Orange. Eucalyptus. Lavender. Peppermint. Doctors at Children’s Hospital Colorado and Seattle Children’s Hospital will use scents like these to treat children who lost their sense of smell to covid-19. Parents will attend clinics and go home with a set of essential oils for their child… Read More »Nosing In on Kids Who Had Covid and Lost Their Sense of Smell
Alexandra Sierra carried boxes of food to her kitchen counter, where her 7-year-old daughter, Rachell, stirred a pitcher of lemonade. This story also ran on USA Today and GateHouse Media. It can be republished for free. “Oh, my God, it smells so good!” Sierra, 39,… Read More »Need Amid Plenty: Richest US Counties Are Overwhelmed by Surge in Child Hunger
El hijo de Ana, de 9 años, fue el primero en presentar síntomas de covid en marzo pasado. Poco después, la inmigrante indocumentada de 37 años y sus otros tres hijos, incluyendo una con asma, tuvieron dificultades para respirar. Durante las tres semanas siguientes, la… Read More »Indocumentados, esenciales pero excluidos del apoyo financiero por la pandemia
Ana’s 9-year-old son was the first in the family to come down with symptoms that looked like covid-19 last March. Soon after, the 37-year-old unauthorized immigrant and three of her other children, including a daughter with asthma, struggled to breathe. This story also ran on… Read More »Without a Pandemic Safety Net, Immigrants Living in US Illegally Fall Through the Cracks
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber spoke about the covid-19 vaccine rollout for WAMU’s “1A” on Jan. 29. Click here to hear Weber on WAMU KHN social media manager Chaseedaw Giles discussed racial disparities in covid vaccine distribution with NBC LX News on Feb. 3. Click… Read More »Journalists Explore Inefficiency and Inequities of Vaccine Rollout
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — On a sunny Saturday this month, Ruth Hatfield was sitting with a friend’s dog on a sidewalk bench in downtown Grand Junction. Back home in Snowmass Village, 120 miles away through winding Rocky Mountain roadways, local officials had just shut down… Read More »Covid-Certified Businesses Try to Woo Leery Patrons
Bingo is back in the dining room. In-person visits have returned, too, though with masks and plexiglass. The Haven Assisted Living Facility’s residents are even planning a field trip for a private movie screening once they’ve all gotten their second round of covid-19 vaccines. Such… Read More »At Colorado’s Rural Edges, Vaccines Help Assisted Living Homes Crack Open the Doors
Cuando los hospitales de todo el país luchan contra la nueva ola de la pandemia, no son camas ni ventiladores lo que escasean. Son las personas que cuidan de los enfermos. Pero existe mano de obra altamente calificada de médicos, enfermeras y otros trabajadores de… Read More »Estados permiten contratar profesionales de salud extranjeros por la pandemia
This story also ran on Fortune. It can be republished for free. Big Tobacco did something unusual in Marlboro Country last fall: It stood aside while Colorado voters approved the state’s first tobacco tax hike in 16 years. The industry, led by Altria Group, one… Read More »Only a Smokescreen? Big Tobacco Stands Down as Colorado and Oregon Hike Cigarette Taxes
It would be the last hike of the season, Jessica Newton had excitedly posted on her social media platforms. With mild weather forecast and Colorado’s breathtaking fall foliage as a backdrop, she was convinced an excursion at Beaver Ranch Park would be the quintessential way… Read More »Black Women Find Healing (But Sometimes Racism, Too) in the Outdoors
A new variant of SARS-Cov-2 thought to be more transmissible was discovered in Colorado’s eastern plains and San Diego, California. At the same time, federal vaccination rates are lagging far behind projections.
A new variant of SARS-Cov-2 thought to be more transmissible was discovered in Colorado’s eastern plains and San Diego, California. At the same time, federal vaccination rates are lagging far behind projections.
ERIE, Colo. — Whenever Larry Kelderman looks up from the car he’s fixing and peers across the street, he’s looking across a border. His town of 28,000 straddles two counties, separated by County Line Road. Kelderman’s auto repair business is in Boulder County, whose officials… Read More »Live Free or Die if You Must, Say Colorado Urbanites — But Not in My Hospital
In late summer, as researchers accelerated the first clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines for humans, a group of scientists in Colorado worked to inoculate a far more fragile species. About 120 black-footed ferrets, among the most endangered mammals in North America, were injected with an… Read More »At Risk of Extinction, Black-Footed Ferrets Get Experimental COVID Vaccine
TELLURIDE, Colo. — The day after Thanksgiving, Dr. Jana Eller and Dr. Shiraz Naqvi were seated beside an outdoor fire pit at the base of Telluride Ski Resort, taking a short break from skiing. The two physicians from Houston had driven more than 18 hours… Read More »Ski Resorts Work to Stay Open as COVID Cases Snowball
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed how the COVID-19 backlash undermines public health on Newsy on Thursday. Click here to watch Weber on Newsy Read “Pandemic Backlash Jeopardizes Public Health Powers, Leaders” by California Healthline senior correspondent Anna Maria Barry-Jester, KHN data reporter Hannah Recht,… Read More »KHN on the Air This Week
In the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election, supporters of a down-in-the-weeds effort to overturn a tax law in Colorado received a cascade of big checks, for a grand total of more than $2 million. All came from Kent Thiry, the former CEO of… Read More »This Health Care Magnate Wants to Fix Democracy, Starting in Colorado
Early in the pandemic, Ximena Rebolledo León, a registered nurse at Telluride Regional Medical Center in southwestern Colorado, needed to find everyone who’d been in contact with a sick Latino worker whose boss had told him he would lose his job if he didn’t show… Read More »Tracking COVID’s Spread Inside a Tight-Knit Latino Community
Kurt Papenfus, a doctor in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, started to feel sick around Halloween. He developed a scary cough, intestinal symptoms and a headache. In the midst of a pandemic, the news that he had COVID-19 wasn’t surprising, but Papenfus’ illness would have repercussions far… Read More »What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID
DENVER — In March, Claire Tripeny was watching her dream job fall apart. She’d been working as an intensive care nurse at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colorado, and loved it, despite the mediocre pay typical for the region. But when COVID-19 hit, that calculation… Read More »Need a COVID-19 Nurse? That’ll Be $8,000 a Week
Not long after the world learned that President Donald Trump had lost his reelection bid, states began issuing a new round of crackdowns and emergency declarations against the surging coronavirus. Taking action this time were Republican governors who had resisted doing so during the spring… Read More »Trump’s Lame-Duck Status Leaves Governors to Wing It on COVID
The app builders had planned for pranksters, ensuring that only people with verified COVID-19 cases could trigger an alert. They’d planned for heavy criticism about privacy, in many cases making the features as bare-bones as possible. But, as more states roll out smartphone contact-tracing technology,… Read More »People Proving to Be Weakest Link for Apps Tracking COVID Exposure
For years, Sharad Acharya’s frequent hikes in the mountains outside Denver would leave him short of breath. But a real wake-up call came three years ago when he suddenly struggled to breathe while walking through an airport. An electrocardiogram revealed that Acharya, a Nepali American… Read More »Push Is On in US to Figure Out South Asians’ High Heart Risks
Sin un ganador y sin saber todavía qué partido controlará el Senado, el futuro del sistema de salud de la nación también sigue siendo incierto. Lo que está en juego es si el gobierno federal desempeñará un papel más importante en el financiamiento y el… Read More »Sin presidente todavía, el futuro de la salud también sigue siendo incierto
With the winner of the presidency and party control of the Senate still unclear the morning after Election Day, the future of the nation’s health system remains uncertain. At stake is whether the federal government will play a stronger role in financing and setting the… Read More »No Winner for President Yet and Health Care Hangs in the Balance
Carol Wilusz’s mornings now often start at 4 a.m., scanning the contents of undergraduates’ feces. Specifically, scanning the data on how much coronavirus they flushed into the shadows, destined to be extracted from 17 manholes connected to dorm buildings on Colorado State University’s Fort Collins… Read More »The Best COVID Warning System? Poop and Pooled Spit, Says One Colorado School
KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed the current surge in COVID-19 cases, health policy in the election and the Affordable Care Act case before the Supreme Court with NPR’s “All Things Considered” on Sunday and WBUR’s “On Point.” Click here to hear Rovner on… Read More »KHN on the Air This Week
Colorado voters are deciding a ballot question that seeks to limit how far into pregnancy an abortion can be legally performed. While the measure would change the law only in Colorado, it would resonate throughout the Rocky Mountain states and Midwest amid an intensifying national… Read More »Colorado Initiative Would Further Limit Access in Middle America’s ‘Abortion Desert’
Lone Tree, Colorado.- Darcy Velásquez, de 42 años, y su madre, Roberta Truax, caminaban recientemente por el centro comercial Park Meadows, 15 millas al sur del centro de Denver, buscando regalos de Navidad para los dos hijos de Velásquez, cuando vieron una tienda con un… Read More »Aunque preferiría cerrar, la cadena de tiendas COVID-19 Essentials se expande
As trust in the Food and Drug Administration wavers, several states have vowed to conduct independent reviews of any COVID-19 vaccine the federal agency authorizes. But top health experts say such vetting may be misguided, even if it reflects a well-founded lack of confidence in… Read More »Distrusting Trump, States Plan to Vet COVID Vaccines Themselves. Bad Idea, Say Experts.
DENVER — D.j. Mattern had her Type 1 diabetes under control until COVID’s economic upheaval cost her husband his hotel maintenance job and their health coverage. The 42-year-old Denver woman suddenly faced insulin’s exorbitant list price — anywhere from $125 to $450 per vial —… Read More »Not Pandemic-Proof: Insulin Copay Caps Fall Short, Fueling Underground Exchanges
In the 2014 elections, Republicans rode a wave of anti-Affordable Care Act sentiment to pick up nine Senate seats, the largest gain for either party since 1980. Newly elected Republicans such as Cory Gardner in Colorado and Steve Daines in Montana had hammered their Democratic… Read More »Opposition to Obamacare Becomes Political Liability for GOP Incumbents
In late August 2019, Shannon Harness awoke to serious pain in the lower right side of his abdomen — a telltale sign of appendicitis. He booked it to the emergency room of the only hospital in the county: Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center… Read More »Veteran’s Appendectomy Launches Excruciating Months-Long Battle Over Bill
HELENA, Mont. — Jon Paul was leery entering his first wildfire camp of the year late last month to fight three lightning-caused fires scorching parts of a Northern California forest that hadn’t burned in 40 years. The 54-year-old engine captain from southern Oregon knew from… Read More »COVID Plans Put to Test as Firefighters Crowd Camps for Peak Wildfire Season
DENVER — Beverly Grant spent years juggling many roles before yoga helped her restore her balance. When not doting over her three children, she hosted her public affairs talk radio show, attended community meetings or handed out cups of juice at her roving Mo’ Betta… Read More »Namaste Noir: Yoga Co-Op Seeks to Diversify Yoga to Heal Racialized Trauma
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The lights dimmed. Guitars thrummed. And a nine-piece band kicked off what amounted to a rock concert inside an amphitheater of a church. “Shout for joy to the Lord,” one musician called out, quoting Scripture. Any such shout could release the… Read More »Where Mask-Wearing Isn’t Gospel: Colorado Churches Grapple With Reopening
KHN senior correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC’s Henry Zimmerman on “Colorado Edition” to discuss his recent story about an outbreak of trench fever, a rare disease carried by body lice. Public health officials are trying to find a common thread among the four cases identified… Read More »Listen: Outbreak of Trench Fever Grips Coloradans
Izzy Benasso was playing a casual game of tennis with her father on a summer Saturday when she felt her knee pop. She had torn a meniscus, one of the friction-reducing pads in the knee, locking it in place at a 45-degree angle. Although she… Read More »Ever Heard of a Surgical Assistant? Meet a New Boost to Your Medical Bills
KHN senior correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC’s Erin O’Toole on “Colorado Edition” to discuss his recent story on how Colorado is one of the many states having to cut back on health care programs and new policy initiatives as part of the economic fallout of… Read More »Listen: Colorado Cuts Back Health Care Programs Amid Dual Crises