Colorado’s rural hospitals have hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and other projects and, in most cases, no way to get enough upfront cash to complete them. One of the state’s senators is working on a bill to give them more access to loans, but Congress isn’t likely to take it up until next year at the earliest. The Colorado Hospital Association doesn’t track how much capital investment hospitals need, but a survey of 25 rural facilities conducted earlier this year found they had identified $467 million in projects, including upgrading their technology, constructing or renovating buildings, and buying major equipment, president and CEO Jeff Tieman said. The town water tower overlooking Lincoln Health Community Hospital in Hugo, Colorado, on Wednesday, Oct.