5280 Health 2019

Children’s Hospital Colorado has been taking care of kids of all ages for more than 100 years. We see, treat and heal more children than any hospital in our region. Because our research shapes the future of pediatrics, we offer extraordinary treatments years before they’re available anywhere else. We hope your child never needs a hospital. But should that day come, having the right information matters. For more, visit childrenscolorado.org. Children’s Hospital Colorado Here, it’s different™ “It’s obvious the minute you walk in that you’re in a place just for kids.”GABRIEL’S MOM, OLIVIA Teamwork Matters Here, collaborative care begins with you, because you know your child best. Through every stage of your journey, you’re an equal partner with our expert physicians, nurses, specialists, and your pediatrician, all working together on…

Last winter, I was riding a chairlift at Copper Mountain with my then eight-year-old daughter, Hadley. It was a classic Colorado day, with skies so blue they could have been painted, the air still and slightly scented by the evergreens. Hadley and I watched in silence as skiers and boarders cruised down the slopes—far enough below us that we could only faintly hear them swoosh through the snow. About halfway up the hill, she leaned over to me and whispered, “Mom, it’s so…peaceful.” She was right—and I felt myself breathe a little more deeply. I’ve visited that memory countless times this year, and reading our cover story reminded me of it once again: In “Peace Out” (page 42), 5280 Health senior editor Julie Dugdale explores how Coloradans can find serenity…

ELISABETH KWAK-HEFFERAN Reporting “Baby Steps” (page 28) about her postpartum health problems showed writer Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan how little new moms know about these issues: “I have this impulse to warn pregnant strangers about issues like the ones I’ve been dealing with,” she says. “Writing an essay is probably a much less creepy way to get the word out.” DANTE TERZIGNI Illustrator Dante Terzigni describes his work as “digital collage”: He uses software to create his designs, but the Cleveland-based artist also handcrafts elements such as line work and cut paper. Those skills are on display in the illustrations for “Peace Out” (page 42). Terzigni’s clients include the New York Times and Amazon. JULIE DUGDALE 5280 Health senior editor Julie Dugdale penned this issue’s cover story, “Peace Out” (page 42), and…

PARENTAL GUIDANCE How much crying is normal? Shouldn’t the baby be walking by now? Why does my preschooler only eat yellow foods? If you’re a parent, such questions are the soundtrack to your life, no? Sure, you can Google every child-related woe there is, but definitive answers are difficult to come by. Good news: This April, Highland’s Mama’Hood parenting store and education center (known for its research-based resources for raising infants, from sleep groups to breastfeeding support to cloth diapering how-tos) will debut its latest offering for bewildered moms and dads. The Human Experience Of Parenting is a two-day series of TEDx-style talks that present scientific solutions to common issues for new parents as well as personal stories that inject humor into the mystifying labyrinth of child-rearing. “Our society has…

Perhaps you’ve spent a hangry morning before surgery dreaming of a piece of toast or felt the discomfort of an IV that’s been stuck in your hand for too long. If so, you’ll be glad to hear that some of these long-held pre- and post-surgical practices are getting a closer look, as facilities such as Denver’s Saint Joseph Hospital adopt a set of protocols called Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS). Developed by Danish physician Henrik Kehlet in the 1990s, ERAS was introduced at St. Joe’s in 2016, and the payoffs have been significant. Many colorectal surgery patients, for example, return home two days sooner than they did prior to the hospital’s use of ERAS. The science isn’t earth-shattering, says Dr. Peter Hession, perioperative medical director for St. Joe’s: “These are…

Chanda Hinton Leichtle is on a mission. The 36-year-old, who has quadriplegia—she survived an accidental gunshot wound when she was nine—is working with state legislators to expand the Spinal Cord Injury Waiver by the end of this quarter. The measure, launched in 2015, mandates that Health First Colorado (the state’s Medicaid program) cover alternative treatments, such as acupuncture, massage, yoga, and chiropractic services, for residents with spinal cord injuries. Leichtle, founder of the Chanda Center for Health in Lakewood (opened in 2017), hopes to broaden the coverage to include people with spina bifida, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and brain injuries and extend it to 10 more Colorado counties. The effort is driven by Leichtle’s own story: After 12 years of conventional treatments left her near death, she took a chance…