Montrose Regional Hospital terminate 77 positions
Montrose Regional Health laid off 34 employees yesterday, and announced that 43 vacant positions will not be filled. The elimination of these 77 positions comes amid budget strain, and will have impacts on the company’s structure and the programs it provides.
In an internal email obtained by KVNF, Montrose Regional Health said that insurance payments have not kept pace with the company’s increase in services and care for patients. According to the email, insurers still owe MRH approximately $25 million for care that has already been provided. The company also cited increasing operating costs, and said they took measures to reduce its growing financial gap before the layoffs.
As a result of the cuts, some services are changing. Effective immediately, MRH is no longer providing cardiology services in Telluride. Pediatric occupational therapy will have fewer appointments available for current patients and new referrals. Several therapy community wellness programs are also being reduced. The Sleep Clinic will also relocate and combine with the Pulmonary Clinic.
The company says that affected patients and providers are currently being notified.
Town halls for employees have been scheduled between October 21 and 23rd by the company.
Denver makes up for reservoir lows with Western Slope water
In water news, Denver Water is taking more water from rivers and creeks on Colorado’s Western Slope as the metro area struggles to replenish its reservoirs following a record-hot summer.
The Colorado Sun reports that the utility’s reservoirs, which supply drinking water to about one-point-five million people, are well below normal levels for this time of year.
Denver Water has imposed mandatory water restrictions, but conservation efforts haven’t been enough to restore supplies. The utility is now increasing diversions from some Western Slope waterways to help meet water needs in the Denver area.
The move is raising concerns in Grand County, where communities depend on those same rivers and streams.
Western Slope residents say increased diversions can leave less water flowing through local waterways, affecting ecosystems, recreation and community water supplies.
Kirk Klancke, president of Trout Unlimited’s Colorado River Headwaters chapter, warns that low flows can leave fish eggs vulnerable to freezing in shallow water, with potential consequences for fish populations and local fishing businesses.
Denver Water has some of Colorado’s oldest water rights, giving it legal priority over many more recent water users. Its diversions are also governed by agreements negotiated over several decades.
The situation highlights the growing tension between meeting the Denver metro area’s water needs and protecting communities and rivers on the Western Slope.
With reservoirs still depleted, water managers are looking ahead to winter snowfall and next spring’s runoff for relief.
For now, continued conservation remains critical as Colorado faces persistent drought conditions.
Marx and Weiser appeared together last weekend
Republican Victor Marx and Democrat Phil Weiser, the top two candidates vying for Colorado Governor shared the stage for the first and only time on Thursday. Bente Birkeland has more for the Colorado Capitol News Alliance.
For 126 years, a Native American girl who died at a Pennsylvania boarding school remained separated from her family in Nevada
More than a century ago, a Native American girl died at a boarding school in Pennsylvania, thousands of miles away from her home - in Nevada. For generations, her family did not know she existed. From our Mountain West News Bureau, Maria Palma brings us the story.
