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State surveyors praise hospital, voice concerns over -- surprise! -- overcrowding During a two-week visit to check the hospital's compliance with the CMS "Conditions of Participation" -- which must be met to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients -- surveyors found plenty to like about the way the hospital maintains its facilities and delivers care. But they issued deficiencies in four areas, all of them related to persistent overcrowding in the Emergency Department. >>More |
Happy birthday, dear system University of Colorado Health turns one year old Jan. 31, capping an eventful year that saw rapid growth, significant integration efforts, and even a position swap by system leaders Bruce Schroffel (far right) and Rulon Stacey. What's up for an encore? >>More |
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Breathing life into failing lungs It's used relatively rarely, but a technique known as ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) has successfully provided lung support for extraordinarily long periods to gravely ill patients. The machine, which takes over for badly injured lungs until they can recover, recently saved the life of a patient near death after an influenza infection spread. UCH cardiothoracic surgeon Ashok Babu, MD (left) teamed with pulmonologists and critical-care providers to administer the therapy. ECMO isn't for every patient, but it should be more widely used, Babu believes. "I have no doubt that patients in Colorado are dying without it," he says. >>More |
Sidebar: Back from the brink Victor Carlos (near right with wife Brenda Voglewede), was fit enough to have completed three marathons in three years. Yet he wound up at death's door after an infection spread to his lungs. He was saved at UCH, but only after spending 27 days hooked to an ECMO machine that sucked deoxygenated blood from his body, oxygenated it and returned it for circulation to his air-starved organs. >>More |
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Facial laser tag, parts two and three In which our intrepid reporter (left) returns to the UCH Visage Center in seach of punishment, er, laser treatment for her skin. Results revealed inside. More |
Stars come out The annual Medical Staff Awards dinner honored School of Medicine faculty and hospital staff standouts who helped serve and protect patients, families and employees. Near left: Allied Health Provider of the Year Award winner Stacey Seggelke, CNS, with Outstanding Full Time Physician Michael McDermott, MD, both of Endocrinology. >>More |
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Top grades for AAA In a relatively brief time, the vascular surgery program at UCH has become a regional power in complex minimally invasive procedures to repair abdominal aortic aneurysms -- ballooning weaknesses that threaten the body's largest artery. The technique can be a lifesaving alternative for patients too ill to undergo an open procedure. Left: Omid Jazaeri, MD, who began performing endovascular aortic repairs at UCH in 2010, is now part of a fast-growing team. >>More |
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Scoreboard The latest on how we're doing in quality outcomes, patient satisfaction, and other data we use to compete with ourselves and measure our success. This issue: trying to gain on pain. >>More |
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Pharmacy beefs up med recon Looking to reduce the time physicians, nurses and other clinical providers have to spend reconciling patient medication lists, Pharmacy has created a new position, the pharmacy admission specialist, or PAS. These certified, specially trained pharmacy techs collect medication lists from patients before passing them on to providereliminate contraindicated, duplicated or other potentially harmful medications. The program is now being piloted for ED patients awaiting admission to the hospital. Above: the PAS team takes a rare break. >>More |
Circle of sight UCH chief of cornea and refractive surgery Michael Taravella, MD, took part in a mission of mercy last spring, flying six corneas to a rural area in northwest China, where he performed sight-restoring corneal transplants. It's a way of giving back, says Taravella, who also taught local providers the techniques. But the transplant recipients also gave back, taking photos of the things they missed seeing the most with cameras donated by the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank. The photos (one is pictured above) became part of the third annual "Circle of Light" exhibition last fall. >>More |
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Return of the big rabbits In This Hospital Life: when bunnies get large, they catch the eyes of hungry predators. Likewise, hospitals have become the big rabbits for health care payers intent on taking a bite out of reimbursement rates. Now it appears the hospitals have devised a response to the challenge: become bigger rabbits. Plus: What You Read. >>More |
Around UCH Move to new garage (right) looms; "top docs" and the most popular docs on uch.edu; Memorial stays abreast of thoracic surgery market; Medical Board casts votes; more... >>More |
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Dean Krugman's news The latest from the School of Medicine. >>More |
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Campus classifieds More services, products to buy or sell. Also: nearby dining and lodging. Try our new classified ad and guide to campus services section, University Health Marketplace. >>More |
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Hospital Readies for Health Care Reform Changes |
With concerns about the economy easing, the new legislature will devote time this term to preparing for the major provisions of the Affordable Care Act about to go into effect. For UCH, that means figuring out how to absorb a large influx of previously uninsured patients and adjusting to new payment schemes for certain patients. >>Go |
CeDAR Set to Snuff the Smokes | It's a long-running contradiction: alcohol and substance abuse treatment facilities also permit use of a highly addictive substance: tobacco. CeDAR, which has been among that group, will begin a no-tobacco policy in February. It's a riskier move than it may appear, say CeDAR leaders (above, left to right) Laura Martin, MD, Anne Felton, RN, ND, and Steve Millette. >>Go |
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UC Health to Broaden Cancer Care in NoCo |
The system broke ground earlier this month on an $11 million cancer center in Fort Collins. The goal: bring high-quality comprehensive cancer services under one roof for patients in northern Colorado and complement the care offered at UCH and other system partners. Construction is slated to finish in 2014. >>Go |
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Ortho Makes Its Bones with New MD Addition |
With the recent addition of Jason Stoneback, MD (above), UCH has improved its ability to treat traumatic orthopedic injuries like hip socket joint fractures. The hospital plans to add a second orthopedic traumatologist in the spring. >>Go |
UCH in the News |
Providers speak out on gun violence; southern strategy for med school; painkiller crackdown; disconnect in staying connected; more. Mentions: Elizabeth Connick; Robert Freedman; Jason Hoppe; Allison Kempe; Richard Krugman; Lilly Marks; Comilla Sasson; Inge Wefes; more. >>Go |
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