UW’s Educational Health Center Clinics Receive National Patient-Centered Home Recognition

Both the University of Wyoming Family Practice Clinic in Casper and the University of Wyoming Family Medicine Clinic in Cheyenne, in partnership with UW's longstanding family medicine residency programs, received annual recertification and recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as patient-centered medical home (PCMH) practices.

Both clinics are part of UW's Educational Health Center of Wyoming (EHCW) in the College of Health Sciences and join more than 9,000 other practices recognized for annual recertification around the country.

The Wyoming Family Practice Clinic in Casper has achieved distinction as a PCMH since 2013, and the UW Family Medicine Clinic in Cheyenne also has achieved the PCMH recognition for many years. Additionally, the EHCW's Albany Community Health Clinic in Laramie will achieve NCQA PCMH recognition this year.

The PCMH is a team-based model of care led by physicians and other health care professionals to provide comprehensive, coordinated and accessible primary care. It focuses on the whole person, enhancing quality, reducing costs and fostering partnerships between patients, families and clinicians to improve health outcomes.

The UW Family Medicine Residency Programs and associated clinics in Casper and Cheyenne were established in the late 1970s to help Wyoming meet its needs for primary care physicians.

"The patient-centered medical home model provides the framework for excellence in primary care with a focus to provide consistent, quality care tailored to the individual patients and families," says Beth Robitaille, a physician and designated institutional officer, and director of UW's Department of Graduate Medical Education. "Additionally, it is an excellent practice model in which to train our resident physicians and health care profession students."

"As dean of the College of Health Sciences, I am proud to see our clinics in Casper and Cheyenne maintain their NCQA patient-centered medical home recognition, reflecting a sustained commitment to high-quality, coordinated care led by our exceptional faculty and staff," Patrick Hardigan says. "This distinction reinforces the strength of our clinical and training programs within EHCW and underscores our mission to deliver patient-centered care while preparing the next generation of physicians to serve communities across Wyoming."