Celebrate Safety Net Clinic Week 2012! Clinic Toolkit Available

Celebrate Safety Net Clinic Week 2012

CLINIC “TOOLKIT”

In an effort to raise awareness of Colorado's health care safety net providers, we encourage your clinic to participate in the third annual Safety Net Clinic Week, August 20-24, 2012. Sponsored by ClinicNET and the Colorado Rural Health Center, the week is devoted to educating the public and policy makers about these vitally important health care clinics - Community-Funded Safety Net Clinics (CSNCs) and federally certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs.) We have created a “toolkit” to help clinics participate in Safety Net Clinic Week 2012. Included in the “tool kit” are many easily customizable pieces, click on each to open:

• Short Overview of Safety Net Clinic Week, Social Media Templates, and Safety Net Clinic Week 2012 Logo (use as content for your website, blogs, social media, newsletters, email signatures...)
•    Safety Net Clinic Week Flyer (full page and half page flyers)
•    Letter to the Editor (for submission to your local paper)
•    Governmental proclamation (request a proclamation from your city and/or county)
•    Safety Net Clinic Week Invitation (consider inviting city, county, state officials, candidates for elected office and local business and community leaders to visit your clinic during Safety Net Clinic Week. *see helpful links below)
•    Safety Net Clinic Week Fact Sheet (include with any invitation extended and use, in addition to specific information about your clinic, as speaking points during Safety Net Clinic Week)
•    Safety Net Clinic Week Press Release (submit to your local media.)

ClinicNET and the Colorado Rural Health Center will be requesting a proclamation for Safety Net Clinic Week 2012 from the Governor and be doing a general statewide press release. We will also be extending invitations for clinic site-visits to the Governor, our congressional delegation, targeted state legislators and other public officials. Our Safety Net Clinic Week Project Coordinator, Charlotte Kaye, is available to help you; she is coordinating all Safety Net Clinic Week 2012 activities. Please let her know if you utilize any parts of the toolkit above or if you need support in doing so.

Project Coordinator, Safety Net Clinic Week 2012:
Charlotte Kaye, 720-863-7805, charlotte.kaye@clinicnet.org

*Links to Identify your Elected Officials:

•     Identify your U.S. Representative, State Senator, and State Representative
•     Identify your County Commissioners
•     Identify your members of local government municipalities

Advocacy through stories!

As part of ClinicNET’s work to raise public awareness of the safety net scene in Colorado it is always helpful to have stories that can be conveyed to the public, government officials, media, etc., that illustrate and highlight the work of community-funded safety net clinics, your impact and insights and, of course, your patients personal perspectives and realities. To that end ClinicNET is interested in knowing if you would be willing to participate directly in some of our efforts, potentially being called upon to speak to the media, gov't officials, etc., and if you have any patients that would be willing to share their stories in person or with permission via you. Please email me directly if you are willing to be on our short list of go-to clinics. Thanks!