Author: Jakob Rodgers
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How Colorado avoided catastrophe as the coronavirus hit state
– PHOTOS: Documenting COVID-19 in the Pikes Peak region. During Colorado’s monthlong statewide quarantine, the coronavirus’ spread slowed, deaths climbed, ventilators went unused and unemployment exploded. Which is to say, it went mostly as expected. As life in Colorado begins inching back toward normalcy, executives of the state’s major hospitals and some El Paso County business leaders…
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How coronavirus surprised and got the upper hand on El Paso County: A stealth attack
– PHOTOS: Documenting COVID-19 in the Pikes Peak region. Eric Peterson sat beside his dying mother in a dimly lit hospital room — a mask over his mouth, a sanitized gown over his body and two gloves covering each hand. He held her hand. He dabbed her forehead with a cool damp cloth. And unable to feel…
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Penrose-St. Francis, Children’s delay some construction projects
The only thing capable of putting a dent in the Pikes Peak region’s years-long hospital construction boom appears to be the coronavirus pandemic. Penrose-St. Francis Health Services is pausing expansion plans at its sprawling campus on Colorado Springs’ northeast side and Children’s Hospital Colorado is re-evaluating the timing of two new clinics. Together, they mark…
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Colorado health care system being dismantled by pandemic at the time it’s most needed
Just as coronavirus infections spiked and hospitals struggled to deal with a mushrooming pandemic, Shelby Johnson and other Colorado Springs clinicians were told to stay home. Their shifts at a local urgent care were cut. “I would have thought it would be the opposite — calling all hands on deck, cross-training, things like that,” said…
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Colorado Springs-area doctors, nurses try to conquer coronavirus and their own fears: Stories from the front lines
Slowdown in coronavirus growth a sign that social distancing in Colorado has worked, doctors say Coronavirus in Colorado: Live updates – Spread rate of COVID-19 slowing in Colorado; First-time unemployment claims triple Coronavirus in Colorado: Reported deaths rise to 250; positive cases exceed 6,500 – FULL COVERAGE: Updates and analysis on the pandemic from around Colorado. – PHOTOS:…
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Colorado Springs transit officials look for solutions to best protect drivers, passengers from coronavirus
Transit officials scrambled for answers this week after a decision to suspend fares during the coronavirus crisis led to crowds on some routes and heightened concerns about drivers’ and passengers’ safety. Mountain Metro Transit on Tuesday weighed several options — including limiting passenger counts on certain routes — to keep buses running safely during the…
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After 2 delays, Colorado Springs isolation shelter opens for the homeless with coronavirus symptoms
After weeks of planning and two potentially costly delays, a 70-bed isolation shelter for people potentially stricken with the coronavirus opened inside a historic downtown Colorado Springs landmark and events center. The first homeless person checked in to the City Auditorium on Sunday afternoon as part of a last-ditch effort to keep the coronavirus pandemic…
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Last-minute setback again delays planned coronavirus isolation shelter for Colorado Springs’ homeless
For the second time in a week, plans to create an isolation shelter to prevent the coronavirus pandemic from ravaging the city’s homeless population hit an eleventh-hour roadblock. A much-heralded effort to transition the City Auditorium into a 70-bed ward for homeless people with symptoms of the virus was put on hold late Wednesday “due…
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For Colorado Springs’ homeless, pandemic ‘stay-at-home’ order neither possible nor effective
Experts discuss the challenges for people experiencing homelessness while coronavirus impacts the community. (Video by Katie Klann) Gone were the well-coiffed business executives in suits. Gone were mothers herding their children to get ice cream or teenagers from nearby Palmer High School on lunch break. Hours after Colorado’s governor enacted a statewide “stay-at-home” order, the…
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Where the homeless die: The death toll of homelessness in El Paso County
Robin Brown, 47, was found dead perched in tree branches on Nov. 25, 2018, behind Pikes Peak Baptist Church in Colorado Springs. (Katie Klann, The Gazette) Katie Klann, The Gazette Editor’s note: “Where the homeless die” was produced in cooperation with the El Paso County Coroner’s Office and examines the date, place and manner of death…