By Chris Lindley Most pregnant women across the United States listen to and rely on sound medical advice from their doctors and other health experts when determining how to protect the health of their unborn babies. Dont drink during pregnancy is a message based on evidence that resonates with most expectant mothers and contributes to the health of future generations. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment would like to reinforce that message with a critique of a recent study that suggests moderate drinking during pregnancy is not harmful to young children. On June 20, a Danish research article…
Category: Health and Wellness - Part 12
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Latinos, who are uninsured at disproportionately high rates in Colorado, could gain the most as health reform takes hold. Thats what happened in Massachusetts, which in 2006 became the first state in the nation to require health coverage for all individuals and to implement a health insurance exchange. Massachusetts health reform law became a model for the Affordable Care Act, which the U.S. Supreme Court last month upheld. A lot of Latinos have low-paying jobs and they dont qualify for Medicaid, said Maria Gonzalez, spokeswoman of Health Care for All Massachusetts, a consumer advocacy group that…
By Jim Garcia As the executive director and one of the founders of Clinica Tepeyac, a community health clinic that sees more than its share of uninsured patients, I applaud the Supreme Courts ruling to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Presidents health care reform law that increases access to care for millions of Americans. Since we opened our doors at Clinica Tepeyac nearly 20 years ago, we committed ourselves to caring for all patients who cross our threshold, the vast majority of whom have no access to health insurance and who are desperately in need of…
By Mark Wolf Most maladies are unencumbered by shame and stigma. Yet for many men to acknowledge they are uncomfortable with the way theyre feeling maybe down, irritable, unmotivated, fatigued, feeling as if life might not be worth living, and, yes, maybe there are some issues down there requires a leap most men seem hesitant to take. Men are stubborn. We dont want to talk about our feelings. We are very leery and afraid of being labeled sissies, afraid of looking weak, and a lot of those things apply when youre talking about mental health, said Matt Vogl, deputy director…
By Charlie Brennan I-News Network One in eight Coloradans likely will have diabetes by 2030, according to new estimates from the Colorado Health Institute, and the epidemic will cost the state an estimated $8.3 billion a year. Its a known, predicted disaster if we do nothing if we just sit back and watch, said Chris Lindley, director of the Prevention Services Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Few Coloradans seem to share Lindleys sense of urgency, however. Polls of the 1,000 Coloradans participating in Gov. John Hickenloopers TBD Colorado initiative have found that proposed remedies for…
By Ben Young and David Cohn The first seven cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) diagnosed in Colorado were discovered in 1982. By the end of 2011, almost 17,000 people in Colorado had been diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, and more than 5,000 had died from complications of the disease. These are not just numbers. They represent people our children, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, partners, friends, neighbors and colleagues. Today, we know more about HIV. Many of these advances over the past 30 years can be linked to Colorados role in…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Calling U.S. health costs a massive drain on the economy, Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday endorsed bold moves to fight poor health like New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs war on super-sized sugary drinks. Hickenlooper spoke Wednesday to an international conference of wellness experts gathered from more than 40 countries at the Aspen Institute for The Global Spa & Wellness Summit. If you listen to that hum in the distance, sometimes you think thats the ventilation system, but really that sucking noise is the drain on our economy from the health care system. I probably shouldnt say…
By Diane Carman Peering into the controversy over routine use of the blood test to screen for the prostate-specific antigen is like falling down, down, down into the dark and bewildering rabbit hole that is the health care system in the United States. In many ways the debate over the PSA test illustrates why the system is so confounding, expensive, unmanageable and resistant to change. As men, their providers and policy experts wrestle with the PSA conundrum, recent battles over mammography and hormone replacement therapy illustrate key lessons. When women learned that there was potential harm from annual breast screening…
By Diane Carman The average American is fat, sedentary, drinks too many sweetened soft drinks, eats too many French fries and knows it all too well. Most people in the U.S. want to lose weight, said Elizabeth Kealey, a registered dietician and professional research assistant at the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. The problem is they just dont know how. Researchers at the center are testing strategies and documenting results, and while they dont claim to have the obesity cure at their fingertips, they have identified several approaches that appear to work for a significant population that wants to lose…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon A bill aimed at thwarting cavities in babies became collateral damage in the fight over civil unions in Colorado late Tuesday night. Senate Bill 12-108 had sailed through earlier hearings and was expected to pass in the House on Tuesday night, then be up for final approval today. But the bill died along with nearly three dozen other measures that were held hostage during the civil unions standoff. SB 108 would have provided funding for dental benefits for pregnant moms on Medicaid. Research has shown that mothers who have tooth decay and untreated cavities can pass…