VA ECHCS News and Stories
Flu Season is here!
Annual flu shots are now available at your VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System.
Get your flu shot every year to protect yourself and others. It’s the surest way to prevent a serious illness and help stop the flu from spreading. You can make an appointment with your VA primary care provider or join a walk-in or drive-thru clinic at a participating VA ECHCS facility.
When presenting during a walk-in or drive-thru flu shot clinic, be ready to show your VA-issued Veteran ID card, or a current and valid government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, passport or state-issued identification card.
Visit our VA ECHCS Website Event page for upcoming walk-in and drive-thru flu events. Patients can also ask about flu shots during their primary care visit, or call (303) 399-8020 for scheduling.
If you receive a flu shot outside of VA, please ensure you let your primary care team know by phone call or Secure Message so that they can note it in your medical record.
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VA ECHCS Hosts Baby Shower
On Sept. 13, we held our 4th annual Drive-Thru Veteran Baby Shower.
This year's theme was Aloha Baby, and this year's event would not have been possible without the close to 60 volunteers that supported the event, 15 Veteran Service Officers, and our law enforcement community partners conducting car seat safety checks.
Also a big shout out to Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum for being a fantastic host site.
If you are a Veteran planning on children in the next year, make sure to connect with our Women Veteran Clinic to learn about all the resources VA has to offer expecting mothers.
Visit our YouTube page to hear more about the VA ECHCS Baby Shower, and see photo highlights on our VA ECHCS Facebook page!
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5280 Magazine Announces Top Doctors of Denver
Last month, Denver’s 5280 Magazine released their list of Denver’s top Doctors of 2024, and we’re excited to announce the inclusion of four doctors from VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System!
This year’s VA ECHCS recognized doctors:
Dr. Joseph Cleveland, Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery (not pictured)
Dr. Michael Erlanger, Ophthalmology
Dr. Gregory Schwartz, Cardiovascular Disease
Dr. Paul Varosy, Cardiac Electrophysiology
For more than three decades, 5280 has been providing their list of the best doctors in the Denver metro area. This year’s list showcases the best of Denver’s medical community, and features hundreds of exceptional doctors across 70+ specialties. The selection process, rooted in peer recognition, asks Denver-area physicians to nominate colleagues they would trust with their own or their family's care. The physicians are then vetted for many personal and interpersonal skills and qualifications.
Congratulations to all the Denver-area doctors recognized, and especially our VA ECHCS doctors! This is a great honor for some of our Denver-area VA doctors to be included in this list. Visit our VA ECHCS Facebook to read their quotes and see their full images.
2024 Southern Colorado Mental Health Summit
Show your ongoing support for the mental health of Veterans and their families by attending the 2024 Southern Colorado Mental Health Summit.
Join us to connect, share best practices, and create a shared vision of how to better address the mental health needs of Veterans.
Our Agenda:
- Community inclusion to reduce social isolation and build resilience
- Panel discussion on substance abuse and recovery in Veteran populations
- Gender Affirming MH Care
- Active networking/resource sharing
The event will be Wednesday, September 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Penrose House in Colorado Springs. Visit our VA ECHCS website for more information.
4.25 hours available for ANCC, APA, ASWB, JAIPCE, NBCC (additional registration required for CEU’s).
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Please join us for our annual VA ECHCS Research Day on September 26. The event will be at our Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in the Auditorium from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
This year's theme is "Building Community Through Research: Research in Women's Health & Gender Disparities" as the VA celebrates researchers' contributions to both the Veteran community and the Health Science community as a whole.
VA researchers make up innovative teams that have historically developed effective treatments for tuberculosis, invented the CAT scan and the pacemaker, and performed the first-ever liver transplant. More recently research investigators have been critical to supporting the PACT Act, Women's Health, Telehealth, suicide prevention, the President’s Cancer Moonshot, and much more.
Presentations will include VA ECHCS Research State of the Union, Bridging the Gap in Precision Medicine and Healthcare Equity, and much more. If you miss the event, no problem, research posters will be on display for the full week at our RMR Medical Center.
Visit our VA ECHCS website for more information and the full agenda.
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Recent Stories From VA ECHCS
Veteran Paralympian Competes in Paris
 Congratulations to all our U.S. Paralympians who are returning home to celebrate with their friends and family after more than 11 days of competition in Paris. One of those athletes is Marine Corps Veteran Jataya Taylor, a 2024 U.S. Paralympian from VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, who competed in wheelchair fencing. Taylor placed sixth in the team foil, 11th in the team epee, and 15th in the individual epee A.
Read more about Taylor's journey to the Paralympics here on VA ECHCS website.
Remembering Our Veterans Program
Meet Frank Napoleon, a U.S. Army Veteran who primarily served as a mortuary affairs specialist, a position that entails locating, identifying, and handling the remains of deceased military personnel and their belongings. Born and raised in Arizona, Frank, a grandchild of migrants, worked in agricultural fields throughout his youth along with his nearly one dozen siblings. As soon as he finished his high school education, Frank enlisted in the Army in 1976, citing a need for a change of scenery. He was assigned to the Graves Registration Service during his training at Fort Gregg-Adams, formerly called Fort Lee, in Virginia and spent his first four years in Germany. It was during this time that he married his wife and started a family.
After a brief stint working as a security guard in SeaWorld San Diego, Frank returned to the Army and, over the next 18 years, served in mortuary sciences in numerous locations in the U.S. and across the globe, including Fort Carson, CO, Korea, and Somalia. At Dover Air Force Base, he served as a military escort for the remains of fallen soldiers, and later on, taught search and rescue, identification, and mortuary affairs operations as an instructor back at Fort Lee. As part of the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii, Frank, along with anthropologists and archeologists, traveled throughout Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to help search for, recover, and identify the remains of missing Americans in an effort to reunite them with family members. Frank retired from the Army in 1998, totaling 22 years, and then went on to spend over a decade working as a social worker and case manager for L.A. County and the Salvation Army.
Click here to hear Frank talk about his journey.
Remembering Our Veterans is a "living history" video memoir program in which VA staff and volunteers engage Veterans in meaningful conversations about their military service and other significant life experiences. To learn more about the Remembering Our Veterans program and how you can get involved, please email rov.echcs@va.gov or call 720-723-3864.
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Live Whole Health- Conquering Clutter
Is clutter driving you crazy? Do you have too much stuff?
Your surroundings directly affect your health and well-being. The term “surroundings” covers a lot of
things — from a Whole Health perspective, it involves everything around you where you live, work, and play.
Chaos and clutter in your surroundings can make you feel sad and overwhelmed. It can prevent you from doing things you love (like this Veteran). And it can lead to accidents and falls.
Purging the pileup
In deciding where to start organizing and decluttering, consider the area that bothers you the most. Then make some SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time-based). Keep goals small and simple. For example, you might want to set a goal of clearing the top drawer of your dresser.
Dealing with the stuff
Many professional organizers recommend sorting items into boxes, labeling each one as “throw away,” “put away,” or “donate.” Touch each item and decide where it goes. These decisions may be easy or hard. A food wrapper is obviously trash, but you may struggle with letting go of a picture your child drew, although you have more than you can store.
After you’re done putting each item in a box, take the action written on the box.
Don’t struggle alone
It may seem daunting to think about clearing your clutter, deciding what and what not to keep, and maintaining your space after you’ve cleared it. Some people struggle with clutter more than others.
Whole Health classes and coaching can support you in dealing with clutter or anything else that’s preventing you from your best life. Contact your local facility to learn about Whole Health services in your area.
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VA Healthy Living Message: Be Safe Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections
What's Important to Know?
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), often referred to as Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), are infections you can get or give someone by having sex while you or your partner has an infection. STIs are the same thing as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Many STIs do not have symptoms. You and/or your partner can have an STI and pass it on without knowing it. Some STIs can cause organ damage and infertility. Having one STI may raise your risk for getting other STIs. Some examples of STIs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, trichomonas, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is the most common STI in the United States and can cause cervical and anal cancer. Recently, Mpox has been identified as a STI, though it can also spread through other modes such as skin to skin contact. If you or your partner have skin sores or blisters, this could be a sign of mpox or another infection.
You can get STIs from any sexual activity, whether it involves the mouth, anus, vagina, or penis. Although the risk is lower, STIs can also be transmitted by shared sex toys. If you are pregnant, you can pass on some to your baby before or during your baby’s birth. Most STIs can be treated and cured. Some cannot be cured but can be managed by taking medicines. If you are treated for an STI, your sex partner(s) may also need to be treated to prevent you from being re-infected.
Visit the Veterans Health Library to learn more.
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Work with VA ECHCS
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System is always looking for individuals with a passion for serving Veterans. In fact, many of our employees are Veterans. We have open positions in clinical, administrative and facility management positions. Make the difference in the lives of Veterans and apply to work with us!
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