Upcoming Events

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Change Healthcare Cyberattack
Thank you for your patience! Thousands of hospitals, including ours, have been affected by the Feb. 21, 2024, Change Healthcare Cyberattack. As the crisis continues, we continue to work with our partner organizations to have the smallest impact on Southeast Colorado Hospital District.
What Happened
On Feb. 21, Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, was the victim of a significant cyberattack on the U.S. healthcare system. Change Healthcare is the predominant source of more than 100 critical functions that keep health care systems operating. Among them, Change Healthcare manages the clinical criteria used to authorize a substantial portion of patient care and coverage, processes billions of claims, supports clinical information exchange, and processes drug prescriptions.
Impact to Hospitals, Health Systems, Communities and Patients
This unprecedented attack has already imposed significant consequences on patients, hospitals, health systems and other providers.
● Some patients have struggled to obtain prescriptions or have faced delays in scheduling care or receiving and paying bills.
● Hospitals, health systems and other providers are experiencing extraordinary reductions in cash flow, threatening their ability to make payroll and to acquire the medical supplies needed to provide care.
● Providers may be unable to verify patients’ health insurance coverage, process claims and receive payment from many payers, exchange clinical records with other providers, provide cost estimates and bill patients, and, in some instances, access the clinical guidelines to support prior authorization.
What We’re Doing
● We are working with our vendors to secure reliable workarounds to help claims processing and payment to take the place of manual claims entry which is very time consuming and costly.
● We have asked for support, including greater transparency about the nature and scope of the attack.
● We have asked for an anticipated timeline for resolution, and temporary access to advanced payments to help us weather the period while normal claims processing functions are down.
● We are reaching out to our legislators for federal support as this disruption persists and for help in mitigating solutions.
Please know, the wellbeing of our patients and communities is most important, and we are working on your behalf. Thank you for your patience during this critical time.

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DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS AT SOUTHEAST COLORADO HOSPITAL DISTRICT

Southeast Colorado Hospital District will be destroying records of people who have not utilized the facility during the last ten years. Children's records will be kept to the age of the majority (18), plus 10 years. Destruction of records will also include Long Term Care records, Southeast Colorado Medical Clinic, Rehabilitation, Home Health and Hospice records. If you have not been seen at our facility during the past 10 years, but would like us to retain your records, please contact the Medical Records Department at (719)-523-2125, 523-2191 or 523-2162 Colo. Code Regs. §1011-1, chap.IV, 8.102 (2008)

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Personnel and Baca County Residents- "we need your help in correctly avoiding the helicopter and ambulance staging areas around the SECHD Clinic, Helipad, and the area between the emergency room and the hospital." Each time the helicopters land, hospital personnel set up barricades and attempt to contain the safety area; in and around the helipad, and within the contained areas. We are beginning to see cars driving through the emergency areas and around barricades while we are loading patients from the emergency room to a helicopter flight. We need your help in observing the barricades and staying out of the controlled areas. Please, sit and wait patiently as aviation personnel, emergency responders, medical, and ambulance staff load patients as nationally many have been injured or fatally injured, when the safety zones are violated. Please, observe basic safety principals of sitting and waiting or taking another route to entirely avoid the safety area. Only trained staff should ever get under the rotor system of a helicopter, a vehicle should never be underneath a helicopter rotor for any reason. Even the lightest contact may result in permanent damage. Any contact to the tail rotor of a helicopter can result in serious injury and mechanical failure.

"We need your help" in correctly avoiding the barricaded helicopter and ambulance staging areas around the SECHD Clinic, Helipad, and the area between the emergency room and the hospital." Never drive inside the hospital barricades when they are deployed. Please, park elsewhere and save a life. Please, help us reduce the risk of loss of life, accident, financial, emotional, and physical loss by staying out of the controlled areas.

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Each year at tax time we look for ways that our giving can benefit our community and not just be paid in general taxes. Donations to the hospital district or the hospital foundation are a good way to put direction to these finances and other funds we have built-up in our lifetime. Giving can be done in such a way that it will benefit our area and leave a legacy that gives us personal satisfaction. Southeast Colorado Hospital District and Long Term Care Center is your local non-profit that would like you and the people of the Southeast region to think of us as the benefactor as you set up your yearly tax deductions, giving or developing your final will and testament, to "do the most good". Some people in their golden years and retirement are looking for a good place to give their assets and to set up benefactors. Many do not have family but want to see their life's work, giving, and philanthropy live on in our area. Southeast Colorado Hospital District and Long Term Care Center; your local hospital and Long Term Care Center, is a local publicly owned non-profit organization that has served the people of Baca County and the Southeast Region since 1969. Recent legislation includes several provisions to help individuals and businesses who give to charities. The new law generally extends four temporary tax changes through the end of 2021. The IRS overview of the 2021 changes are listed at: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/expanded-tax-benefits-help-individuals-and-businesses-give-to-charity-in-2021 and covers 1.) Deduction for individuals who don't itemize 2.) Cash donations 3.)100% limit on eligible cash contributions made by taxpayers who itemize deductions. 4.) Corporate limit increased to 25% of taxable income.

The standard method of making a contribution to Southeast Colorado Hospital District is to hand carry a donation to 373 E. Tenth Street Springfield CO or mail a check to the Southeast Colorado Hospital District offices at 373 E. Tenth Ave Springfield, CO 81073 Attn: Dorothy Burke. However, this method is not the only form of donation payment mechanism available; please, contact your accountant, legal counsel, or financial advisor for specific questions about your giving. If you have general questions call, (719) 523-4501 and ask for Dorothy Burke or Steve Sanchez. All givers will be given an immediate receipt upon donation of any kind. Non-cash giving can be discussed in a case by case basis.

Southeast Colorado Hospital District and our Foundation have each been approved as an enterprise zone for tax credits when you donate. Information on the state Enterprise Zone program can be found at http://choosecolorado.com/doing-business/incentives-financing/ez/
The Colorado legislature created the Enterprise Zone (EZ) Program to encourage development in economically distressed areas of the state.
In designated enterprise zones:
• businesses are eligible for state income tax credits and sales and use tax exemptions for specific business investments
• economic development projects form by incentivizing taxpayers to contribute through state income tax credits
• taxpayers who contribute to enterprise zone projects may earn income tax credits
Businesses within enhanced rural enterprise zones earn additional tax credits, Southeast Colorado Hospital District is one.

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