CAG Thrift Shop & Food Pantry

CASA of Je erson & Gilpin Counties, which is one of ve chapters in the Denver area and one of 17 statewide, is hosting a special new volunteer training and a community event this month.

• To provide support and empathy in an inclusive environment.

• To provide help for those in need in our community.

• To operate a food pantry in the Golden area for the benefit of local families and individuals.

• To provide short-term financial assistance to those experiencing crisis or sudden hardship

• To provide consultation and advice regarding additional support services in the vicinity.

Daytime working hours will be 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, and nighttime working hours will be 6 p.m.-6 a.m. Sunday through ursday.

Starting in April, motorists should expect northbound and southbound single-lane closures during normal working hours, potential tra c shifts during guardrail operations, rough pavement in the project area, and reduced speed limits during widening operations.

In total, the project will:

Repave Highway 93; Replace the signal at 58th Avenue; Widen the road between Washington Avenue and Mesa Drive; Add ADA-compliant curb ramps and guardrail upgrades; Update signage and striping; Add rumble strips; Lengthen the northbound acceleration lane from westbound Washington Avenue; Add a second northbound lane between Washington Avenue and Golden Gate Canyon Road; and Add a median on the east and west sides of Pine Ridge Road to reinforce existing turning restrictions onto the highway.

For more information, call the project hotline 303-495-3030, email CO93Repaving@gmail.com, or visit COTrip.org.

tion Month

You never know what treasure you will find in our thrift shop!!

Both Je erson County and the local chapter of CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, are recognizing April as National Child Abuse Pre- for Medicare Advocacy.

The organization’s volunteers advocate for children who’ve experienced neglect and abuse by being constants in their lives amid ongoing court cases.

CASA of Jefferson & Gilpin Counties has served more than 4,600 children since 2001, including more than 400 in 2022.

For anyone who’s interested in becoming a volunteer or wants to learn more about the organization, visit casajeffcogilpin.com.

Throughout April, Jefferson County typically has a month of activities and fundraisers for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, such as the iconic blue pinwheels near the county building in Golden. The pinwheel is an uplifting reminder of childhood and the bright futures all children deserve, as the county has described.

Residents are encouraged to wear blue during April to raise awareness toward preventing child abuse.

According to Jeffco, one in five Colorado parents doesn’t feel like they have anyone they can turn to for day-to-day emotional support in raising children. Everyone plays a role in strengthening families.

Anyone concerned about a child’s safety or well-being should call the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-844-CO-4-KIDS. Calls are accepted 24/7 and remain con dential. More information is available at CO4KIDS.org.

The American Health Care Association, the largest nursing home lobbying group, released a December survey finding that roughly 4 in 5 facilities were dealing with moderate to high levels of staff shortages.

A looming rollback of broader access to buprenorphine, an important medication for people in recovery from opioid addiction, is alarming patients and doctors.

During the public health emergency, the Drug Enforcement Administration said providers could prescribe certain controlled substances virtually or over the phone without first conducting an in-person medical evaluation. One of those drugs, buprenorphine, is an opioid that can prevent debilitating withdrawal symptoms for people trying to recover from addiction to other opioids. Research has shown using it more than halves the risk of overdose.

Amid a national epidemic of opioid addiction, if the expanded policy for buprenorphine ends, “thousands of people are going to die,” said Ryan Hampton, an activist who is in recovery.

The DEA in late February proposed regulations that would partly roll back the prescribing of controlled substances through telemedicine. A clinician could use telemedicine to order an initial 30-day supply of medications such as buprenorphine, Ambien, Valium, and Xanax, but patients would need an in-person evaluation to get a refill.

For another group of drugs, including Adderall, Ritalin, and oxycodone, the DEA proposal would institute tighter controls. Patients seeking those medications would need to see a doctor in person for an initial prescription.

David Herzberg, a historian of drugs at the University at Buffalo, said the DEA’s approach reflects a fundamental challenge in developing drug policy: meeting the needs of people who rely on a drug that can be abused without making that drug too readily available to others.

The DEA, he added, is “clearly seriously wrestling with this problem.”

During the pandemic, CMS has tried to limit problems that could arise if there weren’t enough health care workers to treat patients — especially before there were COVID vaccines when workers were at greater risk of getting sick.

For example, CMS allowed hospitals to make broader use of nurse practitioners and physician assistants when caring for Medicare patients. And new physicians not yet credentialed to work at a particular hospital — for example, because governing bodies lacked time to conduct their reviews — could nonetheless practice there.

Other changes during the public health emergency were meant to shore up hospital capacity. Critical access hospitals, small hospitals located in rural areas, didn’t have to comply with federal rules for

Edelman, senior policy attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy

You are invited to the 18th Annual