Dr. John Douglas is the Executive Director of the Tri-County Health Department (TCHD) in Colorado, which serves Adams, Arapahoe, and Douglas Counties and is the largest local health department in Colorado.

Prior to joining TCHD, Dr. Douglas served as Director of the Division of STD Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and Chief Medical Officer of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at CDC.

John brings us up to date regarding the status of COVID-19 in Colorado.

Shannon Gimbel joined the Area Agency on Aging staff at DRCOG as an Ombudsman in 2002 working to empower and educate residents about their rights within Long Term Care communities. Currently Shannon is the DRCOG Ombudsman Manager and is responsible for overseeing both the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and PACE Ombudsman teams.

Shannon addresses the following questions:

• What is an Ombudsman and how do they help?
• How have things changed for residents/participants since the pandemic?
• How do you see the future of long-term care changing?
• What is one thing that you wish families knew about before selecting a long-term care home for their loved one?
• What do you find that residents want most now?

If you would like to contact Shannon and the Ombudsman program, please go to https://drcog.org/programs/area-agency-aging/ombudsman-programs or call 303-480-6700.

If you have questions or need services, Jayla urges you to contact the Area Agency on Aging. They will try to answer your questions and help you through your challenges. Please call 303-480-6700 to speak with one of Jayla’s staff.

Thanks for listening to No Copay Radio! You can hear all our past No Copay Radio broadcasts on www.nocopayradio.com. We also have a Facebook page at No Copay Radio. Please email us at nocopayradio@gmail.com for any questions, comments, or recommendations for future topics.

As always, thank you to our partner, Denver Regional Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging and AARP. You can reach the Area Agency on Aging at (303) 480-6700 or at www.drcog.networkofcare.org. Our past broadcasts are also available on the Network of Care website.