Colorado’s underserved communities are feeling hard-hit by the enormous health care gap left when 365 Health, previously known as 9Health Fair, folded Sept. 1. After 43 years of providing health fair events offering free or reduced screening, vaccinations and health education, the non-profit went broke and announced that it would be transitioning through Oct. 15.

The timing couldn’t be worse for many of its former clients including the Cherry Creek School District, which relied on 365 Health to supply vaccines to any student who wanted them. 

CCSD’s health clinic website now directs students and their families to Arapahoe County Public Health for vaccines.

365 Health vaccinated CCSD children with insurance through VaxCare, as well as students who qualified for the Vaccines For Children (VFC) program, according to 365 Health spokesperson Cathy Lucas. She said the district was notified before Sept. 1 that those services would end.  

Messages left on Colorado’s fourth-largest school district’s Health Clinic phone for more explanation were not returned Friday.

Patients in need of discounted medical services are not the only ones left with questions. 365 Health also received millions of dollars in invoice-based money, some of that from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which it has not been used. It’s part of the duty of the transition team to find a home for the funds. 

Besides CCSD, Medicaid, Medicare, uninsured and undocumented patients who used 365 Health’s services suddenly have fewer options for vital medical services like low-cost and free vaccinations, health screenings and educational programs.

One of the low-cost clinics absorbing these patients is Denver’s Tepeyac Community Health Center, a large facility in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood that serves thousands of Coloradans every year. Various public health clinics throughout the state are also up and running and available to help patients.

John Kelley, vice-chair of the 365 Health Board and executive director of CereHealth Corp., said that the non-profit simply ran out of cash.

“Our efforts statewide weren’t effective. The cost of running vaccine clinics was not sustainable,” Kelley said. He joined the Board two years ago — just in time to witness the crippling of the once-vibrant organization.

365 Health announced its demise on its website Sept. 1, adding that it would soon be “implementing a transition plan that will include meeting 365 Health’s financial obligations, finalizing existing grant requirements and seeking vendor partners to carry out existing services, such as vaccination clinics.”

The 365 Health transition committee is navigating the organization’s existing grant requirements.

According to Lucas, 365 Health was awarded a $2.1 million grant from CDPHE to host clinics and provide flu and COVID vaccines from July 2023 to June 2024.  It was an invoice-based grant, so there was no money “in the bank” to be returned.

With eight-to-nine months left of funding with nowhere to go, one fortunate organization may be receiving some of those funds.

“365 Health is looking for a non-profit partner to transfer its remaining assets to,” Lucas said.

Like with many organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic forced 9Health Fair/365 Health‘s mission to change from providing health screenings to setting up vaccine clinics in places all over the state in a partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. 

The vaccination clinics were not successful. Since people were not allowed to gather for fear of spreading the coronavirus, few people showed up for services.

“During COVID we were near zero,” said Kelley, a longtime health care executive. “After COVID the non-profit model was broken.”

In 2022, 365 Health changed its name from 9Health Fair and reorganized, launching a program called Health in Hand — a tele-health service which, for the cost to clients of under $100, focused on preventative health.  

It was a major shift that did not bring in enough money for the organization to stay solvent. 

9Health Fair, which started in 1980, was hugely successful. It served the health care needs of hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. At its height, the 9Health Fair was helping as many as 70,000 people each year, according to Kelley. Depending on the year, 9Health Fair ran anywhere from 45-70 fairs throughout the state, including reaching people in hard-to-access rural areas like the San Luis Valley, Rocky Ford, La Junta, Springfield, Limon, Mancos and Cortez.

Kelley blamed the demise of 365 Health on “a hole in the system,” adding: “The health care model and effectiveness to give basic services to give people in need doesn’t work.”

365 Health will honor the agreement for people who signed up for a year of Health in Hand by sending them to Quest Diagnostics for services. 

It’s definitely over for 365 Health/9Health Fair, but “once the grant transfer happens that will give the ability of 365 Health/9Health Fair to live on through its legacy,” said Lucas.

9News, The Denver Gazette’s news partner, was a partner of 9Health Fair and promoted it heavily for many years.