There are many reasons why patients may not be getting preventive services. But the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the sweeping health reform law passed this year, is attempting to remedy at least one of them: cost. Read the Los Angeles Times story.
Category: Archived - Part 19
What is the significance of Wal-Marts initiative to require producers to meet certain nutritional standards? What do we know about what works and what doesnt in changing peoples eating habits? Follow the discussion on the New York Times blog.
Wal-Mart, the nations largest retailer, will announce a five-year plan on Thursday to make thousands of its packaged foods lower in unhealthy salts, fats and sugars, and to drop prices on fruits and vegetables. Read the New York Times story.
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon ASPEN The mountain man drives up the aptly named Castle Creek Canyon in a beat up 1981 rust-colored Chevy pickup. He winds past massive multimillion dollar estates owned by California wine billionaires and Texas oil barons. Hollywood stars Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith own a home nearby, and tennis great Martina Navratilova lives up the road. Wearing a gas-stained Aspen Ski Co. parka from decades ago when he worked on World Cup courses, A. Paul Disnard drives as far as he can. Then, the jeep road becomes impassable, buried in several feet of snow. The 64-year-old…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon The iconic Western cowboy has long enchanted artists and pioneers alike. Who could be more carefree than a man alone on his horse, herding cattle as jagged peaks tower overhead? The romance with the Rocky Mountain West is fundamental to our American DNA. Yet, there is a hidden peril for these mavericks and stoic ranchers, as poisonous as cigarettes were to the rugged Marlboro man. Depression and suicide rates are alarmingly high among ranchers and rural residents in Colorado. Throughout the state, Colorado has set an unfortunate record with the highest number of suicides ever recorded…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon For John Fielder, Colorados mountains are his medicine and his muse. Craggy high-altitude peaks, bathed in the glow of a new days light, have fed the soul of Colorados most famous nature photographer for nearly four decades. Fielder has captured achingly beautifully images and fought to save sacred lands, including his most recent preservation project: Ranches of Colorado. Yet, the mountains were also the setting for the most tragic moment of Fielders life. On March 21, 2006, Fielders oldest child and only son, John J.T. Fielder III, killed himself on a 13,000-foot ridge above Butler Gulch…
By Jarrod Hindman, M.S. Ask for help if you need it. Say yes to someone who asks you. Those two simple things can help to reduce the frequency of suicide, which claims more lives in Colorado than do motor vehicle crashes, homicide, breast cancer and diabetes. Research has shown that people who are suicidal do not want to end their life. Rather, they want to end their pain. If a caring person can listen without judgment, talk with them about their suicidal feelings, and get them connected to professional help, there is a great opportunity to save a life. We…
By Diane Carman Healthy babies come from healthy moms. So, in a groundbreaking change, the nations leading advocates for infants are focusing on the overall health of potential parents. For the first time, we have begun to move toward thinking about the health of people, said Scott Matthews, spokesman for the Colorado Chapter of the March of Dimes. How healthy are teenagers and women of child-bearing age? How can we work toward healthy citizens? Its not good enough to wait until women are pregnant to begin focusing on their health, Matthews said. Fifty percent of pregnancies are unplanned, so we…
By William W. Hay, Jr., MD In 2003, 12.3 percent of births in the United States were preterm (less than 38 completed weeks of gestation). This represents a 31 percent increase in the preterm birth rate since 1981. As of 2010, the U.S. preterm birth rate has not declined significantly. The largest contribution to the increase in preterm births is from births between 34 and 38 completed weeks of gestation (term is after 38 weeks), known as late preterm births. Late preterm births have been increasing over at least the past two decades to a much greater extent than earlier…
By Abby Burton Induction of labor rates in the United States are increasing. This increase is driven by pregnant women and their families and by obstetric providers. Women have many reasons for wanting an induction of labor. Some are anxious and excited to meet the new family member; some are extremely uncomfortable as their girth and weight increase; some have such busy lives that theyd love to be able to schedule the birth as they would schedule a dinner party; some fear the process of labor and want it behind them.Some providers also encourage a scheduled induction of labor. A…