health
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Arapahoe County Commission withdraws from Tri-County Health
The Arapahoe County Commission voted Tuesday morning to withdraw from the Tri-County Health Department next year, marking the final departure from what was once the state’s largest county-level public health agency. The board approved a resolution to withdraw from Tri-County effective Dec. 31, 2022, mirroring action taken by the Adams County Commission in October. Both…
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Robert Werthwein to step down from state Office of Behavioral Health
Robert Werthwein, the director of the state’s Office of Behavioral Health since Sept. 2017, will resign at the end of February next year, he announced in an email Tuesday. Axios Denver, which first reported his resignation, said he did not cite a reason for his resignation, only that he intended to pursue other opportunities. A spokesperson…
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Officials say health insurance subsidies are available to more Coloradans
Subsidies will be available to more residents in 2022, state officials said amid another push this week to get Coloradans covered through the health insurance market. Officials said individuals and families who were previously denied insurance subsidies might now be eligible – thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act. Two out of three customers who applied for but failed to get subsidies in 2021 could get the help financial aid in 2022, they said. The…
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Douglas County school board passes resolution to end mask mandate
Driven by a newly elected majority, the Douglas County school board passed a resolution to largely end its mask mandate early Wednesday morning, closing a months-long saga that included lawsuits and the dissolution of a regional health department. After a seven-hour meeting that stretched past midnight, the board voted to first change its policy guiding…
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COVER STORY | Kids’ mental health challenged in a culture of guns
Dec. 14 marks nine years since Jane Dougherty told her sister hello and goodbye, but for a disturbed young man’s access to guns in Newtown, Connecticut, a New England village that was decked out for a Christmas, that was emotionally obliterating. Her older sister, Mary Sherlach, a school psychologist, was in the principal’s office that…
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At least three metro counties to vote on mask orders Monday; Denver still ‘having conversations’
Boards of health representing Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties will vote Monday on whether to require masks in indoor settings, as officials in Denver continue to discuss whether to implement their own orders. Public health officials in those three counties – including the board that will vote on the order in Jefferson County – have all called…
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Warning signs belie low uninsured rate across Colorado
The ever-increasing cost of health care – and increasingly skimpy insurance plans – are threatening to undo progress made under the Affordable Care Act in helping people access care and pay for it, a comprehensive biennial survey has found. Colorado’s uninsured rate held steady this year at 6.5%, according to the 2019 Colorado Health Access…
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Access to mental health, substance abuse treatment in Colorado getting worse, survey finds
Coloradans say it’s only getting harder to access mental health and substance abuse treatment due to stigma and the prohibitively high cost of therapy. The number of Coloradans who went without needed mental health care in the previous year nearly doubled from 2017, according to the most recent Colorado Health Access Survey by the Colorado…
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Military’s health boss seeks lessons in Colorado
The military’s health boss says lessons learned in Colorado Springs are helping her merge the military’s health system into a single management scheme that she says will cut costs while improving care. Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, who heads the Defense Health Agency, visited the five bases in the Pikes Peak region last week to learn…
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Colorado indoor vape ban begins today
Starting today, vaping and e-cigarette use will be banned from spaces where smoking already is prohibited in Colorado. The Clean Indoor Air Act passed more than a decade ago and banned indoor smoking of tobacco in businesses, including restaurants, hotels and hospitals. House Bill 1076 now expands the scope of the act to include electronic…