Whatap Checkup Denver? You’re reading an installment of our bi-weekly health newsletter. .
Good morning, Colorado!
I’m back in Denver this week after trips to Colorado Springs and Durango, where our team hosted community conversations as part of our months-long project on youth suicide. We are holding these conversations so we can meet with teens, parents and others in the community and talk about their experiences with teen mental health and suicide.
It can be difficult talking about our mental health — and it’s even harder to tell a journalist. So we are making trips around the state to hold off-the-record conversations on the topic. Our next conversation will be and I hope to see you there.
You can read more about why we are holding these conversations here. And don’t forget to tell any teens in your life about we are hosting for them to write in about their experiences with mental health. The deadline is Nov. 30.
If you or someone you know are having thoughts of suicide, call the Colorado Crisis Line at 1-844-493-8255.
Death of 18-year-old Colorado man could be state’s first related to vaping
Meg Wingerter reports that the state health department is investigating whether the death of an 18-year-old man in the Denver area is related to the mysterious vaping-related illness that has sickened more than 1,600 individuals across the U.S. and killed more than 30 people.
It will take several weeks for an autopsy to confirm whether the death was related to the illness. If it is confirmed, it would be the state’s first vaping-related death, Meg reports.
So far, there have been at least 11 cases of the illness in Colorado, including nine individuals who were hospitalized, according to the state Department of Health and Environment.
Read more here.
Health must-reads
- A doctor fired from Centura Health after trying to help a patient obtain drugs to end his life has a new job. Dr. Barbara Morris has filed a lawsuit against the health system, challenging her August firing.
- Boulder’s new ban on flavored e-cigarettes is now in effect and as a result, at least one local vape shop is closing. The ban is just the latest example of how local governments have sought to regulate vape devices.
- Around Salt Lake City, more than 50 people using CBD vapes were poisoned, most by a device called Yolo!
- A new Veterans Affairs clinic is coming to Loveland, possibly by 2022.
- Two counties in Ohio have reached a $260 million settlement with four drug companies in a suit over responsibility for the opioid epidemic.
Here’s what I’m reading
- are behind teen mental health issues. — CPR
- An algorithm used to make care decisions — Los Angeles Times
- as the Kincade fire continues in Sonoma County. — The Sacramento Bee
- Federal health officials confirm that most people who , the ingredient that produces a high in marijuana. — The Washington Post
- The federal government is , leading public health officials to fear that the world is more vulnerable to deadly pathogens, such as Ebola. — The New York Times.
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 ato The Post!
See you in two weeks!
Jessica
