Grand Junction

Can other communities copy the Grand Junction model of low-cost, high-quality, near-universal healthcare? Some doctors in this Colorado city of just over 53,000 say yes, others no. But clearly, some parts could be replicated elsewhere. The House of Representatives has included in its version of healthcare reform a provision allowing the creation of nonprofit, consumer-operated insurance cooperatives as an alternative to the ballyhooed and cursed public option. "This says they want to create a potential place in the world for systems like (this)

Attention, mountain bikers: Allegiant Air is offering a $92 airfare (not including taxes and fees) from LAX to Grand Junction, Colo. The nonstop flight to the mountain-biking mecca is for travel Thursdays-Sundays from January (not necessarily good for biking) to May (generally much better). Availability is not guaranteed, and Allegiant will charge a $17 convenience fee per person if you book your fare anywhere but at the airport ticket offices. Info: Allegiant Air , (702)

Attention, mountain bikers: Allegiant Air is offering a $92 airfare (not including taxes and fees) from LAX to Grand Junction, Colo. The nonstop flight to the mountain-biking mecca is for travel Thursdays-Sundays from January (not necessarily good for biking) to May (generally much better). Availability is not guaranteed, and Allegiant will charge a $17 convenience fee per person if you book your fare anywhere but at the airport ticket offices. Info: Allegiant Air , (702)

In a five-part series provided by nonprofit, donor-funded Colorado Public News, investigative journalists examine how Grand Junction, Colo., has emerged as a model of low-cost, high-quality, near-universal healthcare. • Part 1 details how health care professionals have built a system with an emphasis on primary care and prevention. Accompanying the stories are charts ranking more than 300 cities for cost and quality, and another chart detailing the differences in spending at the end of life in high- and low-cost cities.

Phil Smith had to return home to Grand Junction to find a health care system that could ease his back pain with a simple 30-second exercise -- after physicians elsewhere proposed killing a nerve or surgical fusing of bones in his spine. His experience is a example of how the Grand Junction healthcare system provides some of America's best quality healthcare, at the lowest cost, according to Medicare and the Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare. Smith's experience was a result of work by a task force of Grand Junction health professionals.

Lou Liberatore, Tony Award nominee for his role in Lanford Wilson's "Burn This" on Broadway, will join the cast of "Grand Junction" for its last four performances, Thursday through Sunday, at the Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood. Also joining the company are Teresa Ganzel and Robin Braxton. Reservations: (213) 650-8507.

"I love to travel on trains," playwright Martin Casella said wistfully. "I don't think most Americans do. But four years ago, I had to go to New York; it was during the Olympics and I wanted to escape. So I took the train across the United States--and it was incredible. The most wonderful people travel on trains. People who don't have to be somewhere in six hours. People who just want to relax and take it easy, who want to read. . . .

GRAND JUNCTION - This Western Colorado city of just over 53,000 delivers some of the best healthcare in the nation, at the lowest cost. And nearly everyone has health coverage. Getting results like this across the nation could solve much of the nation's healthcare problems, resulting in a healthier population, and saving $700 billion a year. Grand Junction's success gained notoriety when an article this summer in the New Yorker magazine focused on the opposite extreme: McAllen, Texas, where healthcare is ranked the worst in the country and the costs are nearly the highest.

With a title like "Grand Junction," you think of trains, and everything at the Coast Playhouse (where a play of that name opened Sunday) encourages the idea. The ushers wear engineer overalls and caps as they take your ticket, and before he changed the name not so long ago, Martin Casella's play was called "The Train Play." You can't get more explicit than that. So, of course, "Grand Junction" is not really about trains as such.

Healthcare in Grand Junction: An article in Friday's Section A about low health costs in Grand Junction, Colo., referred to Dartmouth University researchers. It's Dartmouth College.

Can other communities copy the Grand Junction model of low-cost, high-quality, near-universal healthcare? Some doctors in this Colorado city of just over 53,000 say yes, others no. But clearly, some parts could be replicated elsewhere. The House of Representatives has included in its version of healthcare reform a provision allowing the creation of nonprofit, consumer-operated insurance cooperatives as an alternative to the ballyhooed and cursed public option. "This says they want to create a potential place in the world for systems like (this)

After Ryan Fiegel fell into a coma in the wake of a brain tumor in February, his parents made the tough decision to take him off his ventilator. But Ryan, 26, didn't die; he didn't wake up either. The Fiegels decided they wanted Ryan's last days to be at Grand Junction's community hospice, the Hospice and Palliative Care Center of Western Colorado. He had received excellent care at St. Mary's Hospital and Medical Center, but it was uncomfortable to be in the scurry and stress surrounding a place where staff was trained to do everything to fight death.

Grand Junction is heaven for patients with no health insurance, compared to most places in America, at least according to Michael Ervin. Patients in this Western Slope city pay as little as $7 for a visit to the doctor. They enjoy the benefits of preventive care and ready access to specialists. Ervin was 55 when he left his job as an advertising account executive for a simpler life and shorter work hours in Grand Junction. He soon found himself with a major illness requiring neurosurgery.

• Providers collaborate to emphasize preventive care for all and the reduction of complications in cases of major chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. • A non-profit hospice emphasizes comfort for the dying over futile chemotherapy and surgery, extending life an average of 10 days and saving $5,150 for every person who dies there. • The one dominant home health agency is non-profit, not owned by doctors ordering treatment that brings them profits.

GRAND JUNCTION - This Western Colorado city of just over 53,000 delivers some of the best healthcare in the nation, at the lowest cost. And nearly everyone has health coverage. Getting results like this across the nation could solve much of the nation's healthcare problems, resulting in a healthier population, and saving $700 billion a year. Grand Junction's success gained notoriety when an article this summer in the New Yorker magazine focused on the opposite extreme: McAllen, Texas, where healthcare is ranked the worst in the country and the costs are nearly the highest.

Phil Smith had to return home to Grand Junction to find a health care system that could ease his back pain with a simple 30-second exercise -- after physicians elsewhere proposed killing a nerve or surgical fusing of bones in his spine. His experience is a example of how the Grand Junction healthcare system provides some of America's best quality healthcare, at the lowest cost, according to Medicare and the Dartmouth Atlas of Healthcare. Smith's experience was a result of work by a task force of Grand Junction health professionals.

Our dream became a reality when we opened the Junction Country Inn Bed & Breakfast in December. We have many special events planned. One of our most ambitious plans is for a summer vacation package that would include the chance for our guests to star in their own movie that would be shot in one of our scenic areas. The view is great, the air is clean and the pace is slow and relaxed. We can be contacted at 861 Grand Ave., Grand Junction, Colo. 81501, phone (303) 241-2817. KARL and THERESA BLOOM Grand Junction, Colo.

Healthcare in Grand Junction: An article in Friday's Section A about low health costs in Grand Junction, Colo., referred to Dartmouth University researchers. It's Dartmouth College.

At first glance, this city of 45,000 looks like so many others, a spiral of ranch homes, shopping centers and chain stores. But to healthcare reformers, Grand Junction, Colo., is the land of innovation -- a place that provides high-quality healthcare at a fraction of the regular price. The local HMO offers prenatal care to all women in the county. Doctors evaluate themselves partly on the cost-effectiveness of treatments they prescribe. Nurses often check on patients home from the hospital to help prevent relapses.