• Shutterstock

From the listings desk: If you happen to have some old oxycodone from your grandpa stashed under the counter, this news is for you.

Saturday is the Sixth National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, where you can safely and freely rid yourself of old medicines.

I know, you really, really just want to just flush them down the toilet. But you shouldn't. Those pills can find their way to streams and drinking water supplies.

So maybe you can just trash them. But you shouldn't do that either; kids can find them, or worse. (I don't need to tell you that feeling adventurous with old narcotics is a bad idea.)

What you can do is take them to one of several locations around town, where they'll be properly collected and destroyed. You can find locations via ZIP code through the Drug Enforcement Administration's handy website. Plan ahead, too — collection sites will only operate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Also, needles, sharps, oxygen containers and items like chemotherapy drugs will not be accepted.

For more information, call 444-7448.

Back in August, just after Colorado Springs voters gave overwhelming approval of the city-owned Memorial Hospital lease to University of Colorado Health, UCH CEO Bruce Schroffel told the Indy in an interview that the top priority of UCH was to recruit doctors.

Well, yesterday, Memorial issued a news release announcing a coup. It has hired 14 cardiologists, a breast surgeon and 75 other staff members. All told, it said in the release, Memorial's physician network has grown by 40 percent in three months since the Aug. 28 vote.

From the release:

The hospital acquired Pikes Peak Cardiology, the city’s largest cardiology
practice, and the practice of Dr. Laura Pomerenke, a breast surgeon. Dozens
of supporting team members were also hired.

The hiring of so many physicians reflects a turnaround for Memorial, which
struggled to recruit and retain doctors during a prolonged political
discussion over its future in recent years. That discussion ended
decisively on Aug. 28, when voters overwhelmingly approved a deal to lease
Memorial to UCHealth. The Colorado-based health system includes University
of Colorado Hospital, named the No. 1 academic medical center in quality by
University Health System Consortium, and Malcolm Baldrige Award-winning
Poudre Valley Hospital and Medical Center of the Rockies.

“Voters issued a mandate when they agreed to make Memorial part of
University of Colorado Health,” said Memorial CEO Mike Scialdone. “We are
wasting no time delivering on that mandate, moving forward boldly and
swiftly to not just meet consumers’ expectations, but to set them.”

Other signs of change: Memorial was recently certified in stroke care, an
important quality distinction for hospitals, and it became the first
southern Colorado hospital to offer the O-arm, an advanced surgical imaging
device.

“We have accomplished many things in a short amount of time,” Scialdone
said, “but the truly exciting thing for patients is the fact that we’re
just getting started.”

Memorial’s new physicians are now part of UCHealth’s Colorado Health
Medical Group.

The newly hired cardiologists, under CHMG Cardiovascular and Thoracic Care,
are:

· David I. Greenberg

· Ronald D. Blonder

· David J. Schwartz

· James M. Glass

· Joseph R. Lee

· David Rosenbaum

· Nita Harris

· Mary Olsovsky

· Kimberly Dulaney

· Jonathan Sherman

· Chris Kim

· Russell Linsky

· Brad Mikaelian

· Jorge Davalos

• One scene from the video.

With a click, you can help Memorial Hospital University of Colorado Health win $10,000 as a donation to cancer research.

Go here to see the video Memorial produced with the help of 400 employees and volunteers. Even CEO Mike Scialdone got into the act. He made me laugh.

• Scialdone joins the fun, though low-key.

When you vote, don't look for Memorial; rather, Memorial's entry is under University of Colorado Health, Colorado Springs.

From the hospital's press release:

Memorial is participating in a national popularity contest in which hospitals show off their lighter sides via short, pink glove-themed YouTube videos in celebration of breast cancer awareness month. By visiting www.memorialhealthsystem.com and taking a moment to view the video and vote, people will help us raise $10,000 for the southeastern Colorado Chapter of Susan G. Komen. Voting ends Nov. 1.
HOW TO VOTE:
-Visit www.memorialhealthsystem.com or http://pinkglovedance.com/competition/vote.php
-Scroll down. Search for University of Colorado Health under “T-U.’’
- Click on “T-U”
-Find University of Colorado Health.
- Click on “Vote’’

More than 400 Memorial employees, doctors and volunteers — as well as therapy dogs and a horse named Sprout — donned pink to create an uplifting 3-minute, 45-second video that brings awareness to breast cancer.
One of our featured video starlets is 9-year-old Rhiannon McNab, a cancer patient and the granddaughter of Patti McNab, a cardio nurse at Memorial. Rhiannon gets credit for some of the choreography, and when she throws some punches as part of her routine, it’s not without meaning.
“This shows that I’m a fighter,’’ Rhiannon said during the filming.
Sloan Maes, director of oncology services for Memorial, said: “It is an opportunity to bring awareness to breast cancer, and to acknowledge that it is a journey full of hope — that’s the message that we want our video to portray.’’
The video was photographed and edited by Dylan Standish, an intern at Bourbon Street Video, with assistance from Richard Stamats, an employee for Sodexo, Memorial’s nutritional services contractor.

Those 59,820 people in Colorado Springs who voted to lease city-owned Memorial Health System to University of Colorado Health will be happy to learn this: One of UCH's hospitals, University Hospital, has been named the highest-performing academic hospital for quality health care in the United States for the second year running, UCH says in a news release.

• University Hospital website
• Anschutz Medical Campus, the site of the University of Colorado Hospital.

The designation was bestowed by the University HealthSystem Consortium, the 116-member alliance of the nation's leading nonprofit academic medical centers and 276 of their affiliated hospitals.

No other hospital has been named top performer over consecutive years.

On Aug. 28, voters in Colorado Springs overwhelmingly approved a 40-year lease of Memorial to UCH. The lease will close Oct. 1, and UCH will take over operation of Memorial and its assets. That said, there are some outstanding issues that will nag well beyond that transfer date.

From the release:

The award is given to the academic hospital with the best outcome scores in patient safety, clinical effectiveness, clinical efficiency, patient satisfaction, mortality and equity, which is a measure of whether outcomes differ for patients of different ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.

"Last year, when the University of Colorado Hospital won this award for the first time, I thought it was the proudest moment of my career," said University of Colorado Health CEO Bruce Schroffel. "Now, to be named the top academic hospital in quality in the nation for two consecutive years, I'm speechless. This is the highest recognition any hospital can receive, and it motivates us to constantly focus on providing a level and quality of care not found anywhere else in Colorado or the United States."

Academic medical centers are the research and medical school-based hospitals generally seen as the best places for advanced, complex care. University of Colorado Hospital is the leading academic medical center in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region and is home to some of the nation's best specialists and sub-specialists. Through the research focus of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, UCH offers clinical trial drugs and innovative procedures unavailable at other hospitals in our region.

"Every day our nurses, staff and physicians strive to be the very best," University of Colorado Hospital President and CEO John Harney said. "We're honored that our hard work is being recognized, but the primary reason we strive for the top is to provide our patients with that award-winning care. From the moment patients step through our doors, we're focused on providing top quality treatment and a positive experience."

University of Colorado Hospital also received the 2012 UHC Supply Chain Performance Excellence Award which reflects the dedication of staff to ordering and delivering medications and supplies while maintaining high quality and efficiency.

"Supply chain might sound boring, but this incredible department ensures our nurses and doctors have the supplies they need exactly when they need them," said Harney. "A delay of even 15 minutes could put a patient at risk, so getting literally thousands of critical, sometimes short-lived medications and high-tech equipment to the right place at the right time is a science unto itself. Part of the UHC award is based on cost-effectiveness of the supply chain and the prices paid."

University of Colorado Hospital is now part of University of Colorado Health, a Colorado-based healthcare system comprised of five hospitals and many clinics and physicians stretching from Colorado Springs to Wyoming. The quality reflected by the UHC awards is shared across the system to improve health care throughout the Rocky Mountain region.

In addition to being named the top-performing academic hospital in the United States, U.S. News & World Report named University of Colorado Hospital the best hospital in Colorado in July 2012. The hospital's specialties have been ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News for 18 consecutive years.

From the listings desk: For virtually every cause, there's a walk or run, and that's a great thing. Looking at the calendar the way we do, it's heartening to see 5Ks for everything from suicide prevention to Alzheimer's research. And this Saturday brings another, the Colorado Springs 2012 Walk to Cure Diabetes.

This 5K walk is backed by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which states that more than 80 percent of its expenditures go directly toward research and education. Our walk will take place in America the Beautiful Park and gets started with 9 a.m. registration.

Floyd's 99 barbershop is also offering semi-permanent JDRF-colored hair streaks for $8, 50 percent of which will be donated to JDRF. Through mid-October, they will also give out services when customers donate.

As I've explained before, we're still learning about diabetes. While type 1, or juvenile diabetes, is largely diagnosed in childhood, there's also latent autoimmune diabetes, known as type 1½. This type is often misdiagnosed at type 2, however it shares components of both type 1 and 2 — and depending on the patient, may be more like one than the other. In my mother's case, it's a progressive disease, and will likely become more like type 1 as her pancreas eventually stops producing insulin (or so we expect).

Luckily, it is a manageable condition, and in time, research will discover new medicines and hormones, making life easier on patients. And maybe even a cure.

Education is also key. While weight plays a large role in how many view diabetes, genetics are what call the shots in type 1 and 1½. You can be as healthy as you want, like my mom, but that only means you'll have less trouble adjusting to the LADA lifestyle.

OK, don't mean to get all dour. All of this is just to say, there's never been a better time to streak your hair and get to steppin'.

This one hits home — so forgive the tone if I sound lecture-y.

You see, back on June 22, I was involved in a motorcycle accident that was not my fault, in which the driver of the car I impacted with never saw me, even though I had the right-of-way, was wearing bright yellow reflective gear, and was traveling below the speed limit.

So for my part, I'm thrilled to see the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) launching two new campaigns over this upcoming Labor Day weekend to hopefully bring down the sad number of motorcycle deaths in El Paso County, which leads the state.

One campaign, called Don't Ruin the Ride, focuses on keeping bikers from drinking and driving. According to a CDOT press release, one in four riders killed from 2009 to 2011 was under the influence.

The second campaign, more relative to my accident, is called Look Twice. This campaign asks motorists to keep their focus on their driving and "to take a couple of extra seconds to look carefully for motorcycles."

The statistic provided there is that in Colorado last year, "drivers of motor vehicles were at fault in 20 percent of motorcycle fatalities. However, in El Paso County, motorists — not the rider — caused half of motorcycle-related deaths."

The release goes on to share the story of Colorado Springs police officer Matthew Tyner, one of six motorcyclists killed so far in El Paso County in 2012, who was killed by "an unassuming driver who did not see him." (There have been 49 motorcycle deaths statewide thus far.)

Lecture over. I think you get the point.

But if you need one more reinforcement of why you should keep extra vigilant of your biker brethren, click for more to see a picture of my big-ass scar (don't worry, not bloody).