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Week of January 13, 2022
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 38 | ISSUE 25
Police shoot, kill man brandishing shotgun in Wheat Ridge Suspect alleged to have been firing at random BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
experienced nurses to watch fetal heartbeat patterns and look for nuances a more inexperienced nurse might not catch. But staffing shortages, especially pertaining to more experienced nurses, were making it difficult to make sure every momto-be was paired with a nurse with that kind of expertise. So, drawing from the concept of telemetry floors, her department created the idea of an OB Hub staffed by more experienced nurses 24-hours per day to watch babies’ heartbeats. “You can actually improve outcomes tremendously if you catch any kind of alteration in the heart rate early,” she said. “And I do believe we’re starting to meet some
A man carrying and allegedly firing a shotgun in the area of West 29th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard was shot and killed by Wheat Ridge Police Jan. 6. According to Wheat Ridge Spokesperson Sara Spaulding, police were dispatched to the area at approximately 1:41 p.m. after receiving multiple reports of an adult male carrying the weapon on West 29th Avenue near Ames Street. In her press release, Spaulding said Wheat Ridge police officers who were already near the scene also witnessed the man firing the gun as he walked toward Sheridan Boulevard. Spaulding said as police converged on the area, the man stopped in the intersection of 29th and Sheridan and challenged police on multiple occasions while brandishing his shotgun. At that point, Wheat Ridge Police officers shot the man, who was then pronounced dead at the scene, Spaulding said. Wheat Ridge Police Division Chief Darrel Guadnola said there will be an investigation into the shooting. “While our officers responded to
SEE OB HUB, P5
SEE POLICE, P5
Deb Lowery, Senior Director, Women’s Services, and nurse, Jessie Sanchez, in the new OB Hub at Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat COURTESY OF SCL HEALTH Ridge.
Lutheran OB Hub creating better outcomes for moms and babies Innovative program puts second set of eyes on moms-to-be BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Don’t believe it? Just look at the changes to daily life the pandemic has brought to the last two years — many of which are here to stay. The need to find new ways of doing things with the potential to create even better outcomes was a driving force in an innovative new program rolled out at SCL’s Lutheran Medical Center and St. Joseph’s
Hospital over the past nine months. The program — a new way of monitoring fetal heartbeat during labor, is already drawing interest from other medical institutions. According to Deb Lowery, senior director of Women’s Services at both hospitals, it’s also starting to create better, healthier births for moms and babies. Lowery said when babies are born, the delivery is typically scored using something called an APGAR (appearance, pulse, grimace, activity and respiration) scoring system. For example, a score of 10 indicates a great birth with a healthy baby. Lowery said the hospitals started the OB Hub concept to do better surveillance on babies before they’re born. She said it often takes more
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