5280 Health 2023

When my son, Tommy, was seven months old, I felt like I could finally relax a little. He had gotten into daycare, work had settled down for a moment, and my wife assured me that they would survive without me for a few days. So, I booked a trip to Las Vegas and prepared to bask in the glow of sunshine by day and neon by night. My carefree getaway lasted about four hours: A few minutes after stepping off the plane in Nevada, Tommy’s new teacher called to report that he had a fever of 101. For seven blissful months, we had never been forced to deal with even a sniffle. Now, his brain was melting. Didn’t I recall reading in one of our parenting books that anything above…

BARBARA URZUA More of us may be typing in our pajamas these days, but our workplaces aren’t any less nerve-wracking. “I’m lucky to have such an easygoing job, but like everyone else, I still have days when I feel stressed,” says Urzua, a 5280 assistant editor. The search for relief led Urzua to write “Feeling The Burnout?” (page 20), which highlights tips for reducing job-related angst. MEREDITH SELL It’s not just about polar bears. It’s about us. Sell, a Denver freelance writer, heard that from at least three sources while reporting “Facing Climate Change” (page 42), an in-depth look at how the crisis is affecting our health—and how we can protect ourselves. “The point being,” Sell says, “it’s not just a problem that’s out there. It’s going to impact you…

The separation between exercise fits and work ensembles fell to zero during the pandemic, as yoga pants and sweatshirts defined the home office dress code. We soon discovered that athleisure is not only comfy, but also stylish and versatile—able to leap from boardrooms to spin classes to happy hours. Our bling, though? Not so much. Enter OXB. Founded in 2019, the Denver-based brand’s wares look like everyday jewelry (think: slim chains, simple pendants, elegant hoops) but are designed for exercise. That’s because its baubles are what the company calls sweat-proof, due to being hypoallergenic and not plated. Plated jewelry, which consists of a base metal coated in a thin layer of gold, typically wears down to a gritty, gray nub after, say, a few steamy HIIT sessions. OXB’s pieces—options include…

Dying isn’t just bad for you. It’s bad for the Earth. Burials result in the interment of more than 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde in the United States every year, according to a study in the Berkeley Planning Journal. Traditional cremation might be better for Mother Nature, but ashes can’t nourish the soil. Water cremation, however, gives new life to the dearly departed while also helping flowers, trees, and other flora thrive. At least that’s how Eric Rooney explains the growing popularity of his water cremation service. By trade, Rooney is a death worker, a sort of caretaker for those who are dying and their loved ones; he helps ease the formers’ transitions and helps the latter process their grief. Since 2021, he’s partnered with Be A Tree Cremation to provide…

1 CAPITOL GAINS As an emergency room nurse, state Senator Kyle Mullica knows the challenges front-line health care workers face. That’s why the Northglenn Democrat sponsored and helped pass two bills during the 2022 regular session. One set aside a portion of $61 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to make community college free for aspiring nurses and other medical technicians through 2024. The other mandates that hospitals create committees to better manage workloads and combat burnout. 2 THOSE WHO CAN Each year, tens of thousands of qualified applicants to U.S. nursing schools are turned away due, in part, to a lack of faculty. That’s because teachers make an average of $33,000 less than full-time nurses. This past fall, the Metropolitan State University of Denver upped all of its instructors’…

People rarely notice their local public health departments—at least, until a pandemic comes along. That was the case for the Tri-County Health Department, which had served Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas counties since 1948 but dissolved at the end of 2022 after its mask mandates caused fissures between leaders of the three local governments. It will be replaced by new, individual agencies for each county. What does that mean for residents? The departments will have to staff up quickly. Glen Mays, professor and chair of the Department of Health Systems, Management & Policy at the Colorado School of Public Health at CU Anschutz, expects the agencies to prioritize hiring for programs that generate revenue, such as licensing and inspections. What might suffer are functions that don’t make money, including data collection:…