Clinically Speaking

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to bring you the latest Clinically Speaking Newsletter, this one spotlighting a new community-focused initiative in the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

In this issue, we feature the new Wellness, Opportunity, Resiliency Through Health (WORTH) program, which aims to help people transition out of jail and empower them to better manage their health care needs after release and while they are still incarcerated.

As Jessie Henderson, WORTH’s peer support specialist, explains, “We attempt to support and assist them, connecting with people while they’re inside and continuing that connection when they’re out. We want to empower them to connect to their health care, which also involves connecting them to housing and other resources and being a support system for them regarding the anxiety and other issues that have to do with incarceration.”

A collaborative effort between the CU School of Medicine and Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the WORTH program facilitates access to community-based medical care and social support for individuals detained in or recently released from a county jail. Led by a staff of four — Henderson, heath navigator Angel Soto, medical director Josh Barocas, MD, and program director Megan Robins — WORTH looks to address a number of medical challenges inherent in the county jail model, including a lack of specialists, often a lack of onsite medical care in the facilities, and a care system that is completely separate from the community.

We hope you enjoy reading about your colleagues, and we look forward to hearing how your department is improving clinical care.

Anne Fuhlbrigge, MD, MS
Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs