OCTOBER 29, 2024 |
Photo – Little Snake River Clinic – Courtesy Google Maps
The Little Snake River Clinic in Baggs has closed following the retirement of Physician Assistant Jim Zimmerman and the difficulty in finding a replacement provider.
As of September 27th, residents of Baggs no longer have an in-town clinic.
Aurora, Colorado-based UCHealth has operated the Baggs medical clinic for over a decade. During that time, roughly 100 patients a month used the medical facility. However, Little Snake River Rural Health District President Ryan Mikesell told Bigfoot99 that visitations to the clinic were beginning to decline as the small town’s population decreased. Despite the lower number of patients, UCHealth continued to support the medical facility.
Mikesell said the retirement of the town’s only provider, Jim Zimmerman, was the final nail in the coffin for the clinic. The healthcare district has been unable to find a replacement for the physician assistant.
Mikesell said PA Zimmerman provided the healthcare district with plenty of notice before his retirement. UCHealth managed to convince the physician assistant to continue seeing patients but was unable to find a new provider in time.
Baggs is not unique. Lower than average salaries and limited amenities deter many providers away from rural medicine, a challenge faced by rural communities across the nation. Housing is also a problem.
Using expensive traveling providers, called locums, UCHealth kept the Little Snake River Clinic open for a short time. Mikesell explained that when the clinic reduced its hours, it triggered a domino effect, leading fewer and fewer patients to use the facility. The expense of hiring traveling providers, coupled with the shrinking patient base, ultimately forced the healthcare network to close the clinic.
Mikesell said the Little Snake River Rural Health District thought they had a replacement for PA Zimmerman. However, the unnamed provider rescinded her contract and the UCHealth board chose to cut ties with the Baggs clinic. Mikesell said he remains optimistic that the healthcare facility will reopen in the future.
In the meantime, Mikesell said Little Snake River Valley residents must travel 40 plus miles to Craig, Colorado for treatment at a UCHealth facility.
