public health
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Colorado bill would cap medical debt interest, implement other consumer protections
Cindy Powers underwent emergency surgery to fix a life-threatening abdominal obstruction in 2004. Over the next five years, she received 18 additional surgeries to address complications, infections and hernias, before her condition was finally fixed in 2009. But while her medical nightmare had come to an end, the financial nightmare was just beginning. Even with…
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Colorado’s property tax system hangs in balance as state Supreme Court mulls COVID-19 challenges
Colorado’s Supreme Court justices on Wednesday spent three hours pondering a pair of questions that could open the door to widespread, perhaps even perpetual, property revaluations across the state: Did COVID-19 and the accompanying public health orders in 2020 constitute “unusual conditions” necessitating a reexamination of property values? And did those revaluations need to happen…
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Colorado officials urge citizens to test homes for radon
Health officials are urging Coloradans to test their homes for excessive levels of radon, a naturally occurring, colorless and odorless gas that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and contributes to as many as 500 lung cancer deaths in Colorado each year. The gas forms when uranium is broken down…
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10th Circuit says COVID-19 not a basis for Aspen restaurant’s insurance claim
COVID-19 did not cause an Aspen restaurant to suffer income losses that entitled it to compensation from its property insurer, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Tuesday. L’Hostaria, a since-closed restaurant, filed suit against The Cincinnati Insurance Company in December 2020, alleging it lost approximately $40,000 per month due to pandemic-related closures…
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Appeals court says COVID-19 trial precautions were constitutional
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled for the first time on Thursday that pandemic-era health precautions during jury trials, specifically masking and distancing for jurors, did not violate a defendant’s constitutional rights. Kenneth L. Garcia’s jury trial in July 2020 was the first to take place in Denver after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the…
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RSV cases, hospitalizations higher than usual across Colorado
Hospitalizations and outbreaks are on the rise in Colorado for one respiratory virus. The state’s lead health agency is encouraging everybody, especially schools and child care centers, to do what they can to reduce the spread. Symptoms of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, often resemble a cold – runny or stuffy nose, sneezing and coughing – but…
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Denver launches campaign against mental health stigma
Denver is seeking to eliminate the social stigma around mental health conditions with a new public health campaign. The “What You Say Matters” campaign, which The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment launched on Thursday, aims to encourage Denverites to receive help for mental health issues, and not to judge those who do. “Many in…
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Influenza set to make an early comeback after 2-year hiatus
After more than two years of COVID-19, influenza is poised to make an early and impressive return. And that has health providers in Colorado concerned. “This year has the potential to be a bad flu year,” said Dr. Michelle Barron, senior medical director for infection prevention and control at UC Health. “A lot of the measures…
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Colorado uses new technology to monitor air pollution
Colorado‘s health department is using new technology to monitor air pollution throughout the state, already resulting in enforcement action against polluters. The Department of Public Health and Environment announced the new technology on Wednesday, described as a trailer that continuously measures emissions by parking at trouble areas for weeks at a time. The new tool…
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Gov. Polis OKs extending public health whistleblower protections after pandemic
Colorado will permanently protect people who report public health concerns in their workplace after Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Tuesday expanding COVID-19 whistleblower protections established two years ago. Effective immediately, Senate Bill 97 prohibits retaliation against workers for reporting any workplace health and safety concern or violation of health and safety rules – rather…