By State Rep. Janak Joshi District attorneys and law enforcement officials have repeatedly requested legislation to fix a glaring loophole in Colorado’s criminal justice system. By not creating a separate crime for the death of a pregnant woman’s child through a criminal act, Colorado law fails to protect the rights of pregnant women and their children. To correct this failure in our criminal justice system, I’m sponsoring House Bill 1130. This bill will allow prosecution for a criminal act that results in the death of a pregnant woman’s child. Similar legislation has already been passed in 34 states, including California,…
Category: Public Health Issues - Part 23
By Rebecca Jones of Education News Coloradoand EdNews Parent Colorado Samara Williams candy epiphany came on the morning she saw the dental van parked in front of Rose Hill Elementary, and the volunteers preparing to provide free teeth cleanings for second-graders. Rose Hill in Commerce City serves some of the poorest kids in the metro area and dental care is a precious commodity that many of their parents simply cant afford. Suddenly, it all clicked for Williams, the school principal. Why, she wondered, would the school arrange to clean the kids teeth in the morning and then pass out candy…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Possession of small amounts of meth, cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs would become misdemeanors rather than felonies under a new bill introduced in the Colorado legislature this week. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum formed a coalition to sponsor Senate Bill 12-163,which aims to give drug addicts treatment instead of costly prison sentences. State budget analysts are still determining the bills fiscal impact. The bill calls for savings to fund more drug treatment programs. A fiscal note is due within about a week. Sponsors acknowledged that they introduced the bill late in the session in…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Do you wear a seat belt when you drive? Do you recycle? Do you think smoking is unhealthy? Its likely your answers are yes, yes and yes again. But decades ago, cars didnt have seat belts, no one bothered to recycle and once upon a time, Americans viewed smoking as glamorous, not as a killer habit to be uniformly condemned. Education campaigns over years convinced people to change their attitudes. Thats the long-term goal of a new effort that is being launched today to engage Coloradans about important health coverage and care issues. The campaign, Project…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Colorados adult obesity levels recently jumped at the second-fastest rate in the country, a disturbing increase for a state that has long bragged of being the leanest in the nation. Its not good news. If anything, its even more of a wake-up call. One of the things we know about obesity is its much easier to prevent than to reverse it. Weve got the opportunity to use prevention in Colorado. Were going to rapidly lose that, said James O. Hill, director of the Colorado Center for Health and Wellness at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Surveys of nearly 700 Coloradans found they support the states new health insurance exchange, but found they want hands-on help to make sense of the online market slated to go into effect in 2014. A navigator system is critical, said Danny Katz, director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group Foundation, CoPIRG, one of the groups that conducted focus group meetings in October and November at 53 sites across Colorado. People liked the idea of comparing health plans (online), but said, we need to have an ability to talk to somebody to get advice, Katz said….
By Dr. Chris Urbina Never have I been satisfied with average at least when it comes to report cards. Unfortunately, the results of the Colorado Health Foundations 2011 Colorado Health Report Card, to be released this week, show Colorado is generally getting above average to below average grades when compared to other states in 38 health indicators. But while the report card indicates how Colorado is doing in certain national rankings, it doesnt provide a complete picture of how the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is working with the states 54 local public health agencies and other partners…
Katie Kerwin McCrimmon The 911 call came too late. Fresh out of rehab, Leo Espinosa told his mother he was ready to kick his heroin habit for good. “I had seen it in his eyes. That’s what he wanted. He wanted to be able to stay away from it. But he just yearned for it,” said Helen Alvillar. The two talked on a Tuesday morning in 2008. Espinosa sounded optimistic. He planned to look for a new job. That night, Alvillar got a call from the coroner’s office. They told her that her son had died from a drug overdose….
By Vicki Cowart Like many women across Colorado and the nation, I am outraged and perplexed about the birth control debate taking place in todays political climate. First, there was the all-male congressional hearing on the Obama Administrations new birth control benefit that ensures women have access to birth control with no costly co-pays, regardless of where they work. The Republican Congressional leaders refused to let any woman speak in support of the new birth control benefit during that hearing. In fact, they said that a woman affected by the policy wasnt appropriate or qualified to speak on the issues….
By Diane Carman Michael Pollen, one of the high priests of the trendy local, organic food movement, is brutally honest about its real impact on the American diet. As a percentage of food production, he said, its still in the single digits. Despite high-profile advocates from Chez Panisse celebrity chef Alice Waters to First Lady Michelle Obama, the industrial food production system still reigns supreme. For those who do harvest lettuce or fresh eggs from backyard gardens, buy peaches from a farmers market and cook dinner at home instead of picking it up at a fast-food drive-through, the benefits go…