Providing a safe environment when our children are away from home is a parent’s responsibility. One of the best things you can do for your children is to educate them and make them aware of the dangers.
Child Safety Tips can help protect your child and provide some peace of mind.
Learn more about various contraceptive methods.
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is abuse by a spouse or partner. It can be physical or emotional. Things like hitting, constant put downs, withholding money, threats, bullying, isolation, sexual abuse or using children in harmful ways can all be acts of abuse. An abusive person uses these actions to maintain fear, intimidate and maintain power over the partner. Every 15 seconds…
Take the Pledge with Denver Health. The fight to end distracted driving starts with you. Make the commitment to drive distraction-free today.
Texting takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds. At 55mph, that’s like driving an entire football field blindfolded.
If you are concerned that alcohol or drug use may have been a part of the cause of an injury or illness in your life, learn more about how to know if there is a problem and how to get help.
How Can I Tell if I Have an Alcohol or Drug Problem?
Review these items as you think about your drug or alcohol use:
What to do when your partner says YES and you want to say NO
Sexual activity can be a positive experience that makes couples feel closer to each other. Deciding to become sexually active with another person changes the way you think about and act towards each other, in ways you may not even expect.
Winter Sports Injury Prevention Tips: Frostbite
It only takes a few minutes for exposed skin to become frostbitten if the temperature is below 20 F and the wind is blowing at 20 mph or more.
Keep your family safe this Halloween with these simple suggestions.
Beat the heat with these tips from Denver Health. Beating the heat can be challenging when temperatures approach 100º F.
Wear A Helmet!
The best way to reduce injury from bicycle crashes and outdoor recreation is by wearing a helmet.
Children should always wear a helmet for all wheeled sports activities. A properly-fitted bike helmet is just as effective when riding a scooter, roller skating or inline skating. However, when skateboarding and long boarding, make sure your child wears a skateboarding helmet.
Using your fireplace, wood stove or other fuel-fired devices can be a great way to provide heat and comfort during the cold winter months. Before you use your device, it is important to follow a few basic safety steps to avoid a dangerous situation.
Talking with Your Parents about Your Sexual Decisions
The decisions you are making about your sexual behavior are an important part of becoming an adult. You may be asking yourself some questions:
Condoms are sheaths of thin latex or plastic worn on the penis during sex. Condoms collect semen ("cum") before, during and after a man ejaculates ("cums").
Winter Sports Injury Prevention Tips: Skating
Ice skating is a fun winter activity, and also a great exercise! The National Safety Council offers these tips to help you and your family enjoy safe skating.
What Is HIV?
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS. In the U.S., about 1.2 million people are living with HIV or AIDS. Of those people, about 250,000 have HIV but don 't know it. This year, about 40,000 new people will become infected with HIV in the U.S.
How Do People Get HIV?
HIV can be passed from persons with the HIV virus through:
What are the key steps to a healthy weight?
Make Wise Food Choices
Follow the Food Guide Pyramid to make wise food choices, including the following:
Risk for Injury
More than 235,000 adults and 17,000 children in the U.S. were injured by lawn mowers in 2010, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Boys sustain 80% of lawnmower injuries, which most often occur on the arms or the hands.
Riding lawn mowers cause more injuries each year than push mowers, because they tip and roll over, placing a child at risk of being run over and…
What is Lead?
Lead is a naturally occurring metal found in the environment. It does not have a particular taste or smell. Human bodies do not need lead. When a person is exposed to lead by eating, drinking or breathing contaminated particles, it can be absorbed into the body. This can potentially cause health problems, especially with the brain, nervous systems and kidneys. Children, infants and…
Playgrounds can be wonderful places for families to exercise and play. They are also the source of hundreds of thousands of emergency visits to the emergency department for preschool and elementary aged children. (Between 2001 - 2008, an average of 218, 851 preschool and elementary children received emergency department care for injuries that occurred on playground equipment.
Falling down is not just part of getting older. It is serious problem and one that impacts 33% of adults, age 65 and older. Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries, and annually lead to more than 500,000 hospitalizations a year. In 2010 alone, the estimated direct medical costs were $30 Billion.
Rabies is a disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. It is transmitted in the saliva through the bite of infected animals.
You can prevent snake bites by being aware, safe, and cautious. Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes commonly found in Colorado.
Be Rattlesnake Aware
You are most likely to encounter a rattlesnake when walking, hiking, climbing, or camping. You're likely to find rattlesnakes around rocks, shrubs, tall grasses, and brush. They like hot surfaces and you'll often see them sunning themselves on rocks,…
Sick of smoking and trying to quit? Call the Colorado QuitLine for free support from a Quit Coach and free nicotine patches.
Free Support and Quit Plan
This includes a personal quit plan from a Quit Coach, plus tips and support that improves your chances of quitting for good.
Winter Sports Injury: Snow Skiing
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were more than 144,000 snow skiing-related injuries treated in hospitals, doctor's offices, and emergency rooms in 2010. Injuries associated with snowboarding were even greater: 148,000.
Common Ski Injuries:
Sledding Safety
Sledding down a snowy hill has long been a favorite winter activity. While the bumpy ride can be thrilling, it can also be dangerous. Every year thousands of people are injured sledding in parks, streets and recreational areas. Most of these injuries are preventable.
For most people, snow removal is an expected chore. But, for some, the risk of a heart attack or back injury is a reality. If you are not in good physical condition or have existing heart disease or a personal history of stroke, you are at a higher risk for injury. Snow removal can be especially dangerous if you do not exercise regularly.
Snow Thrower Safety
Snow throwers are wonderful devices for helping us clear away the heavy Colorado snow. However, they can also cause serious injuries. The Orthopedic Experts at Denver Health encourage you to be smart when using these powerful tools.
Winter Sports Injury Prevention Tips: Snowmobiling
More than 1.5 million snowmobiles in the United States will venture into the back country each winter. The majority of snowmobile accidents involved collisions with fixed or moving objects such as fence posts, barbed wire, trees, cars, and other snowmobiles.
A completed suicide occurs when an individual ends their own life. It is a serious public health issue that can have a huge impact on a family, an office, a school or even an entire community.
Talking about suicide is a difficult conversation that many just avoid, and some feel that not talking about the subject will make the problem disappear.
Each year in the United States, an estimated 3 billion toys and games are sold. In 2009, an estimated 185,900 children ages 14 and under were treated in an emergency department for a toy-related injury. 45 percent of toy-related injuries were to the head or face.
General Safety Tips:
Trampoline jumping is a common backyard sport and recreational activity. It is now experiencing a resurgence of popularity in commercial recreation trampoline jump facilities. Hospital emergency physician’s treat hundreds of thousands of trampoline-related injuries each year. The costs of medical, legal, insurance and disability expenses exceed four billion dollars. Injuries are significant among…
Keep your family safe around water this summer.
What is Folic Acid
Folic acid is a B vitamin found in multivitamin supplements
Folate is the form of folic acid found naturally in foods
Who Needs Folic Acid?
Everyone needs some folic acid
Women who are of child-bearing age need extra folic acid
Pregnant women, especially in the first 3 months of pregnancy need more folic acid
Why is Folic Acid Important?
Folic acid…
Each year we hear the unfortunate news of a toddler being injured or killed after falling from a window. A study cited by Safe Kids Worldwide says children under the age of five rack up 3,300 injuries from window falls each year in the United States.
Winter Fall Prevention
When winter snowflakes fall, so do people. One of the most threatening winter hazards is the potential to slip and fall on patches of ice and snow, causing serious injuries including lacerations, broken bones, and even traumatic brain injuries.
Prevention Tips
Winter Sports Injury Prevention
Winter means cold temperatures, snowstorms, and fun winter sports for millions of people. For most winter sports, proper and well-fitting equipment, good physical conditioning, common sense, and good sportsmanship can help eliminate many injuries.
Winter Sports Related Injuries
Zumba! It’s a high energy aerobic workout that uses dance steps borrowed from the merengue, salsa and other dances. The Zumba exercise craze continues to grow in popularity as more than 12 million fitness buffs worldwide participate.
Pain management among hospitalized patients can be challenging. Patients may have unrealistic notions about how their pain should be controlled, while physicians carry their own biases and experiences that influence pain management strategies.
As a practicing hospitalist in a safety net hospital, I am on the front lines battling the opioid epidemic. In the past five years, I have seen an increase in the number of hospitalized patients with heroin-related medical complications, including abscesses, cellulitis, infective endocarditis and overdose events.
For more than 150 years, Denver Health has served the Denver metro community – with integrated services and a team-based approach to your health care needs. Learn more about Denver Health’s history – and see how far we’ve come.
Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the December issue of the SGIM Forum.
Editor’s note: In 2017, the New England Journal of Medicine featured a piece entitled “Letter to a Young Female Physician,” in which Dr. Suzanne Koven writes to her younger self at the point she would begin residency training, before embarking on a 30-year career in medicine.
I am a hospitalist at a safety-net hospital.
By: Sansrita Nepal, M.D., Marisa Echaniz, M.D. and Joseph Walker Keach, M.D.
By: Sansrita Nepal, M.D., Marisa Echaniz, M.D. and Joseph Walker Keach, M.D.
How Actors Manipulate Their Voice, Speech and Language
The 90th Academy Awards got me thinking about how actors and actresses can manipulate voice, speech and language to capture the authenticity of a character. If you are not a speech pathologist (or married to one), you may be asking yourself what the difference is between voice, speech and language?
We've all been hearing about the opioid epidemic. According to the CDC, in 2014, there were more drug overdose deaths in the U.S. than ever before. But, how has this epidemic affected adolescents? Adolescents certainly aren't immune. From 1999-2013, drug overdose deaths among 12-25 year olds increased from 3.1 to 7.3 deaths per 100,000 (Source: Trust for America’s Health). Here are some ways to…
What Keeps Doctors Happy and Productive
Everybody in medicine is talking about burnout. We all have our favorite hypotheses about what could be to blame: tight schedules, too much computer time, tough administrators, know-it-all politicians, RVU’s (Relative Value Units), difficult patients. Doctors seek to understand causes so that we can find cures. It’s the diagnose-and-treat paradigm.
Awareness is the key to improving communication
The month of May is packed with celebrations like ‘May the 4th be with you’ and Cinco de Mayo. In Colorado, May means no more snow and the start of biking, shorts and outdoor BBQ’s. In the world of medicine, May celebrates nurses, trauma care, mental health providers and better hearing and speech. For the American Speech-Language…
The Role for Structured Debriefing After Adverse Patient OutcomesClinical work can take an emotional toll on health care providers. Especially, when despite our best intentions; one of our patients gets sicker unexpectedly or as a result of the care that we have provided.
By: Chi Zheng, M.D., Patrick Ryan, M.D. and Marisa Echaniz, M.D.
Concussions in sports, whether mild or serious, must all be taken seriously. Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a blow or jolt to the head or to the body, causing the brain to shake within the skull. The impact does not have to be directly to the skull; it can be to the upper body or part of the head. Concussions can affect the way the brain normally works.
Fireworks during the 4th of July are part of the American tradition. Unfortunately, thousands of people (mostly children and teens) are injured while using consumer fireworks.
In 2017, Denver Health Paramedics responded to 344 calls on the 4th of July, according to Lt. Julia Arellano. The typical calls are for alcohol intoxication, unconsciousness, falls and traffic accidents, but fireworks…
Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand this, too, was a gift.” -Mary Oliver
“Thank you very much but I’m afraid I must decline your kind offer.”
A good long time ago I was frustrated. Frustrated about the myriad of social problems, the endless procession of patients suffering from the ravages of addiction. Imperfect solutions. I was, in retrospect, burned out. So I did what any normal professional would do. I went looking for a new job.
M. Juliana Hopman, FNP is a Nurse Practitioner at Denver Health. She has worked at Denver Health for 13 years. When she first started her career, she worked mainly in the Trauma department. Now, she personally oversees the recently accredited bariatric surgery program. We recently sat down with her to talk about what a nurse practitioner does and how she helps patients at Denver Health.
One day, I was walking down 6th Avenue and a woman shouted in Spanish, "Are you an interpreter?”
I said, "yes, I am, do you need help?”
With a high number of reported flu cases in Colorado this season and plenty of people calling in sick to school and work, we wanted to answer a question that we know a lot of you probably have – "just how serious is the flu this season?" For the answer, we asked our infectious disease doctor, Heather Young, MD. Here's what she said:
The Post-it Note, or sticky note. It's small, simple, circumspect and found by the multi-pack in every office supply closet in the country. These notes are foot soldiers in the daily battle for memory of phone numbers, deadlines and coworkers’ birthdays.
Also? They're my secret weapon.
Throughout the history of the United States of America, there have been 43 presidents who have governed our nation (45 presidential terms because Grover Cleveland served twice). With only four former presidents and one current president alive today, Denver Health experts dived into how our past Commanders-in-Chief died and how we would treat them now.
The Motion Picture Association of America nominated the movie “The Favourite” for an Academy Award for best picture. If you’ve already seen this movie, you will have noticed the main character, Queen Anne (played by Oscar-nominated actress Olivia Coleman), suffered from an on again/off again painful joint condition called gout.
Dehydration Facts: Can You Really Get Dehydrated in Winter?
Anyone who has lived through a Colorado winter comes to know that they need two staples to make it through until spring: lots of lip balm and gallons of moisturizing skin cream. Although Colorado air is dry all year long, it gets a whole lot worse in winter and the effects that has on us are, while mostly annoying, can also have real…
Home Treatments for the Common Cold and Cough from a Medical Perspective
It’s cold and flu season, and almost everyone has a family or "home remedy" for the common cold. Here are the top five best home remedies we gathered from our Denver Health employees, along with some less effective home remedies and some solid medical advice for how to treat a cold.
Top Five Home Remedies for a Cold
Debuting in January 2019, the popular Netflix show “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” promised to help families decrease chaos and “spark joy” within their homes. Although the notion of watching stressed-out families organize their belongings is baffling to some, Kondo’s approach fits well with popular cultural movements emphasizing minimalism and mindful consumerism.
Calling all Superheroes! This Sunday, April 28 is National Superhero Day which was created in 1995 by Marvel Comics employees in order to recognize both real and fictional superheroes.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and in recognition of that, I want to talk about the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program at Denver Health and what a person can expect if they come in for treatment following an assault.
I get a lot of questions in the Denver Health Dermatology clinic about brown spots appearing on skin and more importantly how to get rid of them. This is an especially important topic as the weather gets warmer.
First let’s start with explaining why you have them and how can you prevent them and then we will get into how to treat them.
The shooting on May 8 at STEM School Highlands Ranch that killed one student and injured eight others has some parents and students feeling anxious, upset and outraged – which are all normal feelings to have after a tragedy.
It's important for parents/guardians/family members and students to be aware of their feelings and take care of their mental health after an event like this hits close to…
A Denver Health Physician's Perspective
More than 700 cases of measles have been recorded across the country since January. But only 89 percent of kindergarten-aged children in Colorado have been vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
By now most of us are aware that we need to protect our skin from the sun. However, while sunscreen is commonly seen by the pool or at the beach, recent data shows that most American adults do not use it regularly throughout the year, if at all. The confusion is real. Which sunscreen is best? Which sunscreen does not irritate my skin or cause me to break out? Should I use a water-resistant…
Denver Health se enorgullece en brindar atención médica de la más alta calidad para todos, sin importar quién eres o de dónde vienes. Nuestra misión es cuidar a la gente de Denver y la región de las Montañas Rocosas. Nuestra atención medica se extiende a todos nuestros pacientes, sin importar su estado social o económico, capacidad de pago o el idioma que hablen.
Denver Health is proud to provide affirming and sensitive health care for the LGBTQ community at all of our locations from a network of specially-trained, LGBTQ-friendly physicians and providers. Caring for the LGBTQ patient population also includes showing support as an organization for LGBTQ people at community events, including Denver PrideFest every June.
This is MyChart Week at Denver Health, and all week long, we are helping our patients (with free giveaways) sign up for the free, easy-to-use mobile and desktop app.
Denver Health would like to congratulate the USA Women's National Soccer Team for securing their fourth Women's World Cup title on Sunday! In honor of the team's fourth World Cup and for the women we all love in our lives, here are four tips for women who want to stay healthy:
More than 15 million American adults struggle with alcohol abuse, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It can be especially tough to control those addictions around the holidays.
Blue skies and sunshine are standards of living in Denver. Biking down your favorite mountain or relaxing in one of the parks is a big perk of summer in our state, but this can also mean dangerous sun and heat exposures, especially during the middle part of the day when the sun is the strongest. With the temperature set to hit 100 degrees this week, it is time to be aware of heat dangers and how…
When you or a loved one is suddenly injured or feeling very sick, there's a critical decision to make – do you need to go to urgent care or the emergency room?
After a long summer of lazy days and not-so-strict bedtimes, no homework and not having to pack lunches, going back to school can be a stressful time for both families and their students! Staying healthy is a major factor in a student's success at school, so here is a short checklist of what every family should talk about now that school is back in session.
August is National Breastfeeding Month
Did you know that each August, the world celebrates World Breastfeeding Week from August 1-7, and that August is National Breastfeeding Month in the United States? All month long, attention is drawn to the importance of breastfeeding and the continued need to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
“Relax!” “Calm down!” “Chill out!”
Sept. 23-27 is Malnutrition Awareness Week.
With summer now winding down – we can reflect on the memories of having fun: water slides at Elitch Gardens, basketball and kickball in the park, riding bikes and scooters around town and skateboarding. Every once in a while during those activities, you may twist an ankle or fall on an arm, which leads to a broken bone.
Suicide Awareness Month and World Suicide Prevention Day
September is Suicide Awareness Month and today is World Suicide Prevention Day
From time to time, we come across interesting and inspiring stories about our more than 7,000 Denver Health team members. Nurse manager Tina Van Winks has an incredible story of transformation to tell. She lost 57 pounds in seven months and has improved her life both at home and at work.
As we welcome the fall weather, changing leaf colors and start of the fall season, we have the opportunity to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. From September 15 – October 15, several Latin American countries celebrate independence, and in America, we can celebrate the wonderful culture influence those with Hispanic ancestors contribute to our society.
Weight-loss surgery, medically known as bariatric surgery, has been proven as an effective way to help patients find a new lease on life. It is recommended to those who weigh more than 100 pounds over their ideal body weight or those who are considered severely obese with a medical complication, such as Type 2 diabetes (aka adult onset diabetes).
It's flu season once again and we have already seen the virus surface here in Denver. While it's a little early to talk about how severe the flu season is going to be this year, we can address one of the most common questions we get from our Denver Health patients this time of year: "How Do I know if I Have the Flu vs. A Cold?"
Information for Parents on World Diabetes Day
At Denver Health, we are proud to care for adolescents at multiple facilities throughout our system: including at the main hospital, family health centers and our school-based health centers. Two of the most common questions we receive from parents as their young people start maturing are:
MyChart makes it easy to manage your health care journey at Denver Health – including your prescriptions at Denver Health Pharmacies – from your computer or mobile device. Here's how to do it.
The most common way to take asthma medicine is with an inhaler.
The medicine from an inhaler is sprayed out and needs to be breathed deep into the lungs. In order to get the medicine all the way into the lungs, you need to use a spacer. If you don’t use a spacer, less than half of the medicine will make it into the lungs – most will stick in your mouth and throat.
The following is a step-by-…
About two and a half years ago in a small rural town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an 18-year-old girl had just started using her first electronic cigarette (e-cigarette). She was not too different than any other teenager in Denver. She attended high school and worked part-time at as a hostess at a local restaurant.
According to a survey at Denver Health's nine Family Health Centers, one of the biggest questions patients have is how to get their lab and test results.
MyChart makes it easy to manage your health care journey at Denver Health – including getting those test results sent to you, right on your computer or mobile device. Here's how to do it.
The most common way to take asthma medicine is with an inhaler.
The medicine from an inhaler is sprayed out and needs to be breathed deep into the lungs. In order to get the medicine all the way into the lungs, you need to use a spacer.
If you don’t use a spacer, less than half of the medicine will make it into the lungs – most will stick in your mouth and throat.
The following is a step-…
As part of Denver Health's celebration of Black History Month, we asked a few of our employees to introduce themselves, tell us why diversity is important at Denver Health and what Black History Month means to them. Here is just one of those responses:
The most common way to take asthma medicine is with an inhaler.
The medicine from an inhaler is sprayed out and breathed deep into the lungs. Inhalers are made of medicine and propellant (the thing that carries the medicine out). When an inhaler is new, has not been used for seven days, or has been dropped, steps need to be taken to make sure the medicine is mixed in with the propellant.
We recently asked some of the team members at Denver Health's nine family health centers to give us a list of the most common reasons patients call the clinic.
When your child gets sick or injured and you cannot get an appointment with their pediatrician right away, taking them to urgent care is a good option to make sure they get the care that they need. At the new Denver Health Downtown Urgent Care, we treat all patients, including children six months of age and older.
Think the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can't survive cold weather? Think again! With the snow and cold weather we're seeing for the next couple days, a lot of Coloradans are thinking about what happens with coronavirus and snow. We talked to our chief medical officer, Connie Savor Price, MD to help bust some of the coronavirus myths.
Denver Health has and will continue to see patients infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Our staff is vigilant about identifying those patients, isolating them and getting them the proper treatment, because we are committed to helping to stop the spread of the virus in our community.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is causing a lot of stress. It is disrupting our finances, health, social interactions and much more. Stress, in turn, affects our mental health.
