DENVER — Nestled among the many vendor booths at the National Western Stock Show grounds is a big blue booth — right in the center of the expo hall with a giant banner that reads "Free Health Screenings."
It’s part of the Colorado Area Health Education Center’s (COAHEC) annual health screening offerings at the National Western Stock Show which helps provide care for folks who live in rural and underserved communities.
“Many travel hundreds of miles from areas in which healthcare can be pretty scarce. This provides a great opportunity for our department to give free health care screens, evidence-based health education and important medical resource connections,” said Dr. Josina Romero-O’Connell, director of COAHEC.
The organization’s broader mission is to address health disparities in Colorado.
Every year for two weeks, Dr. Romero-O’Connell leads a team of CU Anschutz faculty, staff, and student volunteers as they offer screenings to over 1,000 men, women, and children at the National Western Stock Show.
According to COAHEC, just nine percent of physicians in Colorado are located in rural areas.
“They lack specialty care. There's a dearth of care for maternal care for women in those areas,” said Dr. Romero-O’Connell.
For many of the folks stopping at the booth, she added, it’s possibly the only chance they’ll get for a basic checkup this year.
“We have patients coming by and saying, 'Well, if it's not you, it's the vet. If I need stitches, I go to my horse's vet.' The stories abound,” she said.
If anything of concern comes up during the screenings, healthcare volunteers then help connect the patient with their nearest primary care doctor back home.
Many of the volunteers are interested in continuing to serve rural patients in the long run.
"It's just so heartwarming, but it also gives me faith that we will be able to deploy more healthcare providers into these underserved areas to help. The communities that need it," said Dr. Romero-O'Connell.
While it’s a great resource for rural families visiting Denver for the stock show, it’s also convenient for families in the metro area.
Denver resident Rene Corral, who stopped by the booth with his toddler, told Denver7 it’s sometimes difficult to take the time off work to make it to a yearly checkup.
“It's just nice to know that some of these things that are preventative care are being brought forth to the community,” he said.
As another year at the National Western Stock Show wraps up in a few days, Dr. Romero-O’Connell said it’s always a gratifying feeling — and one that hits close to home:
"I didn't go to medical school 'til I was 44 because I am from a marginalized / underrepresented community, so to be able to see this and know that I actually work with my colleagues at COAHEC to make this happen, is everything that I wanted to do growing up.”
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