New Scottish Rite Foundation Clinic Opens in Pueblo
by Vernon B. Ingraham, 33˚, Executive Secretary, Scottish Rite Foundation of Colorado.

For the past 14 years Colorado’s Scottish Rite Masons, through the Scottish Rite Foundation of Colorado, have funded speech therapy services at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, Colorado. In the spring of this year Denver’s The Children’s Hospital opened a speech therapy center in Pueblo.

The introduction of Children’s in the Pueblo community was an amicable undertaking with the full support and backing of Parkview. While Parkview will continue to offer ongoing speech therapy in its rehabilitation program, Scottish Rite Foundation-funded services have been transferred to The Children’s Hospital Pueblo speech therapy center. Parkview’s Director of Rehabilitation was quoted in Pueblo’s Business Journal as saying “This is a win-win situation because it will provide a lower cost setting for delivery of services and the Scottish Rite monies will go further and treat more children.”

On April 11, 2001, the new center’s doors opened. It is known as Children’s Specialty Care/The Scottish Rite Center and is located at 704 Fortino Blvd. in Pueblo.

This center will continue the outstanding work done previously at Parkview which has served an estimated 400 children. Dwight Hamilton said “We are delighted that the audiology chief at Parkview, Martha Drake, has moved to Children’s and will continue to be in charge of the Scottish Rite speech therapy program in Pueblo.” It is estimated that 70 children will be served in the center’s first year of operation.

The new speech therapy center is a pilot program for The Children’s Hospital and is the first one of its kind outside the Denver metropolitan area that is not affiliated with a local hospital. Dr. Deborah Hayes, the Chair of Audiology, Speech Pathology and Learning Services at Children’s said “This is the first opportunity to go into a community as The Children’s Hospital and we think it’s a great partnership. Parkview has been wonderfully supportive and we’ve had magnificent support from the Masons in Pueblo.”

On Thursday, October 18, 2001, the Grand Master of Masons in Colorado, Most Worshipful and Illustrious Ben M. Crossno, will officially dedicate Children’s Specialty Care/The Scottish Rite Center with a cornerstone ceremony. A plaque will be placed in the new facility similar to the one placed on the wall of the Denver Consistory’s new office building last January. I hope you will be able to attend this ceremony and support your Foundation and the wonderful work being done in Pueblo and around the State.