The mission and function of Inner City Health Center has, from day one in 1983, remained sharply focused on reducing the inequity of health and wellness access and delivery in underserved populations of Denver and the surrounding metro area.
Our skilled, dedicated providers offer comprehensive medical care, from maternity through pediatrics, adult care and geriatrics, as well as dental care and behavioral health counseling. Our multilingual staff is experienced in working with all populations, as well as linking patients to Medicaid and to sliding-scale, workable payment plans.
We have grown throughout the years to serve 22,000 patients annually, and half our patients come from outside the city of Denver. Growth plans will make our York Street clinic even bigger and more welcoming, and extend our family-centered services to Wheat Ridge and surrounding communities.
Inner City Health Center brings the highest-quality integrated health and wellness care to all metro area residents, regardless of ability to pay, with the grace and dignity grounded in our Christian faith.
Dr. Archuleta and Shelly Archuleta, RN met in Uganda, AFRICA on a medical mission trip. The Archuleta’s believed their life’s calling was to set out to deliver health care to the under-served in the Denver area. In 1994, the Archuleta’s opened the Wheat Ridge Family Clinic. Initially, they traded health care services for whatever patients could afford; many times this was home-grown vegetables, chickens or whatever patients could offer. In the third year the clinic began taking Medicaid and Medicare patients… over two decades, the Wheat Ridge clinic expanded their scope of care and greatly increased their number of practitioners – allowing for a higher number of under-served communities to be reached. When they decided to retire, the Archuleta’s sought to find a like-minded group to take over the practice. Inner City Health Center exactly embodied the spirit of service that originally inspired the Archuleta’s and we acquired the Wheat Ridge Family Clinic in September 2018.
Inner City Health Center is a Christ-centered healthcare home for underserved individuals where consistent, high-quality treatment is provided in an atmosphere of genuine respect. We express our love for Jesus Christ and our compassion for those in need through deep concern for their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
Inner City Health Center is committed to health equity. In a perfect world, everyone would be in good health or at least, have a fair and equal opportunity to achieve their full health capacity. None would be hindered or disadvantaged in realizing the highest level of personal wellness, but the world is far from perfect and multiple collective influences impact a person’s health and wellness. These various factors are referred to as social determinants of health, “the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life” (World Health Organization, 2017). When these “wider set of forces” adversely impact qualities of a person’s health, this results in health inequity.
However, health inequities are avoidable. Generally, they are the direct result of public policy (legislation, taxation, funding, social services, healthcare administration, etc.). Inequities in health also reflect disparities in the capacity of some communities to freely and fully access resources that are both necessary and available in our society. Inner City Health Center was founded to address these disparities and to promote health equity. Our mission is to provide high quality health care to the medically underserved – this description is inclusive of a broad spectrum of people: those with no health insurance, those with insufficient health insurance, veterans, as well as those with Medicaid and Medicare who may find access to affordable care extremely challenging. From 1983, our Christ-centered foundation has compelled us to receive anyone and everyone, providing them with the best medical, dental, and behavioral health care that we possibly can.
Inner City Health Center serves all patients, regardless of ability to pay, with dignity and with high-quality care focused on their needs. Our multilingual staff serves patients from Denver, Aurora, Wheat Ridge, Thornton, Adams County, and other suburbs across the metro area.
We are a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike and a Colorado Indigent Care Provider that facilitates Presumptive Eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP Coverage. In addition to many Health First Colorado/Medicaid patients, we serve the uninsured, the underinsured and those with private insurance plans. We have sliding-scale payment options for those who need it.
Approximately 60 percent of ICHC’s patients are uninsured. (That’s compared to an 11.6 percent uninsured rate for all of Denver, according to the Colorado Health Institute.) Another 30 percent of our clients use insurance from Health First Colorado (Medicaid). More than half our patients are Hispanic, and there is a nearly equal 12-15% split between Caucasians and African-Americans. More than a third of Hispanic children and a third of African-American children are in poverty, more than three times the rate for white children. The infant mortality rate, fueled by a major gap in prenatal care, is 9.6 per 1,000 births for non-Hispanic black babies, compared to 4.2 for non-Hispanic whites. More than 1 in 3 Coloradans identifying as black or African-American reported not going to the doctor for a year, compared with 1 in 4 other Coloradans, according to CHI (2018).
We have been a pioneer in integrating physical, dental, behavioral health care and wellness for our residents, not just because it’s the right thing to do for all patients, but because the population we serve has a greatly elevated need for comprehensive, quality care.
Kraig Burleson
Chief Executive Officer
A graduate of Colorado College, Kraig was promoted to Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2001, after serving as the Chief Financial Officer/Business Manager for seven years. Kraig had sixteen years of banking administrative and managerial experience with emphasis in accounting, operations, and finance, prior to joining ICHC.
Andrew Shahidi, CPA
Chief Financial Officer
Andrew has a Master’s Degree in Accountancy from West Virginia University, a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Denver and is a licensed CPA in Colorado. From 1999 onward, he worked in various accountancy positions. From 2014 – present, he has been an adjunct professor at Metropolitan State University and Red Rocks Community College. He joined ICHC as CFO in 2017.
Randall G. Craig, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Randall has served as ICHC medical director since July 2016, but has been on staff at ICHC since October 2010. Professional experience includes serving as a Major in the U.S. Air Force, and practicing emergency medicine. Randall also provides physician leadership at ICHC’s Wheat Ridge Family Health Center.