"If you have the genetic material and know what it’s alphabetical order is, it’s possible that you make a vaccine slightly faster," said Dr. David Kroll, a professor at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the Anschutz Medical Campus. "What you’re trying to do there is figure out what dose is required to give an immune system response that could fight off or inactivate the virus.”
The Federal Communications Commission and the United States Senate are advancing measures to make 988 the national suicide prevention number. Many people believe 911 is the number to call for a mental health emergency. However, many mental health experts say 911 is not the appropriate phone call for a mental health crisis. Dr. Michael Allen, a professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, has been working on the idea with stakeholders nationwide for years.
The old Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, now part of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, is one of the most iconic buildings in Colorado. Those who work in the former hospital believe ghosts are haunting its halls. The building opened in 1941. It was the largest building in Colorado at the time of its construction. Today, workers insist something strange is happening.
Due to an ongoing, nationwide shortage of Shingrix, a shingles vaccine, long waits for the vaccine are possible at Colorado pharmacies. “There could be long waiting lists. When I checked with a particular pharmacy they said they had a wait list of about 200 people, and then they decided to just disband the wait list, and just do first come first served,” said Sunny Linnebur with the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy. Linnebur recommends calling around to different pharmacies to check availability. The UCHealth pharmacy at University of Colorado Hospital, for instance, did have Shingrix in stock.
"They do get out," said Robert Valuck, a University of Colorado pharmaceutical professor. "It could be someone in the office took one, it could be a patient that sees a pad laying around and takes the prescription pad."
Ian Overton, 34, attempted to summit Nanga Parbat a couple of years ago, but fell ill along the way. That experience inspired Overton to go back to school. In fact, he graduated from University of Colorado College of Nursing this past May and is currently working as a nurse in the burn unit at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood.
The hospital room, on the eighth floor of the old Fitzsimons Army Medical Center on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora has been restored to look just as it did in 1955, when then-President Eisenhower was being treated there for seven weeks after a heart attack. Everything from his presidential dinnerware to the hospital's old medical equipment has been meticulously restored.
“For someone to highjack, that is obviously terrible!” noted Rob Valluck, a University of Colorado pharmacy professor and director of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Abuse Prevention during a FOX31 television interview. Valluck told us at-risk patients are easy (although relatively rare) targets for unscrupulous medical professionals like Martinek. “It’s a huge concern because that person may be receiving this medication for severe pain – could be an end-of-life issue or cancer and we don’t want to be denied the pain medication that they need and deserve and have legally obtained,” Valluck said.
