Author: SETH KLAMANN The Gazette
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Intertwined and overshadowed by fentanyl, meth takes deadly toll on Colorado
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There was perhaps no one subject that drew more debate and scrutiny at the State Capitol this year than how to address fentanyl use in Colorado. Four legislative committees heard more than 20 hours of public testimony and considered scores of amendments in an effort to curb what one lawmaker called a “tsunami of death.”…
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Most of Denver metro now listed by CDC as having high, medium levels of COVID-19
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Nearly all of the Denver metro area is now listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as having medium or high levels of COVID-19, as hospitalizations ticked upward again. There were some signs this week that the latest COVID-19 surge, which is far milder than previous waves, was beginning to plateau. But the…
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First presumptive case of monkeypox identified in Colorado, state health department says
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Colorado officials have identified a first presumptive case of monkeypox in the state and are awaiting confirmation from federal authorities, the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment said Thursday. The patient, a young adult male who sought treatment in Denver, had recently traveled to Canada, where a monkeypox outbreak has been identified, the agency…
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Colorado boots Pueblo clinic from COVID, pediatric vaccine programs
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Colorado health authorities have barred a Pueblo primary care clinic from distributing the COVID-19 vaccine and blocked it from participating in a federal pediatric vaccination program, a decision prompted by what the clinic’s owner said was an “unethical employee.” Thirteen people treated by Family Care Specialists will have to be revaccinated with a number of…
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Study: A third of Colorado’s COVID deaths were vaccine preventable
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Over a third of Colorado’s more than 13,200 COVID-19 deaths were vaccine preventable, according to a new analysis by Brown University, a figure that, while representing one of the better rates in the nation, still shows the effect vaccine hesitancy and access have had on the latter half of the pandemic. Colorado has consistently had…
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Colorado officials: COVID increase will last for weeks more, but with lower peak than in past
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Colorado has several weeks of increasing COVID-19 numbers ahead of it, state health officials said Thursday, a surge fueled by new sub-strains of the virus jockeying for dominance. But the expected peak of this latest wave is projected to be well below those of months past. Every pandemic metric tracked by the state – new…
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New law seeks to address nurse staffing levels, capacity planning
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A new law signed by Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday will require hospitals to form nurse staffing committees, track and report on their bed capacity levels, and draft plans to surge capacities in the event of an emergency. The measure comes as the state emerges from some of its more dire moments of the COVID-19…
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Polis signs bill to create 125 more behavioral health beds
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Gov. Jared Polis signed into law Wednesday a measure that sets the stage for creating at least 125 more inpatient beds for Coloradans with severe mental illnesses. The law, passed with overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, requires the human services and health departments to “create, develop or contract” at least 125 new…
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Denver to host two-day, law enforcement-focused fentanyl summit
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Denver will host a two-day fentanyl summit with law enforcement representatives from across the state next month, and a second summit – focused on the health side of the crisis – is being organized. The law enforcement-centered summit will be held on June 2 and 3, offering “intensive training courses and strategy sessions for law…
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Here’s what the legislature’s newly passed fentanyl legislation will do
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Two months after it was introduced, House Bill 1326 – officially dubbed the Fentanyl Accountability And Prevention Act – squeaked out of the Legislature at the last minute Wednesday night. It wound through two House and two Senate committees and a conference committee, was the subject of scores of amendments and was one of the most controversial bills…
