Ute Mountain Ute TribeHealthcare-UTE Project (HCUTE)OPRE Report No. 2020-77 | June 2020

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe’s Health-Care UTE Project (HCUTE), funded by the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG), provides low-income individuals the opportunity to enroll in healthcare training programs in fields that are in high demand. HCUTE is based at the Ute Mountain Learning Center in Towaoc, Colorado, and is available to eligible native and non-native individuals living on the Ute Mountain Ute and White Mesa Reservations in Montezuma County, Colorado, and in the municipalities of Blanding, Utah; Ignacio, Colorado; and Farmington, New Mexico. Since 2016, HCUTE has enrolled 350 participants. The purpose of this brief is to highlight key features of HCUTE and outcomes from the first four years of program implementation.

HCUTE works with an underserved population in their journey toward self-sufficiency.

89% Female58% with

Dependent Children70% American

Indian

66% with Annual Income Below

$10,000

67% Received public assistance

at intake

61% with no Postsecondary

Education

“No one gave me a chance and HCUTE gave me a chance.

Other places wouldn’t call me back. They worked with me.”

– HCUTE Participant

HCUTE participants are trained in a variety of fields to meet the healthcare workforce needs in the region.

Over 240 participants have enrolled in

healthcare training

Over 165 participants have completed at least one healthcare training

Over 70 participants obtained employment in

healthcare

Participants most commonly enrolled in programs along the nursing career pathway.

To Date… Enrolled Completed

Registered Nurse 41 5Licensed Practical and

Vocational Nurse 8 8

Certified Nursing Assistant 171 145

Other programs offered include Emergency Medical Technician, Phlebotomy, and Medical Assistant.

HCUTE has partnered with community colleges and adult education centers to offer healthcare training to participants through traditional and non-traditional course delivery to improve access to training.

Traditional Course Delivery

• HCUTE participants canenroll directly inhealthcare trainingprograms at adulteducation centers andcommunity colleges in theregion.

“We aren’t inventing new

academic programs, just new ways to deliver them.”

– Partner staff

Non-Traditional Course Delivery

• Classroom components of training areoffered at the Ute Mountain LearningCenter in Towaoc and participants onlytravel to partner institutions for thelaboratory components of the training.

• Instructors from partner institutions(located 15-90 miles from Towaoc)teach onsite at the Learning Center orare connected via distance educationtechnology.

HCUTE participants express appreciation for the program and reflect on its importance to the community.

HCUTE participants were thankful for the program and often stated that participation in HCUTE was critical to achieving their goals.

HCUTE participants felt that the program gives both native and non-native people opportunities to help their community and provides them with a sense of purpose.

“Without this program, I would not be able to get my nursing degree. They make it easy. All you do is keep up your grades,

which is a fair trade, beyond fair.”– HCUTE Participant

“Having something to do every day has changed my confidence about myself and

having a feeling of purpose definitely will help my children looking at me as an example.”

– HCUTE Participant

For more information about HCUTE, contact the Ute Mountain Learning Center:

Call: 970-564-5471Visit: utelearning.org

Follow Ute Mountain Learning Center

This report is in the public domain. Permission to reproduce is not necessary. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The purpose of this factsheet is to summarize the status of the HCUTE Project as of September 30, 2019. All results in this factsheet are descriptive and should not be interpreted as causal impacts. The data in this factsheet come from the HPOG 2.0 Participant Accomplishment and Grant Evaluation System (PAGES), a participant tracking and management system that includes data on participant characteristics, engagement in programs, and training and employment outcomes. PAGES also includes information on the activities and supports grantees offer. Grantee program staff enter data in PAGES.