Guest Op-Ed | The Daily Sentinel
August 4, 2024 – Communities across the country will recognize National Health Center Week, August 4–10. Throughout the United States, health centers provide integrated preventive and primary care services to nearly 32 million people. MarillacHealth is one of 20 Health Centers serving 1 in every 7 Coloradans. Many are familiar with Marillac’s 36-year-old mission of providing affordable, high-quality healthcare to persons who experience barriers to care. A barrier might be as basic as lack of health insurance. Or difficulty finding a healthcare provider that accepts Medicaid or Medicare. But barriers also include lack of transportation, language or cultural concerns, fears about cost. Marillac removes these barriers.
Created and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and St. Mary’s Hospital, from 1988-2014 Marillac operated as a safety-net clinic. Marillac was born out of the economic perils of Western Colorado’s energy-sector collapse in the mid-1980s which suddenly left thousands of locals unemployed, without health insurance or access to healthcare. Since that tumultuous era, Marillac has continued to respond to community members who lack healthcare–including the unhoused, migrant farmworkers, the undocumented, and lower income families who are uninsured or underinsured. For those who have fallen on tough times or are simply living from paycheck to paycheck, Marillac’s doors are always open.
When Marillac self-incorporated and gained the status of a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in 2015, our sustainability improved and our patient population more than doubled. In early 2024, an expansion in Montrose County added The PIC Place, which enabled Marillac to further extend its mission of care across several rural counties to the south. Like all thriving corporations and organizations, Marillac depends on the guidance and governance of a mission-focused Board of Directors, ongoing market analysis, a fidelity to strategic planning, and a talented and happy workforce.
By combining medical, dental, behavioral health and discounted medications under one roof (our integrated care model), and providing sliding fee discounts to all qualified patients, Marillac is successfully welcoming new patients and inspiring their trust. We accomplish this by providing a positive patient experience and in many cases exceeding patient expectations. Marillac is far from perfect, and yet our deliberate focus on patient-centered care has led to remarkable growth in patients, annual visits, clinic sites and the size of our workforce.
Opening in late 2025, MarillacHealth’s new 27,000 SF health center will expand service to an additional 3,000 new patients, offer a drive-through pharmacy and host a Dental Hygienist training and certification program in partnership with CMU Tech.
MarillacHealth is privileged to serve a compassionate community, where healthcare organizations prioritize collaboration, and citizens passionately advocate for “health care for all.” On July 22, 2024, Marillac broke ground on a centralized health center that is destined to welcome hundreds of thousands of our neighbors in the coming years. Thanks to the magnanimity of charitable foundations, service clubs, businesses and churches that have pledged support, and the generosity of individuals and families who have generously contributed and continue to give, Marillac will open new doors to health (our campaign theme), at 526 29 ½ Road (next to the Mesa County Workforce Center) in late 2025. In partnership with Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Tech, a dynamic dental hygienist training and certification program will be co-located within the center.
More than ever before, it is affirming to have the bi-partisan support of our elected officials: U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, State Senator Janice Rich, State Representatives Rick Taggart and Matt Soper, along with other notable leaders on the Mesa County Board of County Commissioners, Grand Junction City Council and School District 51 Administration and Board of Education. Many have visited, toured, and promoted our clinics and/or helped to secure funding for MarillacHealth. It is my joy and honor to lead Marillac. Please join me in congratulating the entire MarillacHealth board, workforce, vendors, partners, donors, and patients as together we renew our commitment to this vibrant, caring community and celebrate another year of service!
MarillacHealth by the Numbers
Patient Population
12,074 in 2023
13,500 Projected 2024
Service Sites
7 Fixed Sites
Including 2 School-Based Integrated Care Clinics
And 1 Weekly Outreach Clinic for the Unhoused
And an Embedded Hygienist at a private practice pediatric group
Additional Mobile Seasonal Clinics for Migrant Farmworkers
Workforce
125 Employees, 15-20% bilingual
19 Medical Providers
8 Dentists
10 Behavioral Health Providers
9 Registered Dental Hygienists
Seven-County Service Area
80% of patients reside in Mesa County
20% Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel
Current Projects
GJHS Tiger Wellness Center, opening August 2024
New Pharmacy at 6th Street Clinic, opening November 2024
New Health Clinic/Center of Operations, opening Fall 2025
