Anyone who has found themselves caring for a loved one with mental illness knows that it can be next to impossible to access the care someone needs to be healthy and safe. That was, unfortunately, the case for my brother, who ultimately died after he was unable to get the care and support he needed. […]
emergency rooms
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Close freestanding emergency rooms
If you’ve ever driven around central Denver or the I-25 corridor, chances are you’ve noticed quite a number of signs directing you to the nearest emergency room. What many people don’t know is that many of those ERs are “freestanding”—meaning they are not connected to a hospital. If you visit a freestanding ER and have […]
Posted inBusiness, Health, News
Colorado will pay hospitals to close expensive free-standing ERs
By Phil Galewitz, KHN Colorado health officials so abhor the high costs associated with free-standing emergency rooms they’re offering to pay hospitals to shut the facilities down. The state wants hospitals to convert them to other purposes, such as providing primary care or mental health services. At least 500 free-standing ERs have set up in more […]
Posted inCOVID, Health, News
In the Denver Health emergency department, patients and caregivers are scarred by a brutal year
She heard the screams first. Dr. Morgan Eutermoser was working another shift in a seemingly endless gantlet of them during the pandemic at the Denver Health emergency department, where she is an attending physician. Her N95 mask dug reassuringly into her face. It was late summer — usually the high season for trauma cases in […]
Posted inHealth, News, Politics and Government
Which was worse: A Colorado man’s bachelor party hangover or the hangover from his ER bill?
By Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News Two days before his wedding, Cameron Fischer had one heck of a bachelor party, hitting a few bars in the Old Town section of Fort Collins, with his friends into the wee hours. The next morning, the 30-year-old IT professional from nearby Loveland woke up with a killer hangover. “I […]
Posted inHealth, News
Colorado emergency rooms are trying something new to stem the opioid crisis: addiction treatment
Years ago, when someone struggling with opioid dependency would show up in a Colorado emergency room after an overdose or as they were suffering through withdrawal, doctors and nurses would patch them up and send them on their way. “They came in and we made them feel a little bit better,” said Dr. Jason Hoppe, […]