Spicher receives national honor
“Jeff Spicher’s work inside and outside of the classroom is outstanding as judged by his peers,” said Nancy Smith, dean of the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “He was selected for this award from all nurse practitioner faculty in the country, a testament to his excellence and the high-quality faculty of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.”
Spicher was nominated for the award in part because of his efforts with the UCCS Student Health Center, an innovative El Paso County/City of Colorado Springs Employee Health Clinic, his vision for the UCCS HealthCircle Primary Care Clinic, and excellence in teaching.
HealthCircle Clinic opened in March to UCCS faculty and staff in the Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences. The clinic is a leading-edge, primary care practice managed by the professionally licensed nurse practitioner faculty from the UCCS Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences. It is believed to be the only clinic of its kind in Colorado.
The clinic incorporates the best traditions from medicine and nursing practice. Providers spend more time with individual patients and incorporate a preventive and patient-focused approach to primary healthcare. It incorporates behavioral and mental health services within the primary care model to promote wellness and disease management from a whole-person perspective attempting to deliver stronger long-term patient outcomes.
Spicher joined the UCCS faculty in 2002 and previously worked in a family practice clinic in Pennsylvania. He was instrumental in starting the County-City Medical Clinic, a partnership with El Paso County and the City of Colorado Springs, providing primary healthcare services to county employees and their dependents. He served as the director of this clinic from 2004 until 2008 and previously practiced in the UCCS Student Health Center as a Family Nurse Practitioner, diagnosing and treating university students.