Cannon Health Care Education

10/30/2025

Listen up. Stop taking advice from YouTube quacks. This Dr is telling you correctly.

10/30/2025

No Telehealth coverage for those who need it. What is going on?

OPINION: "With cuts to Medicare in the latest federal budget …things could get ugly over the coming months. The lapse of telehealth coverage simply adds more salt to these wounds."

10/29/2025

10/20/2025

Pictures show the symptoms, tests, and treatments for ovarian cancer, as well as what factors raise your risk for the disease.

10/20/2025

October 2025 NFK Presidents message:

NFK Nurses,

While September has been one of the most interesting months for me this year, I am happy to say that October is finally here! October holds space for cultural and historical significances, awareness and education, and personal and social meanings. In addition, I learned today that a warm October means a cold February. I also found out that it is a month for historical milestones, like the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik 1 in 1957, and the founding of the United Nations in 1945.

For now, though, October represents a time of autumnal change, marked by vibrant colors of red, orange and yellow. It is a time of abundance, a time when our farmers reap the fruits of their labor. In Colorado, people set out on mountain road trips to do 'leaf peeping' in hopes to view and capture images of the fall foliage. I like to say it is 'sweater weather'. A time to put away the summer clothes and sandals. This is a time when we get out the hot chocolate, our favorite blanket or hoodie, and a good book.

Looking at this eighth month of the year, it also gets associated with the October Opal birthstone, and birth flowers, cosmos and calendula (marigolds). Culturally, October can also mean celebrating Halloween. This can be done through incorporating a variety of ancient traditions, modern American traditions, and global traditions. My favorites traditions are trick-or-treating, costumes, handing out candy, and carving pumpkins with the family. Other cultural observances are Hispanic Heritage Month and Filipino American History Month. October symbolizes concepts such as hope, faithfulness, and joy. It is a time for reflection, learning, new beginnings and the 'cuffing season' of forming relationships. This phenomenon is driven by the desire for warmth and closeness as days get shorter, often linked to seasonal changes affecting mood and social behaviors.

The area of awareness and education holds meaning for us as nurses, as we can dedicate our time to awareness campaigns and promote prevention measures. We promote observations to domestic violence awareness, breast cancer awareness, stop bullying awareness, mental health awareness, drug overdose awareness, and autism awareness, just to name a few. We focus on our healthcare system and our patient outcomes. October brings what feels like a fresh start and a time to foster self-improvement and personal growth too. Some may call it a 'reset period'.

Finally, October is a month for community and connection. What comes to mind is a reminder that NFK started a project in the month of October 2023, and it is still going strong. Our strategic statement: "I am actively seeking to strengthen who we are as a professional association and the broader nursing profession through inclusion, diversity and equity, by providing information, resources, and support, through collaboration with one another in hopes of healing the fragmentations of our profession".

Since that time, we have been successful with connecting to various nursing groups, participating in many activities together, and developing personal and professional relationships over the last two years. As we head to the CNA General Assembly this month, let's remember that NFK brings a heightened sense of togetherness, along with providing opportunities to share our voices on lessons learned, and to always strive to educate ourselves and others.

Thanks,

Annette Cannon, President

NFK - Nurses Furthering Knowledge

CNA Constituent

10/20/2025

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

There are 4 stages in the cycle of abuse. The stages are contributed to domestic violence. However, these stages can happen on a much broader scale and in different situations and relationships. To me, Step 3 Reconciliation, is the one that keeps a person fooled and tricked into continuing in the relationship/connection.
This stage is where the abuser comes across as apologetic or admitting wrong to win back trust and restore things. You may have heard it called the "honeymoon" phase. This stage can cause an emotional connection, because the abuser is easing the victim's pain. Our brains are tricked by releasing oxytocin, and we actually think things are returning to 'normal'. The abuser starts doing good things to appeal to the victim/s, promises to change and tries to show how good they can be. They are there to 'fix things', but will still blame others for why it all happened. Trust me, this stage won't last long!!
This leads to what is known as 'trauma bonding'. The abuser continues to control the victim's emotions, despite all the harm they have caused. The victim hangs on through psychological attachment, hoping the abuser will change. They do not change!!
The abuse cycle starts all over again. aac

10/20/2025

In the Coroner's office, we interact and support those who are grieving the loss of their loved one. As a nurse, I have also had experiences of caring for others on the worst days of their life, and supporting the families. These interactions can bring on a level of stress and trauma due to daily exposure, experiencing vicarious trauma or moral distress, which leads to compassion fatique, burnout and a high-risk of mental health concerns.

However, as individuals, we can all experience supporting our friends or family who are experiencing a loss. It may be direct with your own family/friends, or with people you are close to through an online friendship. Online support is seen on social media posts all the time. Usually this is done by a response to others with a genuine 'I'm sorry" or "How can I help?". This type of connection to support others or gain support from others has a direct connect to our mental and systemic health in both good and bad ways.

When we offer support to others or show compassion, it is beneficial to our own mental health, because it actually reduces stress, creates a connection, and provides us with a better understanding of ourselves and others. We use empathy and sympathy to connect and respect what the other person is feeling and it can sometimes reflect on a similar experience we have had. At times, our mere physical presence is a powerful tool of healing. For these reasons, we must also remember to support ourselves too. This may involve gaining support from others by sharing our stories or situations, either online, with a friend, a group or in therapy. It is healing for us to know that other people care and support us through whatever we are experiencing.

Taking the time to practice mindfulness or meditation can help us with our own feelings of grief. On the downside, it is important to understand that grief can be irrational, confusing, and make us feel distracted and unfocused. It can also lead to anxiety, intrusive thoughts, physical symptoms, and depression. We must recognize these occurrences in others too. Naturally, our mental health links directly to our physical health.

There is a strong connection between your mind and body when it comes to grief. Usually, the negative consequences come to mind, such as the things mentioned above. However, there can be some positive outcomes from experiencing grief, such as surges of energy or a temporary focus on healing, and the development of healthy coping mechanisms. We might discover that we have a deeper appreciation and understanding of life/death, or we have gained more empathy for others. Maybe this experience will teach us to re-evaluate our beliefs and what we deem important in life, or maybe we become more resilient.

Systemically, on the negative side of grief, it can disrupt your normal health and sleep routines. It can trigger common stress responses within the body. We become more susceptible to health issues like heart issues, depression, alcohol and substance abuse, cancer, autoimmune responses, and other diseases. It can certainly cause aging and wrinkles too. We hear in the news how grief places a physical stress on the body, how cortisol is released, thus breaking down collagen. These negative systemic health effects can obviously be long lasting.

Overall, a lack of support, not being able to share your feelings, and not practicing compassion for yourself, can also have an effect on all of these factors. Sometimes we don't recognize that our unresolved grief is making us feel or behave the way we do. It is not always easy to move through losses that you experience. There are people and resources out there that specialize in grief counseling, that can help you journey through it.

Grieving can bring feelings of isolation, but remember that grief is experienced all over the world. When we can show compassion and kindness towards others, it actually makes you more content in your life. It will connect you to others in a way that will better your physical and mental health. Think of the power of a 'caring smile' or a 'gentle hug'. I am sending healing thoughts for everyone who is currently experiencing a loss or a past loss, and even an expected future loss. Lastly, a loss doesn't always have to be a person. Your body reactions can experience the loss in the same way with other types of losses, with some being more or less intense and painful than others. ©

10/07/2025

GO NURSES! A press conference will be held in the East Foyer of the Colorado Capitol tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12:15 in support of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB). The CNA board recently set an upper price limit on Enbrel.
Colorado Nurses Association, Centennial State Prosperity, Governor Polis, as well as health care providers and consumers will be part of this event on the importance of PDAB to reduce the cost of medications in Colorado. This is an example of the difference we make through collaboration with other groups.

10/06/2025

October NFK Presidents message:

While September has been one of the most interesting months this year for me, I am happy to say that October is finally here! October holds space for cultural and historical significances, awareness and education, and personal and social meanings. In addition, I learned today that a warm October means a cold February. I also found out that it is a month for historical milestones, like the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik 1 in 1957, and the founding of the United Nations in 1945.

For now, though, October represents a time of autumnal change, marked by vibrant colors of red, orange and yellow. It is a time of abundance, a time when our farmers reap the fruits of their labor. In Colorado, people set out on mountain road trips to do 'leaf peeping' in hopes to view and capture images of the fall foliage. I like to say it is 'sweater weather'. A time to put away the summer clothes and sandals. This is a time when we get out the hot chocolate, our favorite blanket or hoodie, and a good book.

Looking at this eighth month of the year, it also gets associated with the October Opal birthstone, and birth flowers, cosmos and calendula (marigolds). Culturally, October can also mean celebrating Halloween. This can be done through incorporating a variety of ancient traditions, modern American traditions, and global traditions. My favorite is the tradition of trick-or-treating, costumes, handing out candy, and carving pumpkins with the family. Other cultural observances are Hispanic Heritage Month and Filipino American History Month. October symbolizes concepts such as hope, faithfulness, and joy. It is a time for reflection, learning, new beginnings and the 'cuffing season' of forming relationships. This phenomenon is driven by the desire for warmth and closeness as days get shorter, often linked to seasonal changes affecting mood and social behaviors.

The area of awareness and education holds meaning for us as nurses, as we can dedicate our time to awareness campaigns and promote prevention measures. We promote observations to domestic violence awareness, breast cancer awareness, stop bullying awareness, mental health awareness and autism awareness, just to name a few. We focus on our healthcare system and our patient outcomes. October brings what feels like a fresh start and a time to foster self-improvement and personal growth too. Some may call it a 'reset period'.

Finally, October is a month for community and connection. What comes to mind is a reminder that NFK started a project in the month of October 2023, and it is still going strong. Our strategic statement: "I am actively seeking to strengthen who we are as a professional association and the broader nursing profession through inclusion, diversity and equity, by providing information, resources, and support, through collaboration with one another in hopes of healing the fragmentations of our profession". Since that time we have been successful with connecting to various nursing groups, participating in many activities together, and developing personal and professional relationships over the last two years.

As we head to the CNA General Assembly this month, let's remember that NFK brings a heightened sense of togetherness, along with providing opportunities to share our voices on lessons learned, and to always strive to educate ourselves and others.

Annette Cannon, President
NFK - Nurses Furthering Knowledge
CNA Constituent

09/27/2025

From the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN): Acetaminophen remains a safe and effective option for treating fever and pain in pregnancy, and AWHONN stands with nurses and providers who use shared decision-making to reassure patients of its appropriate use. Read our full statement. https://lnkd.in/eY9xAQ2r

08/31/2025

First hand info on being Intersex.