logo CLIMB at DU

By Mountain Family Health Centers

Mountain Family Health Centers was honored last month by the CLIMB@DU program with the University of Denver. CLIMB@DU is a collaboration by DU’s Graduate School of Social Work and the Butler Institute for Families and aims to increase the social work workforce in integrated behavioral health (IBH) services that serve certain rural communities in Colorado and the Four Corners.

Here is an excerpt from the CLIMB@DU recognition letter for Mountain Family in June:

“It is through partners like Mountain Family… that CLIMB@DU has been able to successfully award 58 students program stipends to date and provide those students with additional training and experiences that will better prepare them for successful careers in Integrated Behavioral Health [IBH] settings upon graduation. In fact, of the 27 students in our 2017-2018 cohort, more than 1/3 have gained employment in IBH and have chosen careers in Colorado or the Four Corners region. Of our current cohort, many have already received job offers and we anticipate similar results…. All of our students reported having rich, diverse and fulfilling experiences at your clinics. We are particularly grateful to Sara Jacobs who coordinated the exchange across the three clinics, communicated with us daily by phone and email and went the extra mile to ensure student participation to the fullest degree possible.”

Mountain Family has provided several clinical field placements for CLIMB@DU students in the Western Colorado MSW program in Glenwood Springs. During the 2019 spring quarter, three Mountain Family sites hosted a total of nine Western Colorado MSW students over the course of a month for the 2019 CLIMB@DU Internship Exchange. (Mountain Family previously hosted students for the 2018 CLIMB@DU Internship Exchange.)

“The DU MSW program is a fantastic program,” says Mountain Family CEO Ross Brooks, “and we’re honored to be a partner.”

CLIMB@DU has three regions: Western Colorado, the Four Corners region near Durango, CO, and the Denver metropolitan area. All are HRSA-designated medically underserved areas with significant barriers in behavioral care access.

Mountain Family was formally honored on June 8th at the Graduate School of Social Work Western Colorado graduation ceremony and reception for the class of 2019.