Author: Jennifer Brown
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State mental hospital in Pueblo found in “immediate jeopardy” of patient safety, could lose federal funds
Colorado’s 449-bed mental health hospital in Pueblo has a staffing shortage so severe it poses an “immediate and serious threat to the health and safety” of its patients, say federal authorities who have given the hospital a little more than three weeks to improve before funds are cut off. The hospital for people who are committed…
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Colorado will no longer lock up people who are suicidal or in mental health crisis
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save It soon will be against the law in Colorado to lock people in jail when they are picked up on mental health holds. The legislation signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper on Thursday also increases funds for…
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Youth corrections will end use of “wrap” restraint device by July 2018, human services director says
Colorado’s youth corrections system will end use of the wrap, a restraint similar to a straitjacket, by July 2018, state human services director Reggie Bicha said Friday in a letter to lawmakers. The Division of Youth Corrections will stop using the wrap on its youngest kids, ages 10-13, by this July, according to the letter…
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Colorado bill targets “culture of violence” at Division of Youth Corrections
New legislation would require the Colorado Division of Youth Corrections to phase out the use of straitjackets and pain-compliance techniques including knee strikes and neck pressure points, setting up a pilot program to test policies that are more therapeutic than punitive. The bill, which also proposes renaming the system the Division of Youth Services, takes…
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Governor, Denver mayor welcome dozens of new refugees to Colorado during Union Station reception
Recent refugees to the state, many with new Colorado buttons pinned to their shirts and seated near whispering Arabic and African language translators, packed a Union Station ballroom Wednesday as honored guests of Gov. John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. The first-of-its-kind reception included about 75 refugees from Afghanistan, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and the…
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About 30 hospitals opting out of Colorado’s medical aid-in-dying law
Up to 30 Colorado hospitals are opting out of the state’s new medical aid-in-dying law, either fully or in part, but whether that means the doctors they employ are banned from writing life-ending prescriptions is a controversy that could wind up in court. At this point, terminally ill Coloradans who want to end their lives under the…
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Craigslist post for free artificial tree leads Colorado Springs couple to give away hundreds of Christmas trees
Michelle and David Fein only wanted to get rid of their fake Christmas tree with a simple Craiglist post: “Free Christmas tree to a family with children.” But the responses to the Colorado Springs couple’s post led them much further. Within hours, 20 people were asking for the artificial tree, and explaining why they needed…
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Toddler found with hypothermia, frostbite after spending night in parked car
A 2-year-old boy had hypothermia and frostbite after his mother left him alone Friday night in a car parked outside a Thornton strip mall as snow fell and temperatures dipped below zero, police said. Police officers found the boy about noon Saturday in a green Ford Fusion, piled with snow. They began looking for the…
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Colorado still the “least obese” state, but scores poorly for “excessive drinking,” high school graduation
Colorado still ranks as the “least obese” and the most physically active state, but poor scores for excessive drinking and drug-related deaths have dropped Colorado to the 10th healthiest in the nation, says a new report released Thursday. That’s down two places from last year, when Colorado was named the eighth-healthiest state in the United Health…
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Students with Down syndrome start college at UCCS, other Colorado schools
DENVER — College freshman Mia Barone’s fingers are flying in the campus library, her eyes closed as she signs the words on her study list — tomorrow, free, champion, flirting. The 18-year-old with hot pink streaks in her hair that match her fingernails has a gift for sign language, reported The Denver Post. Barone, who…