http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/ en Copyright 2008 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:05:09 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Two bills intended to provide health insurance for more Colorado children — the crux of Gov. Bill Ritter’s 2008 health care reform proposal — got bipartisan support Thursday in their initial steps through the Legislature. Senate Health and Human Services Committee members sent both measures to the Senate Appropriations Committee after hearing testiand pregnant women who have health care. Ritter has said that of the roughly 160,000 uninsured Colorado children, another 45,000 will get insurance under this plan. SB160 by Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, would increase the maximum income for eligibility in Medicaid or the state’s Child Health Plan Plus insurance programs. It also would presume any child applying for the programs is eligible, allowing them to sign up and receive health care immediately rather than having to wait until eligibility was verified. SB161, meanwhile, removes some of the red tape around signing up for the insurance programs. The main provision of the bill by Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, allows the state to verify income information of applicants through government databases rather than requiring parents to submit cumbersome paperwork they sometimes do not have. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030509 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030509 Health Care and Public Safety www.gazette.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:05:09 -0700 The Senate on Thursday gave initial backing to a bill that would increase the amount juries can award in some medical malpractice suits, a move Republicans said could make doctors stop practicing and make health care more expensive. Democrats said the bill, backed by trial lawyers, simply returns the law to where it was under the state's original tort reform before it was changed in 2003. It's opposed by the state's largest medical malpractice insurer and many doctors, who have been flooding lawmakers with calls and e-mails. The proposal, Senate Bill 164, applies to cases where someone has been disfigured or impaired. It would allow those people to sue for up to $1 million in damages, although the judge could allow jurors to award more money. Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, said it applies only to a small number of extreme cases such as when someone ends up in a wheelchair or becomes blind because of bad medical care. But Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Sedalia, said creative lawyers would present various kinds of cases as fitting under the disfigurement and impairment category. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030525 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030525 Health Care and Public Safety www.rockymountainnews.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:54:44 -0700 Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, and a handful of his peers Thursday unsuccessfully attempted to chop down a bill they said could result in a spike in the size of medical malpractice lawsuits. “At a time of spiraling health care costs, this legislation threatens to increase them even more,” Penry said, attacking Senate Bill 164. The measure, sponsored by Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, effectively increases the amount of money juries can award litigants in malpractice for severe disfigurement. By redefining what a “non-economic” loss is, such as a scar or other handicap caused by medical malpractice, those injuries would fall outside the state’s $300,000 damages cap for nonmonetary injuries. Those types of injuries would fall under a new damages cap of roughly $460,000. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030493 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030493 Health Care and Public Safety www.gjsentinel.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:12:45 -0700 A ban on Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages may soon be lifted. On an 8-3 vote, a House committee Thursday gave its approval to a measure that would end that practice and allow liquor stores around the state to sell alcohol on Sundays. Rep. Cheri Jahn, D-Wheat Ridge, said it used to be that no business in the state was allowed to open on Sundays. But industry after industry forced that to change over time. "This is nothing more than that," Jahn told the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee. "We have an industry that does want to open on Sunday, or at least have a choice to open. That's what this bill does. It simply gives them the choice." http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030498 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030498 Health Care and Public Safety pueblochieftain.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:10:03 -0700 Start chilling the champagne, liquor fans, because you're three steps away from buying booze on Sundays after Thursday's vote in a House committee. Consumer demand trumped dozens of concerned convenience store owners who bellied up to the witness table to discuss how Sunday sales will drive down demand for lower-strength beer and siphon off their profits. The committee voted 8-3 to pass Senate Bill 82, which must clear a finance committee, the full House and the governor's desk before liquor storeowners can swing open their doors on Sundays. An amendment by Rep. David Balmer that would have allowed convenience stores to sell full-strength beer died before it was introduced. The committee chair refused to let it be heard. Balmer ultimately voted for the bill, though he said it was unfair to the corner stores that are not allowed to sell full-strength beer. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030451 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030451 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:44:18 -0700 Coloradans using a new state prescription program for lower-income people will end up paying more for most drugs than they would at chain pharmacies, according to a Denver Post cost comparison. Those findings have triggered questions from some retailers about the Colorado program. Colorado Cares Rx, unveiled this month by the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, is aimed at helping low-income, uninsured and underinsured people afford lifesaving drugs for chronic diseases, said department spokeswoman Joanne Lindsay. The new program is a partnership with RxOutreach, the nonprofit branch of mail-order pharmacy Express Scripts Inc. in St. Louis. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030461 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030461 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 06:40:53 -0700 An ineffective vaccine could be one factor fueling a spike in flu cases in Larimer County, health officials say. Thirty-five people have been hospitalized in Larimer with the flu this season, 29 more than the same time last year, said Jane Viste, spokeswoman for the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030410 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030410 Health Care and Public Safety coloradoan.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:09:18 -0700 "Dispatch calling Capt. Shane Stewart..." The words of Weld County dispatcher Ron Gies echoed over the radios Thursday afternoon at the Eaton Cemetery as hundreds of people stood in absolute silence. "Dispatch calling Capt. Shane Stewart..." The words came again on the sun-drenched cemetery, as the last call for Stewart, who died Saturday in a fire truck on his way to an emergency call. It was the end of the ceremonious day for the family and friends of Stewart, who was laid to rest after an extensive funeral and procession from the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley to the Eaton Cemetery. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030419 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030419 Health Care and Public Safety greeleytribune.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:05:32 -0700 Lunch for tens of thousands of Jefferson County schoolchildren won't include 400 cases of frozen beef, which were disposed of Thursday morning. Colorado's largest school district had bought some of the 143 million pounds of frozen beef recalled from Chino, Calif.-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. Jeffco warehouse staff threw the meat in dumpsters, said district spokeswoman Melissa Reeves. The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the recall Feb. 17. Westland/Hallmark supplies meat to the federal school lunch program. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030519 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030519 Health Care and Public Safety www.rockymountainnews.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:57:49 -0700 Heart Center of the Rockies is relocating its administrative offices to Precision Drive Business Park at Centerra, bringing 40 jobs to Loveland. The move will bring the Heart Center's accounting and finance, heart aware, research and IT departments to the business park. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030437 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030437 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:54:58 -0700 Volunteer Fire Capt. Shane Stewart was remembered in Greeley on Thursday as a fellow with an impish grin, a mischievous streak and a kind-hearted father of two who went out of his way to help others. Between laughter at some of his practical jokes and a large-screen picture of Stewart in drag, there were heartfelt words of condolence and loss. "He will be deeply missed by everyone who knew and loved him," said Scott Wagner, the chief of the Ault-Pierce Fire Protection District. "I felt honored when we moved into the new station, and he asked to have the locker next to mine." Stewart, 33, was killed early Saturday when the 1995 pumper engine he was driving ran off the road as he answered an Ault medical call. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030456 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030456 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:42:10 -0700 Rolo the dog trotted around a private kennel's play yard Thursday, and his owner, Laura Hagan, couldn't stop smiling. "I think he knows," said Hagan, who saw her 5-year-old German shepherd for the first time since he escaped a possible date with the executioner. An Arvada judge Wednesday spared Rolo's life but handed Hagan a 90-day suspended jail sentence, a required training regimen and other conditions for a scratch or bite that Rolo inflicted on a neighbor last summer. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030450 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/29/#030450 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:44:36 -0700 The Indian Health Care Improvement Act approved by the U.S. Senate this week closes a number of disparities in health care for American Indians, said Sen. Ken Salazar. "It's been 16 years since Congress conducted a comprehensive review of Indian health care," Salazar, D-Colo., said in a news release. "I'm proud of the bill because it funds programs and services to reduce many health disparities that persist in Native American communities, including 52,000 Native Americans who live in Colorado." The House still must approve its version of the bill. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030245 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030245 Health Care and Public Safety durangoherald.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 08:57:54 -0700 State Rep. Christine Scanlan is wasting no time on Capitol Hill, as she passed two new bills on Tuesday out of the House Transportation and Energy Committee. The two new bills aim to protect passenger safety on ski lifts and school buses. The first, House Bill 1244, continues the passenger safety tramway board for the next 12 years. The board provides oversight for Colorado’s 374 tramways, most of which are ski lifts. “In just the last two years, there have been more than 25 million ski visits to our resorts, which have accounted for more than 250 million rides on our lifts,” Rep. Scanlan said. “Not once has there been a major lift failure or accident during that time. Obviously, we’re doing something right. Keeping this board going for the next 12 years ensures we keep doing it right.” http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030254 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030254 Health Care and Public Safety summitdaily.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:52:54 -0700 Rolo the dog, who got loose last summer and bit or scratched a neighbor as she held her toddler, has dodged a death sentence for the second time. In what dog owners hailed as a victory, Arvada Municipal Judge Mike Graber on Wednesday gave the 5-year-old German shepherd a reprieve. But Graber sternly cautioned Rolo's owner that she must comply with a list of sanctions. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030138 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030138 Health Care and Public Safety www.chicagotribune.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:26:43 -0700 Lunch for tens of thousands of Jefferson County schoolchildren won't include 400 cases of frozen beef, which is being destroyed starting this morning. Colorado's largest school district bought some of the 143 million pounds of frozen beef being recalled from Chino, Calif.-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. Jeffco warehouse staff will destroy the meat at a Jeffco Schools storage warehouse on Quail Street in Lakewood. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030301 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030301 Health Care and Public Safety www.rockymountainnews.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:22:52 -0700 Rolo the dog, who got loose last summer and bit or scratched a neighbor as she held her toddler, has dodged a death sentence for the second time. In what dog owners hailed as a victory, Municipal Judge Mike Graber on Wednesday gave the 5-year-old German shepherd a reprieve. But Graber sternly cautioned Rolo's owner that she must comply with a list of sanctions. "I'm trying to balance your rights and interests as well as the needs of the community," Graber told Laura Hagan. "If you don't do these things, it would be very serious." Hagan received a 90-day jail sentence that is suspended for one year if Rolo stays out of trouble. Rolo and Hagan also must continue a 12- to 16-week training regimen with monthly progress reports. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030240 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030240 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:01:21 -0700 Summit County Sheriff John Minor said Tuesday’s sit-down with members of the Denver Water Board “went really well,” as the the agencies discussed communication, safety and security related to the Dillon Dam Road. “Obviously these are issues we will still need to work on as we try to develop this relationship and, like any relationship, it will take time,” said Sheriff John Minor. Denver Water and local law enforcement have recently been subjected to public scrutiny after the Denver Water closed the Dillon Dam Road for nine days in January due to a potential Homeland Security threat. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030255 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030255 Health Care and Public Safety summitdaily.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:52:12 -0700 Rolo lives. That's what a judge decided Wednesday afternoon. Assistant Presiding Judge Mike Graber ruled that the German shepherd, in trouble for biting a neighbor, can return to his owner. Not without conditions, however. Laura Hagan, Rolo's owner, has to continue intense training with the dog and learn how to better control him. A 90-day jail sentence for Hagan, who was found guilty Tuesday of having a dog at large and keeping a dangerous animal, will be suspended if the dog stays out of trouble for a year, Graber ruled. Ten of Hagan's neighbors testified at a sentencing hearing that the dog was aggressive and they had concerns ranging from mild to extreme for their safety and the safety of their children. Hagan was found guilty Tuesday of having an at-large dog and having a dangerous animal. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030300 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030300 Health Care and Public Safety www.rockymountainnews.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:23:22 -0700 A skier died Wednesday at Eldora Mountain Resort. Officials said the 46-year-old man was found at 1:15 p.m. at the bottom of West Ridge, an intermediate trail in the Corona area. He was unresponsive and not breathing. Ski patrollers administered life support, but the skier was pronounced dead after about an hour. It was the first skier death "in quite a number of years" at Eldora Mountain Resort," said Rob Linde, resort spokesman. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030228 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/28/#030228 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:08:35 -0700 The air in Colorado's casinos cleared in the first month of a smoking ban, with the levels of harmful air-pollution particles dropping 92 percent, according to a new state report. "It's what we've seen in other states — pretty dramatic results once the smoke-free laws pass," said Jodi Kopke, a spokeswoman for the state health department's Tobacco Education and Prevention Partnership. Colorado's smoke-free law passed in 2006, but casinos were exempt until Jan. 1, 2008. For the new study, researchers used personal air-quality monitors that measured the concentration of particles collected by a tube at neck level. "These are the small particles, which are especially dangerous because people inhale them very deeply," Kopke said. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030010 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030010 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:02:11 -0700 Just a few months ago Colorado casinos were home to clouds of toxic gas, where 250 poisonous chemicals in the bluish smoke threatened the health of everyone in the place. After a Jan. 1 smoking ban took effect, the people playing those slot machines might as well be hiking in the fresh Rocky Mountain air, at least when it comes to what they breathe. Less than two months after the law forced casino customers to snuff out cigarettes at the door, the indoor air quality has improved by 92 percent, according to the State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership, based at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The study used a device that measured fine particles in the air before and after the smoking ban took effect. The ban was enacted to protect employees from being exposed to secondhand smoke. It took effect for bars and restaurants in 2006 and was expanded to include casinos beginning Jan. 1. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030061 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030061 Health Care and Public Safety www.gazette.com Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:29:03 -0700 Increasing numbers of patients who can’t pay their hospital bills, coupled with low reimbursements from the federal government, are creating unhealthy balance sheets for Colorado Springs’ two main hospital systems. Hospital officials say the rising cost of providing health care services that aren’t reimbursed is eroding profits and leading to a search for answers. “There are no funds out there to offset uncompensated care. We write those off as direct expenses born by the facility,” said Michael Scialdone, chief financial officer for Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, which operates Penrose and Penrose Community hospitals. “It’s one of the largest growing expenses for a hospital, and it’s having an impact on the bottom line,” Scialdone said. “When it comes to putting funds into salary increases or new equipment, it has a huge effect.” Providing services that aren’t paid for makes it harder for hospitals to manage operations and make money, officials say. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030062 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030062 Health Care and Public Safety www.gazette.com Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:08:46 -0700 While the new University of Colorado Hospital has valet parking, private patient rooms and national rankings, some experts question whether the placement of its helipad puts patient care at risk. When critically injured patients are flown by medical helicopters to most hospitals, they can be wheeled on stretchers from the helipads directly into elevators or emergency rooms. However, at the hospital at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the trip to the ER isn't over when the helicopter touches down. Since the helipad is across the street from the hospital, flight medics have to load the patient into an ambulance and then drive to the hospital. "We prefer a helipad that's close to the patients' ultimate destination," said Kathleen Mayer, program director for Flight for Life Colorado. "Any time you're moving a patient in and out of a vehicle, there is the risk that you can dislodge tubes or IV lines or those kinds of things." Or that the ambulance won't be ready and waiting for the helicopter. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030012 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030012 Health Care and Public Safety www.denverpost.com Wed, 27 Feb 2008 06:00:57 -0700 February is the heart of influenza season according to Immunization Program Coordinator for Garfield County Public Health (GCPH), Sara Harter. So far GCPH has recorded only five hospitalizations from Dec. 21, 2007, to Feb. 25, 2008, for Garfield County. That number may seem low, but it’s been a pretty productive flu season according to Harter. “There are more cases than last year, but last year was unusually low,” Harter said. “But the severity of the illnesses have not been as bad.” For the 2006-07 flu season, GCPH had six hospitalizations reported countywide, one more than this season. Hospitalization cases requiring admittance to a hospital for symptoms are the only cases reported to GCPH. But Harter said that more people diagnosed with flu-like symptoms have occurred this year. http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030032 http://media.progressnowaction.org/clips/2008/02/27/#030032 Health Care and Public Safety www.postindependent.com Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:47:21 -0700