Grand Junction, Colorado, Public Health Nurse Administrator, Retired, Reappointed: March 2007 to a second four-year term.

For one who spent more than three decades working in public health nursing, there are at least a couple things that could keep one awake at night when it comes to critical health issues in Colorado. For retired public health nursing administrator Gretchen L. Sigafoos, she says one of them is, "Knowing that too many people are ill without a source of care, and the disarray of our health care delivery too often leads to increased illness and premature death."

Gretchen Sigafoos has more than 40 years of nursing care experience and served as director of nursing at the Mesa County Health Department. Sigafoos served as a member of the Human Services Council of Mesa County and the B4Babies Advisory Committee. She also served two terms with the CSU Tri-River Area Extension Advisory Committee.

During her time in public health, Sigafoos took many programs from inception to implementation to improve services for the under served and to develop new services to fill gaps. In 1997, she was awarded the prestigious Florence Sabin Award. The award was established in 1947 by the Colorado Public Health Association for achievement in the public health field.

Sigafoos says some of the top priorities for a health grantmaker in this state must be: access to care for the uninsured and under served in the areas of medical, mental and oral health; to provide support for education to increase the number of workers in health-related positions and to support the infrastructure and operational support that will help meet the needs of local communities.

Though retired, Sigafoos continues to lend her expertise on health and public health issues to boards, commissions and task forces that support the Colorado health community. She is also a charter member of the Mesa County Gold Senior Leadership Commission, tackling a range of issues from employment to transportation.  For this and so many other efforts Sigafoos says she simply hopes her personal legacy might be one of having worked to improve the health and welfare of all people; families, parents and children.

Says Sigafoos, her real interest has been, "Strengthening health care in Colorado so that all people have access to quality, affordable care within a reasonable distance from their homes."