Here’s one way Colorado is tackling its primary care doctor shortage

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado is facing a shortage of primary care doctors with a projected deficit of 3,000 physicians by 2030, and Colorado leaders announced funds on Tuesday to help combat the problem.

Gov. Jared Polis and public health leaders visited Denver Health’s Lowry Family Health Center, which received a grant for the Colorado Works for International Physician Program.

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“Depending on where you live in the state of Colorado, sometimes you have to wait weeks to months to get into see your primary care physician if you have one,” said Dr. Philip Fung, who runs the program at Denver Health.

The nine-month program trains international doctors who are Colorado residents. Then, they can apply to primary care residency programs in Colorado.

“When we are able to integrate internationally trained physicians, we don’t have to wait as long compared to the U.S. pathway to become a physician, and we can also utilize their prior experiences, their language skills, their cultural insider knowledge so that we can serve Coloradans better,” Fung said.

One of the program participants is Sulafa Elhassan from Sudan. She practiced medicine in Sudan and Saudi Arabia before moving to Denver in 2015, and she is excited about the opportunity.

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“This will make it easier to practice medicine here in the U.S.,” she said.

The entire health care sector is in need of workers. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has awarded nearly $19 million to 17 organizations to help expand the health care workforce.

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