DENVER • It’s more than $1 billion over budget and five years behind schedule, but an elaborate new veterans hospital is finally open in suburban Denver on Saturday with the promise of state-of-the-art medical care.The $1.7 billion Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center made it through nearly a decade of management blunders, legal battles, federal investigations and congressional hearings.Lawmakers were so angry they stripped the VA of the authority to manage big projects and gave it to the Army’s construction experts, the Corps of Engineers.Veterans say they are frustrated by the slow and tortuous path the VA followed but relieved the hospital is finally done.“The cost overrun has been unfortunate. The schedule slip has been unfortunate. Yeah, it’s all been unfortunate,” said Leanne Wheeler, an Air Force veteran who gets VA health care in Denver.But “we’re glad to have it,” she said.The bright, airy complex in the east Denver … [Read more...] about Long-delayed, budget-busting VA hospital opens in Colorado
Colorado
Police arrest woman on suspicion of second-degree murder at northeast Colorado Springs home
Police arrested Jaqueline Souza, 31, on suspicion of second-degree murder Saturday after the body of a man was discovered in a northeast Colorado Springs home.The body was found in the home in the 6300 block of Cabana Circle near Skyview Middle School around 12:30 a.m. Responding to the report of a disturbance, officers found the man, who had "traumatic injuries."The nature of the injuries was not released.The cause of death is under investigation, police said.Souza, a resident of Colorado Springs, has been transported to the El Paso County jail. … [Read more...] about Police arrest woman on suspicion of second-degree murder at northeast Colorado Springs home
Colorado Springs police searching for man with brain injury, memory issues
Colorado Springs police are searching for a man with memory issues who was last seen around 8:45 p.m. Friday when he went for a walk.Police say Andrew Roybal, 62, signed out from an assisted living house on 6243 Soaring Drive.Roybal was living at Soaring Drive because of a traumatic brain injury, police said. He is not from Colorado Springs and has no friends or family in the area.Roybal is described as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 6 inches, weighing about 160 pounds with gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing baggy pants and a T-shirt. … [Read more...] about Colorado Springs police searching for man with brain injury, memory issues
Colorado Springs startup develops web application to consolidate medical records
Kirstan Vandersluis got the idea to consolidate all of his medical records in a single cloud-based application after his doctor moved out of state.The Colorado Springs entrepreneur hopes to grow his Connetix Health, which developed the mCharts application, into a $20 million to $30 million company that employs 200 people to put medical records of more than 1 million customers in one online location within three years. He started the company in March with $50,000 of his savings and $175,000 from three angel investors and hopes to begin testing the application next month with 10-20 friends and family members.“There is a model for this in the financial services industry with mint.com. MCharts works in much the same way as Mint by pulling information from multiple providers and presents it in a way that is easily understandable,” said Vandersluis, who is president and chief technology officer of Connetix Health. “The format is easy to read and give you a comprehensive … [Read more...] about Colorado Springs startup develops web application to consolidate medical records
Police investigating man’s death in northeastern Colorado Springs home
A man died early Saturday, prompting a police investigation into the cause of death.Colorado Springs police responded to a disturbance call in the 6300 block of Cabana Circle near Skyview Middle School shortly before 12:30 a.m. Saturday. When they arrived, they found a man with “traumatic injuries.”Police and the Colorado Springs Fire Department attempted to save the man’s life, but they were not able to save the man.Police said a person of interest in the case is cooperating with investigators. … [Read more...] about Police investigating man’s death in northeastern Colorado Springs home