Jan 19, 2024

A Message from the Executive Director

As we kick off the new year we have much to celebrate. Thanks to you, our partners and colleagues, we have continued to grow our programmatic

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As we kick off the new year we have much to celebrate. Thanks to you, our partners and colleagues, we have continued to grow our programmatic efforts according to most any measure you could think of: number of offerings, number of learners, and perhaps most importantly, through impact. This, along with a number of meaningful staff additions — a new medical director, Dr. David Saxon, and a new director of operations, Devin Miller — leaves us well positioned for a fruitful 2024.

Last year we reached a new milestone. It has been 10 years since a group of leaders from each of the CU Anschutz Medical Campus’s professional schools and affiliated hospitals decided to initiate planning to develop ECHO Colorado. And it’s been over three years since we added the electronic consultation (eConsults) effort and merged the two into a business unit, the Peer Mentored Care Collaborative. Both of these types of telehealth demonstrated their remarkable value during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided great value to many patients, providers and local communities. They are now interwoven into a continuum of care that continues to improve access, lower costs and improve patient and provider satisfaction. Each year thousands of local providers connect to the world-renowned expertise available through the Anschutz Medical Campus and are thus able to provide best practice care to patients closer to home.

It is our partnership with people like you that makes these efforts possible. Please reach out to let us know your stories and/or how we can improve what we do to improve the health of Colorado.

Thank you again and please don’t hesitate to reach out with suggestions, requests or new opportunities. Have a great 2024.

John F. “Fred” Thomas, PhD
Professor, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Professor, University of Colorado School of Public Health
Executive Director, Peer Mentored Care Collaborative (PMCC)

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Dec 4, 2023

DR. DAVID SAXON JOINS PMCC AS NEW MEDICAL DIRECTOR HELPING OVERSEE IMPLEMENTATION OF TWO INNOVATIVE CARE DELIVERY MODELS

David Saxon MD, assistant professor at University of Colorado School of Medicine and chief of endocrinology at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, has joined

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David Saxon MD, assistant professor at University of Colorado School of Medicine and chief of endocrinology at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, has joined the Peer Mentored Care Collaborative (PMCC) as medical director. In this role, Saxon will help oversee the continued development and implementation of PMCC’s innovative care delivery models — ECHO Colorado and eConsults — in partnership with PMCC’s executive director and director of operations.

Saxon’s vision is to grow PMCC’s regional and national reputation through the enhancement of collaborations between people and institutions doing similar work, and by further developing the unique opportunity to combine ECHOs and eConsults in a way that leads to measurable patient care outcomes.

Saxon is a general endocrinologist with specific clinical and academic interests in diabetes, obesity and lipid disorders. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s in anthropology, Saxon received his MD from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. He did his internship and residency training in internal medicine at the University of Michigan, and completed a fellowship in endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes at the University of Colorado. He also holds a master’s degree in clinical sciences. He has published book chapters and journal articles on a variety of endocrine topics. Outside of work he enjoys going to live music, drinking lots of coffee and hiking and skiing with his wife and three children.

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Nov 1, 2023

PAST THE PANDEMIC ECHO SERIES SERVES MORE THAN 900, BECOMES PART OF CDPHE’S STATEWIDE CO-CARES

The prevalence of burnout and increasing concerns about retention of employees across the landscape of health care and public health workers created a mandate for intervention

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The prevalence of burnout and increasing concerns about retention of employees across the landscape of health care and public health workers created a mandate for intervention starting in July 2020, when the Past the Pandemic ECHO series was launched. A partnership between University of Colorado Department of Psychiatry and ECHO Colorado, Past the Pandemic has delivered its specialized curriculum via live sessions to 17 cohorts and more than 900 participants in Colorado and 26 other states.

Acknowledging the chronic and changing nature of stress faced by health care and public health workers, the series has been improved and adapted to fit the current scope of needs. During the series, experts with decades of experience working with first responders and health care workers present and lead discussions on a variety of topics to build skills to increase capacity and mitigate the impact of stress and burnout. Following completion of Past the Pandemic, participants reported improvements in their sense of connection and ability to manage stress and worries.

Today, Past the Pandemic is part of CDPHE’s statewide CO-CARES initiative (Colorado Alliance for Resilient and Equitable Systems), serving the health care and public health workforce. This collaboration between many partners offers support and evidence-based resources at no cost to to individuals, peer champions and organizations. One example of an additional training is becoming a Certified Peer Specialist. Training employees in this program helps improve the culture of care and wellbeing, as Peer Supporters learn skills needed to notice and respond to their coworkers’ mental health distress and point them to local resources.

The Department of Psychiatry’s partnerships with CDPHE and other CO-CARES programs has been a humbling experience, as they recognize the breadth and depth of what may be needed to improve a system of care and wellbeing.

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Oct 2, 2023

METAECHO 2023 WRAPS UP IN ALBUQUERQUE, ECHO STAFF SHARE TAKEAWAYS

The MetaECHO 2023 Global Conference (September 18-21 in Albuquerque) convened over 900 ECHO leaders, experts, staff, funders, global health policy experts, government officials, academic leaders and

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The MetaECHO 2023 Global Conference (September 18-21 in Albuquerque) convened over 900 ECHO leaders, experts, staff, funders, global health policy experts, government officials, academic leaders and advocates from across the globe to hear world-renowned speakers, share cutting-edge research, network and increase the ECHO movement’s momentum toward sustainable change. Attendees shared valuable insights and accomplishments that the movement can harness for growth, and fostered community by bringing together hundreds of ECHO hubs to hear from experts, discuss best practices and share experiences.

We asked ECHO Colorado staff what was their one big take away from MetaECHO 2023:

My main takeaway from my time at MetaECHO is the incredible flexibility and adaptability of the ECHO model. As a relatively new member of ECHO Colorado, it was amazing to see the diversity of applications for the ECHO model. I learned about ECHO programs that covered topics from trauma care in Ukraine to veterinary education in Missouri to social prescribing in Northern Ireland!
~ Rachel Kollin, Evaluation

One thing that really came back with me from MetaECHO was just getting inspired by the work others are doing. One thing we are going to be working on right away is maintaining greater fidelity to the ECHO model, with greater emphasis on the idea of “All Teach, All Learn” that was emphasized throughout the conference.
~ Kyle Mattinson, Project Coordinator

My biggest take away was the realization about the diversity and unique topics offered by other ECHO hubs. I hadn’t considered using the ECHO model to assist with preceptorships for health science students. Seeing the support and resources provided to both the student and preceptor made me consider possible steps we could take in our own programming, expanding past educating clinicians and health professionals. I was also able to consider new opportunities for us to grow in accessibility for people with disabilities in our programming.
~ BreAnna Teeters, Project Coordinator

As someone who doesn’t work directly in ECHO programming, it was great to learn more about the model, and to see the impact that the model is making around the world. I remember the cancer plenary session when one of the doctors from Nepal mentioned how having a cancer ECHO helped their patients stay in Nepal to receive chemotherapy as opposed to having to be flown to India, which I think is huge!
~ Mayra Loera, Business Services

My one big takeaway from MetaECHO is that ECHO Colorado is really fortunate to have the funding and support that we do. There are ECHO programs being run around the country and world with far less. It is amazing to be a part of a global network doing truly innovative, inspiring and meaningful work that positively impacts millions of people around the world. It makes me proud to work for Project ECHO, specifically ECHO Colorado, and gives me the motivation to think about what more we can do for Colorado, even how we could support other ECHO programs with our amazing resources and capacity.
~Ashley Clark, Project Coordinator

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