CU Anschutz In The News

Director of Digital Engagement at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Matt Kaskavitch said what's posted on the internet is written in ink, not pencil. We asked him if it's ever really possible to clear or erase content. “Yes and no," he said. "It does go away but because of the way of the internet and the way things work with search engines they’re always looking for content and archiving it and databasing it in places. So, does it ever truly go away? It’s very, very difficult."

Children's Hospital Colorado, the University of Colorado School of Medicine at CU Anschutz Medical Campus, and CareDox today announced a new collaboration to scale the reach of the Hospital's proven in-school asthma management program. CareDox modeled this collaboration after the Hospital's "Building Bridges for Asthma Care Program," and is offering the new CareDox Asthma Care Management Program to the more than 7,100 K-12 schools where the company's student health record platform and wellness services are already deployed. By combining proven clinical protocols with widely deployed technology and wellness services operations, the three organizations are poised to dramatically improve outcomes for pediatric asthmatics across the country.

Daniel Bessesen, as associate director of the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, researches sleep. He says Scullin's study supports the idea that sleep helps academic performance while students who cram — or stay up the night before the test trying to memorize the material — are likely worse off. Scullin and Bessesen offer some advice on how to get more sleep each night:Parents, try to get enough sleep to role model good habits to children. Bessesen notes that some medical school programs require student doctors to sleep more to prevent accidents. Avoid looking at electronics before you fall asleep. Don't consume caffeinated drinks less than six hours before you go to sleep. Try to go to sleep at the same time every night.

Increased natural disasters like wildfire and famine are all symptoms of climate change. One CU Anschutz physician is studying whether those symptoms have a disproportionate impact on women worldwide. Dr. Cecilia Sorensen travels to Syria, Ghana and other countries to provide medical care--she also researches the impacts of climate change on women. Sorensen talked to Colorado Matters about her work. When climate refugees flee home because of drought and scarcity, women are put at risk of sex trafficking and disease in order to survive. "We know that when women are forced to migrate, they become incredibly vulnerable to all different types of circumstances, including sex trafficking, including violence against them," Sorensen said.

Susan Potter wanted to donate her body to science after she died. She learned about the the Visible Human Project in Colorado, which creates detailed photographs of the entire body for research and teaching. Potter would be the third person to participate. Her body would be frozen at -15 degrees, then sliced 27,000 times and photographed. Generations of medical students would be able to learn from her. The project was spearheaded by Victor M. Spitzer, Ph.D., director of the Center for Human Simulation at University of Colorado School of Medicine. He knew Susan Potter for the last 15 years of her life. She died four years ago. Their story is now being told in the current issue of National Geographic.

In 2017, the General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 17-074, which created a two-year medication-assisted treatment (MAT) expansion pilot program, administered by the University of Colorado College of Nursing, to expand access to medication-assisted treatment to opioid-dependent patients in Pueblo and Routt counties. The 2017 act directs the General Assembly to appropriate $500,000 per year for the 2017-’18 and 2018-’19 fiscal years from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund to the University of Colorado board of regents, for allocation to the College of Nursing to implement the pilot program. The pilot program repeals on June 30

Lisa Meyers wears an insulin pump and checks her blood sugar several times a day to keep her type 1 diabetes in check. Meyers said, “It’s a 24/7 thing. It’s just a constant thought about blood sugar and how it relates to what I’m gonna do.” She’s a diabetes educator and helps patients navigate the disease. It’s a job she wishes she didn’t have. “If other people could be prevented from having to live this … that, to me, is a joy,” Meyers said. Aaron Michels, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics & Medicine and Frieda and George S. Eisenbarth Clinical Immunology Endowed Chair at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus says doctors are better than ever at predicting who will develop type 1 diabetes. “If a disease can be predicted, it really should be prevented,” Michels said.

A team of investigators from the University of Colorado College of Nursing at CU Anschutz Medical Campus and National Jewish Health has identified comprehensive guidelines for managing severe atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common form of eczema.