This article will provide information for people who need help finding HIPPA health insurance portability plans in Colorado. HIPAA is a federal law that guarantees U.S. residents, including those living in Colorado, the right to buy health insurance coverage. Once you have had a health insurance plan in place, you can use your portability rights to get another one, even if you have a pre-existing health condition.

Your Rights Under Federal Law

Under the provisions of HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), you cannot be denied insurance coverage because of a pre-existing condition if you meet the following criteria (among certain others so be sure and speak with an experienced Colorado health insurance agent):

You have been covered for at least 18 months (this coverage period must end with your having been insured through your work).

You have used up your continuation coverage under the terms of COBRA or those available under Colorado state law.

You haven’t had any gaps in your coverage for longer than 63 days.

As you can see, when it comes to exercising your rights under HIPAA, time is of the essence. The good news is that if you meet these criteria, all companies that offer CO individual health insurance coverage must offer to cover you.

Your Rights Under Colorado State Law

Colorado has also passed legislation that regulate conditions under which an insurance company is required to offer to cover you, which pre-existing conditions are covered, and the cap on the amount the company can charge in premiums where there is a pre-existing condition.

If you have questions or need help finding HIPAA health insurance portability plans in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Insurance will be able to help you. You can contact them at 1-800 930-3745 or visit them online. For information about companies offering health insurance to CO residents, why don’t you compare rates using a free online quote tool?

Compare Colorado HIPAA Health Insurance Plans Now

If you feel that you may be eligible for a HIPAA health insurance plan in Colorado then be sure and shop around and compare rates from multiple individual health insurance companies.

By: James J. Robinson

Contrary to popular belief, snacking is actually very beneficial. It helps to refuel your body, maintain blood sugar and energy levels and control your appetite.

Healthy snacking will help your body get the nutrients it needs and help you avoid overeating at meal times.

Indulge in these guilt-free snacks. Remember we encourage an anti-inflammatory, low-glycemic, paleo-style diet for weight loss and wellness. A body must get healthy before it can lose weight.

1. Fruit and Yogurt Parfait.Organic plain yogurt is best. Yogurts with added flavors are higher in sugar. Instead, flavor your yogurt with fruit. Blueberries are an excellent choice as they have a lower glycemic content that will help balance blood glucose and insulin levels.

2. Romaine Lettuce Wrap With Organic Turkey and a Slice of Raw-Milk or Skim Mozzarella Cheese.

Romaine lettuce contains the highest nutritional and fiber content of all lettuce. Turkey is 94% protein which helps you to lose weight by boosting your metabolism and decreasing hunger. Adding raw milk grass-fed cheese not only adds flavor but also adds calcium without any harmful hormones or preservatives. A great source for grass-fed wild meat, game and poultry is at U.S. Wellness Meats.

3. Veggie Sticks With Cottage Cheese Dip. Non-starchy vegetables contain almost eight times the amount of fiber found in whole grains. Fiber is essential for a healthy digestive system. Fat-free organic cottage cheese makes an excellent low calorie snack.

4. Shrimp Cocktail Shrimp is 90% protein. Try dipping it in some cocktail sauce for a low calorie, high protein snack.

5. A Handful of Nuts. Walnuts are the best choice as they’re rich in protein and fiber but they also contain a high dose of omega 3 fatty acids (good fats) as compared to other nuts. Healthy fats help lower your risk of disease. Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, meaning they help prevent inflammatory diseases such as stroke or heart disease. People who are overweight are actually suffering from an inflammatory condition.

6. Celery Sticks and Almond Butter. This is a great combination of protein, monounsaturated fat and energy. Almond butter is a healthier alternative to peanut butter as it contains no added ingredients or preservatives and better fats. (peanuts are a legume not a nut)

7. Deviled Eggs. Eggs are very high in protein which makes them a great snack. My Guacamole Deviled Eggs are a great high-protein healthy snack with good fats.

8. Herring Wraps. Buy a few tinned containers in a few different flavored sauces such as tomato or tangy mustard, herring fillets are high in omega 3 fish oils. Don’t but if they are in soybean oil. Try wrapping them in a few leaves of romaine lettuce.

9. Banana Nut Pop. Dip a banana in plain organic yogurt and roll in walnuts or coconut. Freeze. Yummy!

Bananas are a great source of fiber and potassium. They do have a high sugar content so eat in moderation. Coconuts have anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties and are one of the best sources in the world for MCFA (medium-chain triglyceride fatty acids)

10. Lemon Tuna Avocado Snack. Halve an avocado and scoop out the flesh. Mix with lemon juice and tuna. Serve in the shells. Good protein, good fat.

Avocado’s are high in monounsaturated fat and potassium. Tuna is a great source of protein, omega-3 fatty acid and is very nutrient-dense. Protein builds muscle which in turn burns more calories to help you lose weight.

And here’s your BONUS snack idea….

***Smoked salmon.

Don’t get salmon that’s been smothered in brown sugar. Salmon is one of the best sources of protein and healthy fats on earth. Always try to buy wild-caught and not farmed raised (fed grains).

By: Ron Spallone D.C.

The Denver School of Nursing is a privately held institution that provides postsecondary education in the field of nursing and allied healthcare. The Professional Education Corporation, a private company in Colorado, owns and runs the school with authorization from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE).

The Denver School of Nursing offers two associate degree programs and a baccalaureate degree program, all of which has received approval from the Colorado State Board of Nursing. Graduates of Denver School of Nursing are eligible to take nursing licensure exams. The Denver School of Nursing offers courses during the entire year with day, evening and weekend classes.

The campus of the Denver School of Nursing is in the downtown area of Denver, Colorado with a 25,000 square foot building housing modern classrooms, laboratories and offices. The school has over forty nursing faculty members.

Admission to the Denver School of Nursing requires that the prospective enrollee complete an application form and an admissions interview. Applicants must have finished secondary education and should be 18 years old if not during their application then at the least when they start classes. Transcripts of all previous course work, school diploma and certification of age are some of the document requirements. Some applicants may need to undergo an entrance exam depending on the program. In addition, applicants must be proficient in English as all classes offered are in English. You may download an application form from the school’s website.

This School of Nursing offers financial assistance to eligible students through the Career Training Loan program provided by SLM Financial Corporation. One of the requirements to qualify for the loan is a good credit rating. If you have bad credit, you may still apply for a loan with a co-borrower who has good credit. The loan program makes it possible for borrowers to get funding for the entire cost of their education. The loans have variable interest rates, a standard 15-year repayment term with an interest-only payment option while the borrower is still in school. Your admissions representative will be able to assist you with your financing application.

In addition to its student financial services, the Denver School of Nursing also provides free career-oriented services to all its students and graduates to help them secure employment in the healthcare field. The school’s career services include resume building, writing cover letters, employment interview simulations, career counseling, assistance with licensure exam applications, job fairs and others.

By: Milos Pesic

Health, safety and nutrition are three of the most important factors to consider when raising a child. In other words, every child should be raised with proper nutrition, good health and safety as possible, allowing him or her to grow with a great well-being.

Now, if you are one of the adults who have been wondering where on earth to get good advices for child health, safety and nutrition, I bet you would be happy to know that you’ve found the right place. Yes, this page will help you find the right places to go for child health, safety and nutrition advices. It is important to note, however, that these portals are just a few of the many online. But they are worth considering to get started.

So to find the best advices for child health, safety and nutrition, read on.

Health and Safety

Several researches have noted that in today’s fast-paced world where the child’s safety and health issues are rapidly growing, more than fifty sites online present health and safety guidelines for the public to consider. These guidelines are disseminated throughout the net, allowing the people to access this wealth of information as easy as possible.

A few of the worth visiting portals online that talk about child health and safety issues and advices are the following:

BrightFutures.org

Bright Futures is sponsored by a well-known health care organization, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration. This is also supported in part by the Pfizer Pediatric Health, and has been operating to provide the public the necessary information about the current and emerging preventive and health promotion needs of infants, children, adolescent, families and communities.

NCCIC.org

NCCIC.org is actually the official website of Health Child Care America, which is but a federal government initiative that works to increase collaboration between the early childhood community as well as the public health community. This collaboration is considered to allow these communities to create the best care for children in the childcare. Today, this federal government initiative is introducing its newsletter which is made available in full text online.

Nutrition

NAL.USDA.gov

This portal is owned by the Child Care Nutrition Resource System, which has long been providing the public with the wide selection of recipes, resources and information on how to prepare meals that are highly nutritious and safe.

BCM.TMC.edu

At this site, you can access the Children’s Nutrition Research Center, which is but the first federally funded nutrition research center in the United States. This center is dedicated to investigating the nutritional needs of those women who are expecting and are nursing their children. This is great for child nutrition as it covers information about children from conception through adolescence.

So those are just a few of the many sites online that tackle issues on child health, safety and nutrition. Visit other online sites for more information about child health, safety and nutrition.

By: Milos Pesic

Exercise and physical activity play a crucial role in both maintaining one’s mental health condition and in recovering from a mental illness. Breaking research indicates that exercise actually produces a chemical that stimulates the growth of brain cells, thus allowing for recovery from sever substance abuse disorders. Furthermore, physical activity and mental health recovery coincide in fostering a social network and encouraging self-reflection, both of which are crucial on the path to mental health recovery.

The human mind evolved in an environment which required it to travel over twelve miles daily. And no, that drive to work in the morning does not count…but that would make things easier, no? This evolution was due to survival instincts when humans migrated from the jungles into the flatlands. Humans also developed an adrenaline reaction which both encouraged movement and triggered immediate learning reactions; as Doctor Carl Clark from the Mental Health Center of Denver once stated, when early man saw that saber-tooth tiger charging out of the brambles, the neurons must have been firing pretty fast to teach them to stay away from the bushes next time…that is assuming their get away was fast enough to allow for a next time!

This adrenaline rush encouraging learning has become neutralized by the flow of activities in modern western societies, wherein the normal individual is seemingly on a constant, albeit generally unnoticed, adrenaline rush. Consequently, stress levels have continuously been on the rise, consequently decreasing the rate at which an individual learns when in a compromising situation, thus decreasing mental wellness levels.

Physical activity is a huge aid to mental health in the fact that exercise allows for a stress outlet, thus decreasing day-to-day stress, while creating functional adrenaline for the mind. In reality, physical activity is important for mental health due to its role in creating Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor (BDNF), which is a key factor in the creation of brain cells. The myth of the old days is past; you know the one, where once your brain cells are gone they are gone. Well such is not the case, physical activity and exercise can increase BDNF levels and allow the re-growth of brain cells, consequently making physical activity immensely important for mental illness recovery.

Exercise and mental health further coincide in regards to the alarming statistic that people with mental illnesses, on average, die 20 years sooner than mentally healthy individuals. While there are many factors that go into this involved in substance abuse risk factors, two considerations that one would be remiss to ignore is the fact that those suffering from mental illnesses have a tendency to stagnate and become physically inactive. This has resulted in a large percentage of mental health consumers being considered overweight, which can ultimately result in adult onset diabetes. Diabetes is very dangerous in sedentary individuals who, in a depressant state, care little about taking care of themselves, for such a medical ailment can result in numerous health related issues, some of which can be very serious.

Physical activity and mental illness recovery are highly correlated. In some of the most successful recovery-based treatment facilities one will find strong proponents of mental health consumers engaging in physical activity. These activities also subsidize the development and formation of a support network populated by individuals interested in similar hobbies. Furthermore, exercise can often be a form of active meditation, and as practitioners of Dialectic Behavioral Treatment (DBT) can profess, meditation, including meditation absent any religious connotations (whether it be active or seated), drives self-reflection which is crucial to mental health recovery; for more information on the importance of self-reflection, you can access my article on Spirituality and Hope in Mental Health.

Stay physically active, exercise and mental wellness are highly correlated. Exercise is one of the best ways to prevent the development of serious mental illnesses, and is also one of the most effective treatment plans. Stay active, stay healthy, stay happy.

For more research on mental health, behavioral disorders, substance abuse, psychographics, childhood mental illnesses, childhood resiliency, adolescent mental illnesses, and adult recovery, access MHCD’s Research and Evaluation’s publication page [http://www.outcomesmhcd.com/pubs/publications.htm].

By: Lex Douvasa

Denver Schools Struggle with Declining Enrollment

“May you live in interesting times,” goes the ancient Chinese curse. These are “interesting” times indeed at Denver schools. The district is grappling with declining enrollment figures and the decreased funding that issue brings about. The reasons for the drop in numbers are not hard to fathom. Although there are exceptions to the rule, by and large the reputation of Denver public schools has taken a beating and a pretty rough one at that. The figures speak eloquently for themselves.

o Denver schools have a graduation rate of barely 76 per cent.

o The rate of proficiency in grades 3 through 10 were barely 46 per cent in math, 36 per cent in writing and 52 per cent in reading.

These dismal figures have not come about overnight. Rather they have been the product of a series of miscalculated, half hearted and antiquated reform efforts by Denver schools that have left the system almost in shambles.

The Effect of Denver Demographics on its Schools

The demographics of Denver schools have played a part too. It’s no secret that most of the students getting left behind in Denver schools are African Americans, Hispanics and a few other low income groups. Denver schools have a disproportionate number of students who are illegal aliens as compared to neighboring districts. According to some reports, close to 30,000 illegal aliens attend Denver public schools. Most of these students have problems communicating in English which makes Denver schools a veritable Tower of Babel with over 40 different languages being spoken on campus.

Another problem is that teachers unable to handle the infighting in classrooms and the resulting chaos apply for transfers out of Denver schools at alarming rates. It’s believed that one in five teachers in Denver schools asks for a transfer out of the school at the end of the school term. This instability has had a deteriorating effect on the quality of the schools and is reflected in falling grades. Those lucky enough to be able to are pulling their children out of Denver schools to transfer them to better schools in neighboring districts.

Neighboring School Districts Chip away at Denver’s Best and Brightest

In the city’s south western neighborhoods, Denver schools are fighting a losing battle with neighboring school districts that are drawing away hundreds of Denver’s best students every year. Parents in these areas have a plethora of choices in Jefferson County and Littleton school districts; and more often than not these school choices come with an “excellent” or “high” rating. In contrast, the rating for many Denver schools in the neighborhoods is “average” at best.

Parents obviously want their children to study at a school that has higher performance ratings, and so in a situation like this, there is really no choice for them to make. This exodus to better neighboring school districts is hitting Denver schools particularly hard. When students leave, they take with them necessary funding. With such challenges facing the school district, it’s about time the authorities stepped up to the plate or we could see a repetition in Denver of what has been the state of many schools in poor performing districts around the country.

By: Patricia Hawke

Part 1 – Internal Factors

Falls and their consequences are the leading cause of death in people 65 years and older. For people 85 and older, it’s estimated that one in five falls results in death.

Until recently, most falls have been blamed on a single cause – precipitated by either a medical event or an “accident” related to the environment. Today, researchers know that falls are rarely the result of an isolated event. Rather falls are complex events caused by the interaction of both internal and external factors.

Most falls represent the end result of a series of independent and often small risks. Individually, such risks pose no harm. Young and able-bodied people can manage avoid many daily mishaps so naturally, they never even realize it. Eventually though, age, disability or compromised health not only created its own risks, it can make it impossible to deal with even the simplest environmental risks.

Often, a fall “happens” (meaning, factors set it in motion) long before the victim encounters the event. As relatives and caregivers, it becomes our responsibility to recognize and correct those factors-both physiological and environmental- and break the chain of risk, before a fall occurs. Prevention is no accident.

Internal risk factors

A number of physiological and medical factors play a role in causing falls. Understanding these can help you reduce the risks from these and other factors. Here are a few major ones.

Changes in muscles and bones. Changes in muscles and joints not only make movement more difficult, they also make it harder to correct for a sudden loss of balance. Loss of strength in the legs or upper arms limits the ability to transfer in and out of bed or a chair.

Vision changes. As people get older it becomes harder for the eyes to adjust to varying levels of lightness and darkness. We become more sensitive to glare. Decreased depth perception also makes it hard to distinguish high-contrast patterns from actual elevation changes.

Balance problems. Aging naturally diminishes the body’s natural automatic reflexes that enable people to properly interpret and re-orient their center of gravity as they move or walk. Changes in gait (such as walking with a narrower or wider stance than usual) increase the risk of catching a foot on an obstruction.

Cardiovascular difficulties. Numbness in the limbs affects the ability to sense the ground or command their limbs to adjust to it. Cardiovascular problems can also cause sudden loss of blood to the brain, resulting in fainting.

Medications. Many drugs (including alcohol) affect judgment and coordination. Tranquilizers can slow reflexes. Others increase the risk of fainting

Chronic or acute diseases. Falls may often be the initial symptom of a disease. Degenerative disorders only compound the risk of falls.

Depression, stress or lack of sleep. Such issues can make people preoccupied and less alert to the dangers around them.

You can help prevent falls in one of the most dangerous rooms in the home, by equipping your bathroom with readily available devices including secure hand rails, a raised toilet seat, a bathing chair, easy-to-reach shower controls, and non-slip shower/tub liners.

Stayed tuned for Part 2, understanding the external risk factors to help reduce our senior’s risk for falls.

By: Marilyn Rowe