Kaen Lapides (She/Her)

Kaen (KL) Lapides is a Regional Health Connector (RHC) serving Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, and Summit counties that make up Region 12 of Colorado’s Health Statistics Regions. She is hosted by the West Mountain Regional Health Alliance.

Kaen has a diverse nonprofit background in outdoor education, primarily with the Colorado Outward Bound School. She practices and teaches pre-hospital wilderness and austere medicine and previously worked as a Community Paramedic in Eagle County. Stints with Summit County Public Health during the pandemic as well as international public health work in Nepal ignited her strong passion for this work.

KL produces educational digital and written reference materials for wilderness medicine and decision-making in the backcountry as a side gig.

To connect with Kaen, reach out at [email protected].

Areas of Focus

Communities across Colorado have unique public health needs.

RHCs live, work, and play in the communities they serve. Their lived experience and expertise, combined with local data and community partnerships, equip them to address the diverse social needs of their communities.

Kaen is passionate about equal access to health care and creating community engagement in health-related matters. Kaen’s role with the West Mountain Regional Health Health Alliance reconnects her with her nonprofit roots where she works regionally in the public health sector to foster and build collaborative connections and efforts among diverse stakeholders.

In Region 12, Kaen focuses on the following key programmatic areas:

  • Access to care

  • Tri-county collaboration

  • Resource/data collection/sharing

Systems Partners

Regional Health Connectors are relationship builders.

Focusing at the systems level, RHCs build and bridge connections with primary care providers, public health organizations, social and behavioral health services, and other community resources to ensure that these partners have knowledge of and access to resources available within their region to meet the needs of their community.

In Region 12, Kaen has fostered key relationships with:

  • Multisector organizations

  • Nonprofits

  • Clinics

  • Local government

About West Mountain Regional Health Alliance

West Mountain Regional Health Alliance’s (WMRHA) mission is to build an integrated health system that supports optimal health for all residents in the West Mountain region (Eagle, Garfield, and Pitkin counties in Colorado). Visit their website to learn more.

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