Arapahoe County Health Integration

Wellness Council

The Wellness Council is a highly collaborative, inter-agency group that represents critical social determinants of health (e.g. workforce, public health, family support, childcare navigation, etc.). The wellness council began as part of a grant at the University of Colorado Denver and is now under the auspices of the Arapahoe County Early Childhood Council’s Health Integration Grant. The original group began meeting in July, 2009 and continues to meet monthly. The following agencies currently sit on the wellness council:

-Family Support (ACECC)

-Child Care Navigator (ACECC)

-Kids in Need of Dentistry (KIND)

-Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics (RMY)

-Mothers First Home Visitation Program (Tri County Health)

-Healthy Communities (Tri County Health)

-Arapahoe/Douglas Works!

-Aurora Mental Health Center

-Arapahoe / Douglas Mental Health Center

-Assuring Better Child Health and Development

-Developmental Pathways (Early Intervention)

Monthly meetings include a training component (usually from

agencies outside the council and identified by the council members as being helpful to their work with families), case discussions of high/multiple-need families, and sharing of resources. In addition to collaboration, training, and sharing resources, the wellness council serves as an advisory group to the Health Integration grant in Arapahoe County. 

Development of a coordinated referral system is a critical piece of our long-term goals and is essential to health integration. The wellness

council has been discussing this issue at meetings and is

working to identify and define all potential referral loops for

families in order to

devise optimal processes for closing the loop with each of these referrals.

For more information contact Ashleigh Kirk, Community Wellness Coordinator, at 720-974-9634 or ashleigh@acecc.org.