CU Anschutz In The News

Mental health providers are working to keep up with the growing demand. Dr. Neill Epperson, chair of psychiatry at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, said the department is actively hiring across positions. “We need more psychiatrists. We need more licensed psychologists, licensed clinical social workers or professional counselors,” Epperson said. Epperson said the department was growing rapidly before the pandemic began, but their patient volume has increased 65% in just the past year.

But Dr. Matthew Wynia, director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, says the standards should have been used more widely during the pandemic. … The Sun spoke with Wynia to hear how crisis standards of care have worked during the pandemic and what he has learned to make them better in the future. The following Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

“I think people are still going into nursing for all the right reasons,” said Dr. Tammy Spencer, assistant dean of the undergraduate program at the CU College of Nursing and a veteran nurse who still does hospital shifts. She reads the applications. “I still get that theme. ‘I want to help people, I want to make a difference. I’ve had an experience myself or with my family that has really drawn me into this profession.’”

“One of the most important public health practices we have to alleviate outbreaks and things like measles and whooping cough are vaccines required for school or for daycare entry,” Dr. Joshua Williams, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, told ABC News.

In his current leadership position as Dean and Professor for the College of Nursing at CU Anschutz, Provencio-Vasquez hopes his own lived experiences will help other first-generation college students move forward in higher education and healthcare. "Seeing faculty or other or other students like you really makes a difference," he said. "Seeing people like yourself even within a hospital system, a clinic, or a university really makes a difference, so I’m hoping that my presence here really invites others to take this journey."

Dr. Matthew Daley is a practicing pediatrician and a vaccine safety investigator at the Institute for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, in Aurora, Colo. He is also an associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

The Colorado State University and Colorado School of Public Health study authors noted that public health benefits are "strongly dependent" on how often the N95 respirator is used and by how many people. The team's model accounted for the different kinds of face coverings, how well they fit, the characteristics of air pollution and the risk of air pollution causing respiratory disease, according to an accompanying release.

Elizabeth Carlton, an associate professor at the Colorado School of Public Health, offered a three-step approach. First, ensure that everyone in your party who can be vaccinated is vaccinated. Then figure out if you have high-risk attendees (perhaps an unvaccinated child or an immunosuppressed uncle). If you do, consider adding additional layers of protection, such as testing beforehand or moving your celebration outside.