Primary Care Opportunity - La Junta, CO

Position Information:

The VA’s Eastern Colorado Health Care System, La Junta VA Clinic in La Junta, CO, is seeking full-time board certified/board eligible Family Practice or Internal Medicine Physicians with three or more years’ of experience to join our Primary Care Health Team. The primary care provider will function as a highly skilled, independent care provider in the management of patients and will be part of an interdisciplinary care team with access to state-of-the-art medicine and some of the most advanced medical technologies available.

The Health Care Clinic operates under a PACT Model (Patient Aligned Care Team). Together with his or her team, comprised of a PCP, RN, LPN, and a Medical Support Assistant, the PCP cares for a panel of approximately 450 patients. The PACT provides comprehensive care for our Veteran population, including the diagnoses, care, and treatment of both acute and chronic conditions. Common diagnoses encountered include diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, degenerative arthritis, depression, congestive heart failure, and chronic pain. Position is Monday thru Friday, no weekends, and no holidays.

Requirements

• Must be U.S. Citizen (Non-Citizen May Be Considered IAW VA Policy)
• Must have current, active & unencumbered US State Medical License (any State)
• Must be FM/IM BC

Facility Information: 

Although La Junta is remote to the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora, CO, there exists multiple ties to the main facility.  The Aurora VA has a Community Based Out-Patient Clinic in La Junta providing primary care, laboratory and pathology services, and a pharmacy.  Veterans can receive consultations via electronic consults or Tele-health and may receive sub-specialty care through co-management with the private sector or via appointments at the Aurora VA.

Community Information:

La Junta is a quiet, rural town in southeast Colorado approximately 1.75 hours from Colorado Springs and approximately 2.75 hours from Denver.  The county seat of Otero County, La Junta has for more than a hundred years formed a junction for commercial, agricultural, and ranching ventures.  La Junta sits on the south bank of the Arkansas River in what is primarily shortgrass prairie country. The mountains for which Colorado is so famous can be seen to the west, while farming dominates the landscape in a narrow corridor along the river, while a short excursion north or south of US Highway 50 brings travelers to miles upon miles of grasslands.

Benefits Information:

• The VA supports healthy work-life-family balance by offering a robust menu of employee benefits and features
• The expected range of annual salary is $200,000 to $243,000 and includes biennial longevity pay increases
• Physician staff may be considered for an annual performance pay bonus up to $15,000.00 or 7.5% (whichever is less) 
• Annual Paid time off includes 26 days of vacation with pay, 13 days sick leave, 11 federal holidays observed and CME
• Health-Dental-Vision-Life Insurance with premiums partially offset or paid by the government with retirement portability.
• Retirement Plans includes Federal Employee Retirement System (DB) and Thrift Savings Plan (DC) with 5% matching

About the VA:

The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, offers Veterans the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the United States. We operate more than 1,400 clinical sites of care, including 153 medical centers, 909 ambulatory and community-based outpatient clinics, 135 nursing homes 232 Veterans centers, 47 readjustment counseling centers, and 108 comprehensive home care programs, across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories.

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 Federal holidays with pay annually
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
• VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
• Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government
• Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:

• VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits, 2) FERS-RAE basic benefits (pension), and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
• How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 12.2% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 16.6% of the employee’s salary
• Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2020, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $19,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $25,500.
• The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
• For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
• In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
• Disability Retirement
• Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years service

81 miles NE of Trinidad, 64 miles E. of Pueblo, 274 miles NW of Amarillo, Texas

Situated in one of Colorado's fruit-growing pockets, this busy little town has several surprises for visitors, including some of the best American Indian art in the country and a nearby handsome reconstruction of a historic fort.

Once the hunting and fishing grounds of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute tribes, and visited briefly by Spanish soldiers in the 17th and 18th centuries, this area did not become known to white Americans until Zebulon Pike led his exploratory expedition into the Arkansas River valley in 1806. Trappers and traders followed, creating the Santa Fe Trail, and brothers William and Charles Bent built Bent's Fort in 1833 as a trading post and the first American settlement in the region.

La Junta was founded in 1875 as a railroad camp, and named La Junta -- Spanish for "the junction" -- on completion of rail links to Pueblo and Trinidad in 1877. The town flourished as a farming and ranching center. Today it produces a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and wheat. The population is a bit over 7,500, and the town sits at an elevation of 4,052 feet.

The county seat of Otero County, La Junta has for more than a hundred years formed a junction for commercial, agricultural, and ranching ventures. Before that La Junta was the junction where the Santa Fe Trail branched south to New Mexico, while a lesser route continued west to Pueblo and beyond. The Santa Fe Trail was one of the nation's first great trade routes.

La Junta sits on the south bank of the Arkansas River in what is primarily short grass prairie country. The mountains for which Colorado is so famous can be seen to the west, but this is rolling prairie land. Farming dominates the landscape in a narrow corridor along the river, while a short excursion north or south of US Highway 50 brings travelers to miles upon miles of grasslands.

We are home to a regional medical center and specialty clinics, as well as a number of retirement communities. We have an excellent K-12 school system, and Otero Junior College. The college hosts a number of technical certificate programs, a well-regarded nursing program, and a law enforcement academy. The City hosts a number of light industries and an airport in an industrial park north of town, a rail yard, and a downtown business district typical of small western towns.