The bill creates the Colorado multidisciplinary health-care
provider access training program (program) to improve the health care of medically complex, costly, compromised, and vulnerable older Coloradans. The university of Colorado Anschutz medical campus shall develop, implement, and administer the program. The program may be offered to Colorado institutions of higher education with clinical health professions graduate degree programs. The program coordinates and expands geriatric training opportunities for clinical health professions graduate students (students) enrolled in participating Colorado institutions of higher education (participating institutions) across Colorado studying to become advanced practice providers; dentists; nurses; occupational therapists; pharmacists; physicians, including medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy; physical therapists; psychologists; social workers; and speech-language therapists. Students who successfully complete the program are awarded certificates and issued letters authorizing those students to become trainers for the program in clinics across the state.
The bill creates the Colorado multidisciplinary health-care
provider access training program advisory committee (committee) to ensure that the training for the program is consistent and collaborative across the fields of study. The committee is required to:
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Appoint a program chair;
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Set the program's standards for training and delivery of multidisciplinary medical care to medically complex, costly, compromised, and vulnerable older Coloradans;
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Establish requirements for the program;
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Identify and invite institutions of higher education that offer appropriate clinical health professions graduate degree programs to become participating institutions;
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Collaborate with participating institutions of higher education across Colorado to enhance recruitment of students to enter a field specific to geriatrics and select students with an interest in geriatric care to participate in the program;
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Assist with updating the program's curricula;
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Analyze data collected by the program;
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Build a multidisciplinary network of trained geriatric clinicians to collaborate and provide opportunities for clinicians to work together to better understand the roles of each health-care discipline in urban, rural, and underserved communities when caring for older Coloradans;
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Improve placement of students in experiential clinical training opportunities, prioritizing rural and underserved communities;
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Coordinate with graduates of the program to become geriatric trainers for future students; and
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Increase the number of clinical training sites across Colorado, specifically in rural and underserved communities.
