Hot Issues in Health Webinar Series

This year, Colorado legislators confronted a polycrisis — an interconnected set of challenges with no clear solution. Our team explained what they did and what's next.

A week after the 2025 special legislative session ended, CHI looked at what lawmakers accomplished — the issues they solved, the choices they delayed, and the additional federal budget cuts they will face next year. Our panelists included veterans of the Great Recession: Michael Beasley, President of 5280 Strategies; Bernie Buescher, former Colorado Secretary of State; Claire Levy, Boulder County Commissioner; and Henry Sobanet, former Director of the Office of State Planning and Budgeting

In this webinar, state and local health leaders discuss the progress, challenges, and future of health information technology in Colorado. Speakers: Stephanie Pugliese, Director, Office of eHealth Innovation; Ashlie Brown, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer, Colorado Access and eHealth Commissioner; Jonathan Cohee, CEO, Delta Health

To celebrate Pride month, we explored data-collection practices for sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability status at local public health agencies. Panelists included: Raissa Huntley (she/her), Senior Health Data Analyst Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment; Ash Neufeldt (she/her), Advocacy and Education Manager Rocky Mountain Equality Vanessa Fry (they/she), Senior Health Equity Consultant Michigan Public Health Institute.
 

In this Hot Issues in Health webinar, we explored the growing connection between climate hazards, homeowners insurance, and health — and how Colorado can reduce risk for its communities and the insurance market. Our panel included State Sen. Cleave Simpson, Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway, and Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association Executive Director Carole Walker.

Stronger communities can help us to continue caring for ourselves, our families, and our neighbors. CHI is implementing a network of health care, public health, and community organizations in the metro area — building relationships and coordination to increase access to community-based programs known to prevent and manage chronic disease. Guest speakers from the state health department joined us to share the vision for these cross-sector partnerships in advancing health across Colorado.

School-based health centers play a key role in Colorado's health care safety net. The Colorado Health Institute recently partnered with the Youth Healthcare Alliance and state health department to create the 2024 School-Based Health Care Need Index. Discover key trends and findings, learn how to use the interactive tool, and hear how leaders on the front lines of youth health care are filling this important need. 

2025 will bring significant opportunities and challenges to Colorado’s health sector. In our first webinar of the year, we heard from experts on the frontlines of responding to these changes: Karen McNeil-Miller, President and CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation; Rep. Kyle Brown, chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee; and Cara Bradbury, Executive Director of the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials. 

Recent Supreme Court rulings have upended the way the federal government oversees health, air quality, and clean water. In this webinar, CHI explores what it all means for Colorado. Guest speakers from the Environmental Defense Fund and Georgetown University help illuminate a way forward for state policymakers.

As the national election draws near, CHI explores the evidence linking the health of a democracy to population health.

This webinar features guest speakers from the League of Women Voters and Healthy Democracy Healthy People, who share insights on how we can enhance democratic engagement here in Colorado.

Catch up on some of the latest research from the Colorado Health Access Survey. CHI analysts shared their findings on Coloradans' experiences with telemedicine, reproductive health access, substance use treatment, and oral health.

A sense of belonging is important to people’s mental health, physical health, and place in society. But measuring a sense of belonging is difficult. We worked with Over Zero to adapt the national Belonging Barometer survey for Colorado. Learn all about the data and a new funding effort called Belonging Colorado in this webinar.

Colorado legislators tackled a host of health issues in 2024, from poverty to alcohol abuse to gun violence and more. Marianne Goodland of Colorado Politics and Bente Birkeland of Colorado Public Radio participated in a panel discussion following CHI's overview of health and social policy news from the 2024 session.

We all have roles to play in helping communities build resilience to climate change. CHI partnered with Kaiser Permanente Colorado last year to identify recommendations that advance climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in Colorado. 

Discover more about a recent analysis where CHI used data disaggregation techniques to enhance our understanding of behavioral health access within the Hispanic or Latino community.

A Moment of Truth: Well-Being in the Wake of the Pandemic

To better understand the complex landscape of the workforce, the Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative, in collaboration with the state, created Colorado’s first Public Health Workforce Gaps and Needs Assessment. During this webinar, we will highlight the report's findings on strengths and areas that demand immediate attention for public health workforce improvement.

Joined by Vincent Collins, M.D., Jonathan McMillan, Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, and Sarah Lampe, President and Executive Director at Trailhead Institute, we discussed a public health and community-based approach to firearms violence.

Artificial intelligence has vaulted out of science fiction and into our current reality. Learn why AI is likely to thrive in health care — and what that could mean for equity, community power, and privacy.

In Colorado, the local ballot plays a pivotal role in shaping laws, with a multitude of annual ballot questions significantly influencing the well-being of the community. This engaging discussion focuses on harnessing the power of the local ballot and other local government tactics to improve health and overall welfare, featuring guest panelists from the Colorado Health Foundation, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), and Larimer County.

Community members across the state are working toward a Colorado where all people have access to affordable, healthy food in their communities. Achieving this vision requires making changes to our food systems at the local, state, and federal levels. Special guests from the Blueprint to End Hunger and the Pueblo Food Project discuss food insecurity in Colorado with CHI.

From gun control to housing to health care costs, Colorado lawmakers did not shy away from controversy in 2023. CHI's legislative team and Representatives Judy Amabile and Dafna Michaelson Jenet discuss health policy developments with a focus on behavioral health.

Colorado’s youth face unprecedented mental health challenges. It's hard to know where to start fixing the problem. The Colorado Health Institute and Gary Community Ventures have reviewed the state's mental health system to find most urgent gaps to fill.

The costs of child care and prescription drugs are key health issues affecting Coloradans, and both are essential factors in the well being of our communities. 

Colorado’s climate has gotten hotter, and it will heat up more due to human-caused global warming.

Dashboards, Disaggregation, Democratization

Care integration is an old story with a new plot twist.

How can we build sustainable and trusted relationships with communities?

Findings from the Colorado Health Access Survey

Colorado communities need a new focus on adapting to a changing climate to advance health equity.

The 2022 legislative session tackled controversies in mental health treatment and criminal penalties for fentanyl.

There is no denying the fact that Colorado, like the rest of the world, is heating up. 

Lessons Learned from the Past Decade of Working in Behavioral Health

We know that social, human, and health services that are integrated can improve people’s health outcomes far more than one siloed component. Yet our systems continue to be antiquated and fragmented. 

A look at the updated Health IT Roadmap, with special guest Stephanie Pugliese, Director of the Office of eHealth Innovation

New Colorado Health Access Survey data on the lingering effects of job loss. Plus: A portrait of Colorado veterans' health.

Health care visits on the Front Range dropped 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Missed visits led to missed diagnoses, untreated conditions, and increased inequities. 

CHI evaluated law enforcement co-responder programs to see if dispatching mental health professionals with police to emergency calls can lead to better outcomes for officers and for people in crisis.

CHI mapped COVID diagnoses in metro neighborhoods and found a short drive could bring stark differences in the risk of getting the disease.

The COVID pandemic disrupted the legislative session for a second year, but it didn't derail major advances in health equity. The budget bounced back from 2020's cuts thanks to billions in federal aid.

CHI analysts share our interactive maps and graphics on COVID-19 vaccines in the Denver metro area. Also, a look at health disparities among older Coloradans using Colorado Health Access Survey data.