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Under the leadership of Jason Cleckler, CEO, Delta County Memorial Hospital (DCMH) is pro-actively dealing with the ever shifting changes in health care. DCMH is working hard to implement its vision of being the driving force to improve the community’s health and well being while maintaining and improving access to high quality health care for the families and residents of Delta County.

Also in 2014, Delta Pediatrics moved into the clinic offices at 311 Palmer St, downtown Delta and simultaneously went through a name change to DCMH Primary Care – Pediatrics. A board certified pediatrician continue to be Dr. Janet Moore.. Colorow Family Medical Clinic in Olathe shifted with an expanding patient base and Board-Certified Family Practice Physician Dr. Jesus Ochoa and Family Nurse Practitioner- Board Certified Susan Brown started in October of 2015. Their family medicine practice started offering office hours at DCMH Primary Care – Delta.

By the fall of 2014, Delta Family Physicians, a well respected 30 year old Delta- based medical clinic, transitioned into DCMH Family Medicine. Another new family doctor, Dr. Gina Martin has enhanced the compliment of board-certified family physicians, with one Family Nurse Practitioner-Certified. Physicians include: Dr. Susan Bright, Dr. Julie Mixter, Dr. Ryan Marlin, Dr. Bruce Mixer, Dr. Mandy Swanson and Birgitt Schmalz, Family Nurse Practitioner-Certified.

Delta County Memorial Hospital opened DCMH Urgent Care right across from the hospital campus in December of 2014. With Connect for Colorado assisting many families to acquire health coverage for the first time, the demand for an Urgent Care Clinic became apparent with steadily increasing patient numbers presenting at the DCMH Emergency Department. The community asked for, and received an after hours and weekend clinic with highly experienced Family Nurse Practitioners-Certified Gina Justus and Mary Rosen to help patients on a walk-in basis.

Early in 2015 Internal Medicine Associates, another medical clinic owned and operated by this community hospital lost two internal medicine physicians. In response a Certified, Advanced Family Nurse Practitioner, Angela J. Morris with 13 years of professional expertise joined the practice. With nursing licenses in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona she has State authority to independently write prescriptions. Board Certified Internal Medicine Physicians are: Jeffrey L. Berkosky, MD; Hugh Comer, MD, and Jarred Freese, MD. In 2015 two new providers were added including Dr. Mark Huun, a board-certified internal medicine physician and Heather Ford, an Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, Board-Certified.

In other recent news, Delta County Memorial Hospital finished 2014 on a positive financial note and ahead of budget.  Once again the value of the DCMH Volunteers, numbering over 80+, contributed some 16,030 hours in 2014 and helped the hospital to maintain a positive bottom line.

The hospital laboratory was just reaccredited following an on-site inspection by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), which is considered the “gold standard” for the industry. CAP also complimented the DCMH lab for the excellence of lab services being provided.

The surgical site infection rate for 2014 was 0.19 per cent, a decrease from 2013’s surgical site infection rate of 0.3 percent. Nationally, surgical site infection rates at other health care facilities are between 2 to 2.5 per cent annually. The overall surgical site infection rate has been at or below 0.50 per cent since 2008 at DCMH.

Long term hospital employees are working together to continuously improve patient satisfaction for both inpatient and outpatient services. The challenges of reimbursement for medical services continues to change, with inpatient volumes diminishing and the demand for out patient services growing – DCMH employees are committed to maintaining and improving access to the highest quality of medical care.

There were many challenges for rural hospitals in 2014 including: the expansion of Medicaid, decreases in reimbursement, and new regulations through health care reform.  Pro-actively listening, responding and planning ahead for an unpredictable and constantly changing health care environment is what Delta County Memorial Hospital and its dedicated hospital CEO and leadership team have committed to. With over 100 years of providing quality care for the families and patients of Delta County, this hospital system is looking forward to thriving into the future.

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