Dear colleague:

On Friday, March 17, Colorado lawmakers are scheduled to hold a hearing on legislation that would limit hospitals and clinics from charging for personnel and services they provide to patients. The bill, HB23-1215, undermines the existing billing structure for medical services and gives government officials the power to decide where our patients get medical care. The bill would allow extraordinary interference with patient care and it will have the opposite effect of the lawmakers’ stated goal of reducing costs. Instead, the bill will force clinic closures and squeeze out patients, especially those who depend on Medicaid. Restricting patient access will certainly harm them. We are asking lawmakers not to pass this bill due to the harm it will cause our patients and community. 

State lawmakers are also targeting how hospitals make community-benefit contributions. Instead of allowing hospitals to support education and research, lawmakers are considering a bill that would give power to state officials to control the contributions that hospitals make. The bill, HB23-1243, would divert tens of millions of dollars away from the School of Medicine without offering a replacement source of funding. In recent years, our campus clinical partners have provided funding to support research at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, to create the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine, to open a medical school branch in Colorado Springs, to recruit world-renowned talent to lead departments at our school, among many other important initiatives. This bill is breathtaking in how severe its impact would be on our school. We have asked lawmakers to meet with us so that we can explain how important our partnerships have been in creating one of the leading medical centers in the country. This bill would gut key programs that are critical to the health of our patients and communities. 

Dawn Magnusson, PT, PhD, assistant professor of physical therapy, was quoted in a USA Today article last week that reports on the gaps in physical and speech therapy for Black and Latino children, including longer delays in finding therapists and less access to the most helpful therapies. Dawn has conducted research on racial disparities in early intervention for children with developmental delays. The article describes a communication guide, piloted in four pediatric clinics in metro Denver, that Dawn helped create to improve the way physicians and other providers talk with caregivers about developmental delays. In the article, Dawn says, “Trust and understanding isn’t inherent in these relationships, and we need to build that and develop it with families.” 

Swati Patel, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of the UCHealth Hereditary Cancer Clinic,  was an invited guest at the White House Cancer Moonshot colorectal cancer forum on Friday, March 10. Swati, who is also a staff physician at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center and member of the CU Cancer Center, conducts research supported by the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the American Cancer Society. 

Jennifer Christie, MD, has been named head of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the Department of Medicine, effective September 16. Jennifer will be joining our School of Medicine from Emory University School of Medicine, where she is professor of medicine and executive associate division director in the Division of Digestive Diseases. She also holds multiple administrative roles, including clinical director of gastroenterology at The Emory Clinic, director of ambulatory surgical centers for GI endoscoy, and director of gastrointestinal motility for Emory Healthcare. She also will begin a term as president of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in May. 

Mark Earnest, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and head of the Division of General Internal Medicine, is author of a Perspective essay, “When Cancer Cured Pain,” published last week by The New England Journal of Medicine. In the essay, Mark describes caring for a patient suffering from pain and fatigue, but no specific diagnosis. Eventually, she receives treatment for breast cancer, and facing that disease gives her life purpose and strengthens her social connections. Then, after there was no evidence of disease, she drifts away again from those meaningful activities and relationships. Mark’s essay is a lesson in how our work is caring for body and soul, and that it is sometimes an assignment with unknowable answers despite our best efforts. 

This Friday, March 17, is Match Day. Events will be held in the Benson Atrium of the Anschutz Health Sciences Building beginning at 9:30 a.m., with students opening their envelopes with their matches at 10 a.m. A program with speakers will begin at 10:30 a.m. Members of the Class of 2023, Brissa Mundo-Santacruz, Josue Estrella, and Nikolai Harroun, were featured in our School of Medicine newsroom last week in the lead-up to events. Complete coverage will be on the Match Day Celebration webpage. 

The School of Medicine Dean’s Office is sponsoring a free bagel and coffee for all School of Medicine faculty physicians and scientists in recognition of National Doctors’ Day (March 30) and National Scientists’ Day (March 14). Beginning March 20, faculty physicians and scientists may go to the Woodgrain Bagel on the Anschutz Medical Campus for a bagel and a medium coffee, or other store offerings up to a $5.50 value. One offer per person, redeemable at the register. Faculty must show their School of Medicine faculty ID badge. The offer ends March 31, or when 2,000 faculty redeem the offer, whichever comes first. 

The CU Medical Alumni Association is hosting its annual cultural event, A Night at the Opera, featuring a reception and performance of “Turandot” by Opera Colorado at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Complex, on Tuesday, May 9. Alumni, housestaff, and students can register for tickets until Friday, April 7. Ticket includes a private reception prior to the show with hors d’oeuvres and desserts.

Have a good week,

John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine