Community Health Services awarded $1.28 million grant

The Department of Health and Human Services awarded Denver Community Health Services, the Federally Qualified Health Center component of Denver Health, a $1.28 million grant to fund the health system’s Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program, making it the first program of its kind in Colorado.

The THCGME program was initiated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to grow the primary care workforce serving rural and underserved communities. It focuses on training primary care providers in community-based outpatient settings that serve patients in areas that often lack access to quality care.  

“We have long known that improving the health of underserved communities starts with providing access to quality care within the community,” Abraham Nussbaum, MD, chief education officer at Denver Health, said. “Denver Health’s expansive network of Federally Qualified Health Centers throughout the Denver community uniquely positions us to provide excellent primary care workforce training in the exact areas that are the most threatened by the ongoing and growing shortage of health care workers. Denver Community Health Services has demonstrated the ability to train the kinds of doctors our community needs and our recognition as a Teaching Health Center provides critical infrastructure to advance that ability.”  

Through an initial grant to support planning and development of the THCGME program, Denver Health welcomed its first class of four family medicine residents serving patients at the Montbello Family Health Center in July 2024. With this new grant funding, Denver Health’s THCGME program will add eight more residents to its program and to the family health centers it serves. 

“Our family health centers throughout Denver provide invaluable exposure to diverse patient populations for our THCGME program residents,” Lara Penny, MD, chair of family medicine at Denver Health, said. “We’re looking forward to expanding the program to help continue to meet the health care needs of underserved communities in Denver.” 

By 2035, HRSA estimates a shortage of more than 35,000 primary care providers. Since the THCGME program was developed in 2010, more than 2,000 primary care physicians and dentists have completed residencies and entered the workforce. Graduates of THCGME programs are proven to be more likely to remain in these community settings, helping improve the overall health of rural and underserved communities.