Articles and Publications

Colorado Springs Fire Chief Ted Collas honors the work of public and community health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. This editorial appeared in the Colorado Springs Gazette on June 24, 2020.

Since early April, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Corporation and El Paso County Public Health have been working together to balance public health concerns with economic health concerns in our community. Together, we developed the "We're Staying Safe" signs for businesses to post to notify customers that they are complying with state and local health guidelines. Look for these signs when you enter businesses — they let you know which businesses are working to keep you safe. You can also help your favorite businesses thrive by following health guidelines yourself. 

This editorial appeared in the Colorado Springs Gazette on June 21, 2020.

In 2003, my 3-year-old daughter became very ill. What followed was six months of self-imposed quarantine, financial troubles and nearly losing my child. I know that many of you think that those in the public health field can't possibly understand how difficult all the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have been for you. I assure you, I do understand. 

The Safer at Home phase didn't just happen; it's the result of the hard work and sacrifices we have all made to flatten the curve. While, we're on the right path, doctors and scientists are still working to answer important questions about COVID-19. Your continued patience and cooperation will help us to move out of this pandemic without risking all our gains.

Dr. Charles Benight, a professor of psychology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the head of the new UCCS National Institute for Human Resilience, founded GRIT after a career focused on disaster and trauma recovery. Dr. Benight explains that GRIT takes advantage of our greatest mental health resource: each other. By building off existing bonds between friends, coworkers and family members, the program fosters strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

The creation of a single, regional office of emergency management, the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management, created efficiencies of time, staff and taxpayer dollars and led to a more organized response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have a lot of promising information and great minds working to move our understanding forward, but we have to be patient and make decisions based on complete data. We don’t want people to feel a false sense of security due to antibody testing. We do not yet fully understand what these tests mean in terms of immunity.

As we move from the Governor’s “Stay At Home” to “Safer At Home” this week, it’s good to reflect back on where we are and how far we’ve come already with our response to COVID-19 here in El Paso County. It's also important that we all continue to do our part to combat this virus!

As we all look forward to leading more normal lives, we must do everything we can to increase testing. Testing sick people will help us ensure the safety of the public and arm us with the information we need to effectively fight COVID-19.

Dr. Robin Johnson, Medical Director of El Paso County Public Health, discusses how vaccinations have changed the course of human history. We are now witnessing the terrible toll a virus can take when we don't have the right tools to fight it. Thankfully, doctors and scientists are working to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.