Andy St. Pierre - Community Trends Assignment

My name is Andy St. Pierre and I spoke with Madelyn Palmer who is a family practice doctor in Colorado.  My hometown is Highlands Ranch, Colorado.  The current public health trends in Colorado that Madelyn identified are:  Childhood Obesity, Eligible Children not Enrolled in Medicaid, Legalized Marijuana, Small Employers required to provide Health Insurance to Employees, and Fit Adults.

Childhood obesity is an issue that is trending all over America not only in Colorado.  Children are becoming less active and more obese.  This is due to physical education programs being deleted from schools and cheap, high fat content foods being added.  Also our society has become a more sedentary one.  Children are more likely to spend time on the sofa playing computer games than running around outside in the fresh air.  There are many programs that are being developed to try and solve this issue. Play 60 is one that uses pro athletes to advertise the importance of having at least 60 minutes a day of physical activity.  There are other groups that are trying to tackle the food choice issue in schools by doing away with vending machines, soda and high calorie menu items.  This will be an ongoing health trend until Americans change their habits and make better life long eating and exercise choices.

There are many children who are eligible for Medicaid but who are not enrolled.  There are still a lot of children who are eligible for public health plans but are not insured.  This is a problem because these children are not getting the health care they need.  They are missing out on immunizations, well and sick child medical care, and growth and development observations made when a professional care giver is involved.  The reasons for this discrepancy are many.  The parents may not be aware that their children are eligible.  Applications for the health care are sometimes so convoluted and time consuming that they are not appealing to the parents.  Some parents might be afraid of any professionals being involved in their life and telling them how to parent.  None of these reasons is good enough for a child to not have health care.  I don’t think the new healthcare reform in our country makes getting children enrolled any easier. 

The state of Colorado just legalized marijuana.  It is still illegal according to the federal laws.  For that past few years there have been hundreds of marijuana grow facilities and shops springing up in Colorado.  In fact next door to my mom’s work is a warehouse that used to be a door factory and now houses four different marijuana grow facilities. It has become big business in my state.  There are many users who benefit from the effects of smoking pot to help with nausea from chemo, pain from glaucoma, and a few other side effects.  There are also many users who are falsifying symptoms only to get a medical marijuana card that allows them to purchase and smoke legally.  The laws are so confusing now because of the conflicting federal laws that no one knows how things will turn out.  For example will you be able to buy pot at your local grocery store under a certain amount?  Will you be able to smoke in public areas?  Also another question is the effects of marijuana on driving skills and how it would be detected by police.  All of these questions will keep this topic trending in the health community in Colorado for a long time.

Beginning in 2014 all small employers have to provide health insurance coverage for their full time employees.  These employers don’t have a lot of choices when it comes to health insurance plans, many of which are extremely costly for them.  If the employer can’t afford the insurance three things will happen either the employer will try and cut the worker’s hours below 30 hours a week so that they aren’t considered full time, the employer will pay the penalty imposed by the federal government for not providing the insurance because the penalty is cheaper than the insurance, or the company will close it’s doors.  None of these options are good for the worker but the employer may have no choice.  The rising cost of health care has put such a strain on small business owners that it is causing a lot of them to question whether their company will make it for the near future.  Again using my mom’s company as an example – there are 27 employees and their health insurance costs have risen every year.  A few years ago the employees were responsible for 10% of their health care costs.  Now they pay 40% and they also received a salary pay cut and hourly cut a few years ago.  The burden’s the owners’ are feeling are being passed on to the workers and at some point something will break.

As I mentioned before Colorado has an obesity issue with children similar to the national crisis but my state does have very healthy adults.  There are many adults who live in Colorado because of the outdoor lifestyle the state offers.  There are many outdoor activities offered year round.  Since Colorado has over 300 days of sunshine even the winter months that are cold don’t seem to be due to the sun and blue skies.  Biking has become a huge sport/activity in Colorado.  You can see bikers of all levels enjoying the fresh air everyday.  Most communities have multiple trails for hiking, biking, and walking.  Colorado Springs is the home of many Olympic training facilities.  Numerous Olympic and National athletes live and train in Colorado.  The message of physical activity has gotten out to the adults now we need to make sure it transfers to our children. 

I enjoyed interviewing Madelyn.  She brought up many issues that I did not know were trending in Colorado.  I love Colorado.  I have lived there my whole life. I know that every state has their own public health issues but I hope that Colorado can continue to deal with theirs head on and find solutions that benefit the residents of such a beautiful state.