Dear colleague: 

University of Colorado Health announced a partnership with the Denver Broncos last week that includes naming the Broncos practice facility the “UCHealth Training Center.” In addition, UCHealth will be a founding partner of the Broncos Health & Wellness Expo, which will be launched during the first weekend of September. The partnership includes health screenings for Broncos fans, breast cancer awareness events and marketing for UCHealth inside and outside the stadium where the Broncos play, Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

An intern of the School of Medicine wrote a guest commentary in the Denver Post last week that is worth reading. Kayley Carson, who is studying to get a Master of Social Work degree at the University of Denver, wrote about her experience in the Student Hot Spotters program, which is designed to help some patients in the University of Colorado Hospital Emergency Department manage not just their health care needs, but other factors that affect the care they receive. Kayley helped a man who had no housing, transportation and cell phone. He did not know his insurance status, was not getting primary care and he was not taking his diabetes medication. Her role as a patient navigator complements the exceptional health care provided to this man and is one more way we can address our community’s health needs. Kudos to Kayley and to course developer Roberta Capp, MD,  MHS, assistant professor of emergency medicine, and all the other faculty who participate in this program.

The University Police Department is joining with other first responders and community groups to hold a “National Night Out” event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Generals Park, 1561 N. Quentin St. The goal of the event is to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. National Night Out is an initiative of the National Association of Town Watch.

Brian Kavanagh, MD, MPH, interim chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, has been appointed to a two-year term on the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee, which was established to provide independent guidance and expert advice to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

University of Colorado Hospital has posted a video telling the story of Becky Pomerleau, a young woman who suffered a heart attack while skiing in Breckenridge for her five-year wedding anniversary and who survived thanks to heart transplant surgery at the hospital. The video is a powerful story about the work we do on the Anschutz Medical Campus and features two School of Medicine faculty: Ashok Babu, MD, assistant professor of surgery, and T. Brett Reece, MD, associate professor of surgery. As Brett says in the video: “Heart transplant is amazing because as soon as you get it plugged in, that heart starts beating. I think it’s completely humbling to us.”

Have a good week,

John J. Reilly, Jr., MD
Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and
Dean, School of Medicine