Good morning, Colorado!
Today I want to tell you more about an important project you’ve heard mentioned before in this newsletter. As I’ve said before, I’m investigating teen suicides in Colorado. Teen mental health is a topic that has really risen to the surface this year, especially after the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch.
And we at The Denver Post believe these issues need to be investigated further to understand the rise in teen suicides and what can be done to address the issue. So we are launching this project with support from
But to do so, I need your help.
I invite you to share your stories with us. I can be reached at jseaman@denverpost.com or you call or message via Signal at 303-954-1593.
You can also fill out our source form if you want to help us investigate youth suicide in Colorado.
I want to hear from you.
If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide, call the at 1-844-493-8255.
Health must-reads
- The Ute Mountain Ute tribe is confronting the rise of youth suicides, including with a new behavioral health building set to open this fall
- Soil samples from the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge showed there were no elevated levels of plutonium. That’s despite elevated readings being detected in soil collected just outside the refuge last month.
- A settlement involving a doctor who is accused of causing a patient’s accidental overdose by prescribing too many pain pills could be a sign that legal attempts to curb the opioid crisis may focus on individual providers.
- UCHealth pledges to spend at least $100 million on behavioral health care in the next five years. The announcement comes after a similar one made by Vail Health earlier this year.
- Centura Health fired a veteran doctor who fought for the right of a patient to use Colorado’s medical aid-in-dying law, which the health system opposes for religious reasons. (via Kaiser Health News)
Parents confirm Colorado college student was hospitalized with a vaping-related illness
As the number of deaths related to a mysterious vaping-related illness have increased, the parents of a Colorado college student who was hospitalized with the lung condition are calling on federal regulators to “clamp down” on the makers of e-cigarette devices.
Piper Johnson spent a week in a Colorado hospital after developing a severe lung illness that has been liked to e-cigarettes. The 18-year-old is a freshman at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, according to her family.
“If our agencies aren’t going to protect our kids right now, then we need to educate our kids and ourselves on the dangers of vaping,” Ruby Johnson, Piper’s mother, said in a statement. “We can’t afford to wait.”
So far, there are two confirmed cases of the illness in Colorado.
Read more here.
Here’s what I’m reading
- A mother tried to help her son recover from drug addiction, , but he still died. — Vox
- Some patients are using Groupon , which offers online coupons, – NPR
- The White House is considering a proposal to study — The Washington Post
- During a six-year period, the University of Virginia Health System and its doctors — The Washington Post via Kaiser Health News
- As states tighten abortion laws, women are traveling out of state for the procedure. — The Associated Press
Have a story tip or other feedback? Email me at jseaman@denverpost.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at. And don’t forget to become a to The Post!
See you in two weeks!
Jessica
