contact Barb Hanson, director of development and marketing, at 720-458-6173.

Gary VanderArk, M.D. founded Doctors Care in 1988 and successfully signed up all 129 physicians of the Arapahoe Medical Society. By opening its door on Valentine’s Day, Doctors Care opened its heart to the uninsured desperate for medical care.

survey indicatd that the homeowners were “leaning toward Greenwood Village.” Forty to fify residents attended the meeting.

Bansbach rezone makes ballot The Denver City Council voted Monday night to put the rezoning of the Bansbach property on the Nov. 6 ballot. The 165-acre tract, now called DTC West, sprawls east of Cherry Hills Village and just north of Greenwood Village. It is in the Denver city limits and is now part of the Denver Tech Center.

The council will ask voters to ratify the rezoning two years ago to allow Miller, Klutznick, Davis and Gray to develop a 5-million square-foot officehotel-residential complex on the site.

Miller, Klutznick, Davis and Gray has asked that a legal cloud hanging over the rezoning be removed by submit-

ted the issue to voters. Peter Neukirch of the development company believes the $7 million a year tax revenes projected for Denver will sway the voters to approve the issue.

Furthermore, he has said the voters will surely approve the lengthy process the company went through with the neighbors arbitrating controversial issues.

Another wall budgeted for Greenwood Another Greenwood Village neighborhood has asked the city for a sound-attenuating wall.

Monday night during the city’s public hearing on the proposed 1985 budget, Bob Wherry, president of the Timberline-Orchard Homeowners’ Association, proposed that the city budget $50,000 to pay for half the expenses for a wall on South Dayton Street.

According to Wherry, his neighbrood, which lies east of Dayton between Orchard and Belleview, has nine homes directly on the busy street, four below the grade level of the road. Recently, he said, a car jumped the curb and ran into the entry way of one of the homes.

Because of noise problems and danger from traffic, Wherry said a “Partition of substantial strength” was needed.

the past two years, but worked with the consultants 31 Years Ago Corridor”. Look for theover next issue of thecorridor.biz in the September 24, 2015 issue of The Villager.

September 27, has seriously ofOsterwald forat info@thecorridor.biz. almost a year in preparIf you have any1984 photos or stories concerning the earlyconsidered years of “The Corridor”, please send them to Becky late, surfaced again at the ing the study, but found that MDC’s Richmond Homes planning commission Sept. planning and zoning members proposed PUD in 50 acres in 10 meeting. were “disappointed” with the Cherry Hills The Belleview and Univer- results.

Proponents of a Planned Unit Development ordinance in sity lot which was previously Sundance leans toward GV Cherry Hills Village got a re- owned by the Alpert CorpoWhether or not the Sundance ration, has had development prieve last week as the planHomeowners Association will ning commission agreed to problems in the past, preimar- pursue a move to annex to consider a PUD proposed to ily because of the eight-acre Greenwood Village may be dedevelop the 44.9 acre lot on flood plain created by Little cided Oct. 18, according to Carthe northwest corner of East Dry Creek in the northwest ol Johnson, association presiBelleview Ave. and South Uni- corner of the lot. In 1974, city dent. council passed a regulation versity Blvd.

Sundance, which The PUD ordinance, which making it illegal to build in a lies north of Orhas been voted down by the floodplain. chard Road along city council several times Greenwood Village’s traffic Dayton St., is one study ‘disappointing’ of the dozon or so A $64,000 traffic area assiciations study commissioned that has expressed

by Greenwood Village interest in becomto be a master traffic ing a part of the plan for the city has city. serious shortcomings, Sept. 18, the 325according to members home associaof the city’s planning tion took a survey and zoning commis- vote measuring sion. its residents’ deThe commission met sire to remain in with the city’s traf- u n i n c o r p o ra te d fic and transporta- Arapahoe County, Do a good turn daily is the Boy Scout’s line, but a group of Scouts from Den 7, Pack 457, took a leaf out of their older tion committee Sept. annex to the City Cub Grand Opening brothers’ book this past Saturday. Five new trees have been 18 to review the plan of Aurora or to the planted thanks to the efforts of the scouts and four members Celebration — Brittni’s There is a new smiling face to greet visitors at prepared by URS En- City of Greenwood of the Greenwood Village Parks and Recreation Department.

It took team work to dig out the roots of the previous trees Buster Brown, Tamarac Cherry Hills City Hall. Priscilla Wright is the new Accord- which had been destroyed by vandals. Pictured left to right deputy city clerk filling the vacancy left by the re- gineers, Inc. and Dave Village.

Square.

Consultants, Inc. The ing to Johnson, the are: Tracy Tate, Sean Larkin, Chris Collier, Guy and Brendan tirement of Jane Larsen.

McGuire. traffic committee had

PAGE 8 | THE VILLAGER • September 24, 2015 the

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A complete list of The Villager’s 2015 awards: Best Business Feature Story: Peter Jones“Sam Hill’s Barbershop: The buzz of Englewood since 1909”(1st place)

AT 2014 CPA CONVENTION

Best Series: Tom Barry“Missing teen found in San Diego”(1st place) Best Feature Story: Peter Jones“Arapahoe’s historical touchstones”(1st place) Best Photo Essay: Tom McTighe, Glory Weisberg “Denver Debutante Ball”(1st place)

We make the ACT & SAT so ea sy even not. a ... OK, maybehelp your R • PAGE 9

THE VILLAGE December 26, 2013 • th marks its 10 year under Sam Hill’s Barber Shop s. The business began that name in the mid-1940 and Bath House.

Society as the OK Barber Shop

Photo courtesy of Englewood

• home fashion • philanthropy

om 303-229-2006 | beth@fullpassage.c wood Village, CO 80111 6021 S. Syracuse Way, Suite 109, Green

Historical Preservation

• health • lifestyle

since 1909 The buzz of Englewood

st exists in the 21 century. like I can usually do a company?

“There’s guys in here who one – who hour at least.

The off-color history is just man – and we do mean man This is where a in 15 to 20 minutes,” is a to grab a Playboy. the oldest man’s hair “I don’t reasons that Sam Hill’s happens to wander into 10 in said 49-year-old Lozano. a wom- of the Continued on page continuously operating business le cutting male sanctuary that barely of comfortab kind feel it for 25 the city of Englewood. . an’s hair. I haven’t done barbershop a in out “Hang years.”

I hear anything and everything Like Floyd’s iconic barbershop fourth and Show, Sam here,” said Lozano, the 104- on The Andy Griffith Hill’s Sam as in

By Peter Jones hall owner Oller latest Hill’s is as much a social When businessman Mike ent. Anyfor a trim, year history. who’s who of bar- a haircutting establishm gets his turn in the chair chaos that The shop’s customthe one who recalls the it doesn’t take long for the ber-chair experts has included in Mayberry when Floyd er and his barber to cut loose. the city’s mayors, area business lead- ensued pretty manicurist will get a of “What did you think media figures, rang- hired barber ers and local Floor- the idea.

Michael Fox’s the Broncos game last night?”

The from ing This boy’s club may raise television’s Blinky Rick Lozano asks. s, but had wax to Denver hair of political correctnes “You know, we haven’t charm, accordrejoins the Clown. was 99 that is part of its a defense all year,” Oller customers “I had a customer who away. ing to some longtime with a sigh. years old, who just passed since at a shop where little has changed Lozano pitiful,” “That was coming in here was in the hair He’d been since Franklin Roosevelt agrees, as he cuts back The tubs the ‘40s,” Lozano said. find the White House. [Note: around Oller’s ears.

The customers you won’t bathhouse g from Sam’s days as a are women.

The blame for the plummetin defense waxing nostalgic not cut a wom- were removed at least a decade becan be placed squarely on Sam Hill’s has Rio, says – not since for- fore that.] coordinator Jack Del old setting,” Oller Sam an’s hair in decades the in like “I wisdom al suffered the convention mer owner Dick Konecne like this are as rare as Konecne fastidious female said. “Places Hill’s Barber Shop. left, greets owner Dick this a particularly Colorado Gov. John Love, the nearest ra- hen’s teeth.”

For more than a century, in the mid-1960s. The Pasqua has been customer, grabbed Seventy-year-old Alan Sam Hill’s Barber Shop owners the word South Broadway hangout at Sam’s outside since 1909, though its sex, zor blade and scraped window. has been getting his cuts has been in operation a sort of town hall for sports, Hill’s Barber Shop owners – business “women” from the shop Photo courtesy of Sam in my – under three of its four be counted on one hand. business, politics and everything “If a woman sat down 1950s when $1.50 can late the an to since hour a half in between. first flatare any chair, count on could get a teenager his The unofficial “experts” top. to get “It’s still the best place Suyour haircut,” he said. “Those Clips per Cuts and Super Great know and those places – they don’t how to cut hair.”

Sam Hill’s Barber Shop taking its cut for a century

Business gels

knowlTo the best of anyone’s at edge, this unassuming business on turned 3456 S. Broadway first Barber its pole in 1909 as the OK As rumor Shop and Bath House.

BurJohn named has it, someone the filthy gess set up shop to clean d, residents of bar-filled Englewoo then-dry a trolley ride south of Denver. in Sam Hill bought the place the the mid-1930s and changed the on name, which is still painted s later. front glass, two ownership easy“He was a nice guy, really going,” Pasqua said of Hill. on the At one point, Hill served Englewood City Council. into “He was pretty heavily the city, what was happening in good so this was probably a pretty days,” meeting place back in those could Lozano said. “If these walls uld they say?”

Although, we can high school student . achieve their college goals

Hill’s Barber hair of Mike Oller at Sam Rick Lozano cuts the business in ldest continuously operating

Best Website – Weekly Content: Tom McTighe, Elizabeth Denton Hale, Patrick Sweeney, Hector Soria (1st place) Best Editorial Special Section: Peter Jones, Elizabeth Denton Hale, Tom McTighe, Tom Barry “2013 Election Guide” (2nd place) Best Deadline News Reporting: Tom Barry“Shooting at Arapahoe High School”(2nd place) Best News Story: Peter Jones“6th District Showdown” (2nd place)

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