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Posted on Author RachelCategories Nursing, Public Health

“Childhood Poverty is a Public Health Crisis,” Nurse Leader Says

Sad homeless Boy

For the Campaign for Action we recently wrote about childhood poverty.

Nearly 12 million children—16 percent of U.S. children—are poor, and the percentage is much higher for minority children. The stress of poverty, the exposure to violence and the lack of consistent health care are some pathways by which poverty causes illness. These stressors create behavioral and physical changes that last through adulthood.

That’s why Deputy Surgeon General and Chief Nurse Officer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN called childhood poverty a leading cause of adult disability and illness, or a “public health crisis.”

The good news is that programs are in place to strengthen the protective factors against childhood poverty. Nurse home-visiting programs, group prenatal care, high-quality early childhood education, and classes that improve parent-child bonding are some proven strategies to help give every child the healthiest possible beginning.

Learn more about programs to ameliorate the effects of childhood poverty.

Posted on Author RachelCategories Health Quality & Safety, Hospitals, Storytelling

Why UCHealth Wins Top Hospital Awards

For The Denver Business Journal, we recently looked at why University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) has won plaudits for so many of its departments.

Better-than-average outcomes, new equipment, adherence to nationally recognized protocols, the ability to get care for highly complex problems, the availability of clinical trials and the sheer size of medical staff all help build a national ranking. So does the availability of nationally-recognized specialists, working together, in tackling medicine’s toughest problems.

Take, for instance, UCH’s obstetrics and gynecology department. We wrote:

“When most people think of obstetrics and gynecology, they see a pregnant woman and a healthy baby. But today’s gynecologists also take care of much more complex patients: mothers of triplets, ill mothers, fetuses with anomalies, and mothers with depression.

To meet this need, UCH’s ob/gyn department – and its more than 50 providers – are specialized in oncology, reproductive endocrinology, family planning, maternal fetal medicine and urogynecology…”

Unearthing these full department profiles took research, persistence and cooperation from the doctors and media relations staff at UCH. The results, 12 tightly written departmental profiles, form the backbone of a special Denver Business Journal section titled, Anschutz: City of Health.

Posted on Author RachelCategories Aging, Behavior Change

Helping Seniors Protect Themselves Against Fraud

This month for AARP Bulletin, I took an in-depth look at how Coloradans are protecting seniors from financial scams. The AARP Foundation’s Fraud Fighter Call Center is a reverse boiler room run from its Denver office. Volunteers – seniors themselves – call strangers to proactively warn them about scams. Although callers often don’t get through and must leave a message, research shows that even if warned on an answering machine, seniors are far less likely to fall for a scam.

I was surprised to learn that financial fraudsters target older, married, high-income, college-educated people. Yet it makes sense. These professionals have had a lifetime to earn, save and invest. “(Seniors) are also the most vulnerable population because if they are no longer working, they don’t have the opportunity to recover from losses,” Gerri Walsh, president of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, told me.

Learn about other AARP Foundation programs to prevent fraud and simple strategies to protect yourself and your parents.