The Basin Clinic Board of Directors held their monthly meeting on Jan. 20 at Hopkin’s Field, Nucla’s airport. All board members were in attendance, and consultant Jason McCormick was present over Zoom.
The meeting began with an update on staff at the Basin Clinic. Executive Director Christina Pierce said two of the clinic’s physician’s assistants got their licenses renewed recently. In her director’s report, she said that this month at the clinic she focused on staff meetings, one-on-one training and “staying abreast of new laws and those that are changing.”
Pierce said that the Basin Clinic recently took on a student nurse’s aide from Nucla High School. Board member Ruth Reams inquired as to whether or not the clinic has a program to onboard the student, and Pierce confirmed that it does.
Pierce said the student will be shadowing a medical assistant, and will mostly be learning about HIPAA and blood-borne pathogens. She said there are safeguards in place, and that the student will not be doing any patient care.
The board explored what steps would need to be taken for the Basin Clinic to become part of the federal 340B program, which would allow prescription medications to be purchased at a reduced cost, and financially benefit the clinic.
McCormick said because the Basin Clinic doesn’t have its own pharmacy, it would need to form a contract with one, and patients would need to fill prescriptions through that pharmacy.
Don Colcord, board member and retired pharmacist, gave further details about the 340B program. He explained that medication is sold at a discounted price, and said the clinic keeps the difference between the cost the medication is usually sold for and the price it’s sold for under 340B. He added that a patient’s insurance is still billed, and said uninsured patients are able to get a better deal on their prescriptions under the program.
The board approved a revised budget, which Pierce said needed to be amended after learning they had to find $125,000. Pierce said they were able to find most of the money by making budget adjustments, which she said was done by consulting the clinic’s staff to decide on areas where costs could be cut.
Board member Chris Daniels said she felt confident they could find the rest of the money in grants.
The Basin Clinic has been asking for donations to go toward X-ray technology, and the board said that $700 of the $20,000 needed has been raised.
Pierce said the Basin Clinic has been inquiring about partnering with different facilities to provide X-ray services, but added that even if another facility is able to take the clinic on, it will still need money for a storage system.
The board discussed their upcoming campaign to establish a hospital district and pass a mill levy, which will fund the construction of a mini-hospital. Daniels said they’ve decided to bring a 20-mill levy to vote, as opposed to a 10-mill levy, as it would take twice as long to build the facility with a 10-mill levy.
“Most of us want to see this happen sooner rather than later,” said board member Lorraine Garvey.
The board set a Feb. 14 deadline to complete the service plan for the project, a document which will be available to the public. The board also talked about providing resources to the public to allow individuals to understand what their personal expense will be, if the mill levy passes. The board also wants to have someone available to help individuals access and navigate resources.
“Our biggest push is to have this information ready, and to be comfortable giving the public answers … and to let everyone know the importance of getting it on the ballot.. If it passes, we will have really, really good health care available 24/7,” Daniels said.
This story is funded by the Telluride Foundation through a grant dedicated to health care reporting for 2026.
