Public Health in the Rockies 2026

The Aurora Tobacco Retail License+ (TRL+) campaign exemplifies the conference theme, Stronger Together: Public Health in the Heart of the Rockies. This work united two local public health agencies, the City of Aurora, a long-standing community coalition, multiple national and statewide public health advocacy organizations, the business community, and technical support provided through the STEPP grant. Coalition membership reflects this wide range of partners, and these relationships continue to support education, implementation, enforcement, and evaluation of the TRL+ ordinance.

Because the policy process was complex and required coordinated expertise, shared leadership, and deep community engagement, it could not have succeeded without strong cross-sector collaboration around an evidence-based policy approach. The Aurora TRL+ campaign demonstrates that meaningful public health progress happens when diverse partners move forward together, truly embodying the theme that we are stronger together.

In March 2026, Aurora City Council unanimously approved the TRL+ ordinance, expanding compliance checks to reduce youth access to tobacco, nicotine, kratom, and psychoactive hemp products, and establishing inspections to prevent the sale of unscheduled psychoactive substances and drug paraphernalia. This achievement was made possible through a coordinated advocacy campaign where each partner contributed roles aligned with their expertise, agency parameters, and available resources.

Following the March 2026 approval by City Council, the coalition transitioned efforts toward a new phase of the policy continuum focused on supporting the City of Aurora as the licensing program is implemented. A subset of coalition partners will assist with retailer education and program evaluation to ensure effective rollout and long-term policy impact.

This presentation aligns strongly with Colorado’s Core Public Health Services and Foundational Capabilities by illustrating how the Aurora TRL+ policy advanced health equity and the social determinants of health through community-driven strategies to reduce youth access to harmful substances. It demonstrates policy development and support by walking attendees through the collaborative policy process, ordinance structure, and negotiation strategies used with policymakers and stakeholders. The session showcases robust partnerships, highlighting how youth coalitions, residents, city leadership, advocacy organizations, and local public health agencies worked together across systems. It reflects key organizational competencies, including communication, stakeholder engagement, adaptive problem-solving, and coordinated advocacy. Finally, the content directly supports chronic disease prevention by addressing substances that contribute to long-term health risks and by equipping participants with practical policy-advocacy skills to advance prevention strategies in their own communities.

Participants will work through complex policy scenarios from the viewpoints of public health, youth, local government, business, and community stakeholders, negotiating which ordinance elements are essential and which can be modified. This interactive exercise builds real‑world skills in balancing health goals with political, economic, and equity considerations. Participants will strengthen their ability to navigate competing interests and build consensus around ordinance language that advances health equity.

The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment’s (DDPHE) Epidemiology & Disease Intervention Team, as it exists today, is celebrating five years as a program later this year. Some could argue themes affecting the public health workforce in the last five years include uncertainty, reductions, decreased public confidence, increased burnout, a sense of urgency to continue the important work but “do more with less.” Denver's team has directly contended with these issues, but as we reflect back on the last five years, the resiliency, team culture, and positive impacts shine through the challenges. How did we get here despite all we’ve been thrown?

This session will briefly introduce DDPHE's Epidemiology & Disease Intervention Team and then dive into strategies, approaches, lessons learned, and intentional efforts to build staff resiliency, engagement, and retention following infectious disease outbreak responses that significantly impacted the team over the last five years. Each response will be described briefly to highlight the impact to staff and provide context. Tied with each response will be a deeper dive into how the team’s approach to the response and recovery after had an impact on the program, staff engagement, and future preparedness. During these sections, attendees will be invited to discuss how they see these themes reflected in their own work and teams. Sixty minutes will allow for structured engagement during each example.

Examples of responses that will be covered include:

* 2022 mpox outbreak
* 2023 migrant crisis and varicella outbreak associated with temporary shelters
* 2023 West Nile virus cases
* 2024 meningococcal disease outbreak impacting persons experiencing homelessness in Denver metro area
* 2025 measles outbreak and response

Finally, the presentation will conclude with a summary of additional efforts within the team that have promoted engagement, retention, and growth, including professional development, creating a celebratory culture, and breaking down silos and collaboration.

Background / Purpose: The Hospital Price Transparency Rule requires hospitals to publicly post pricing information for services rendered; however, the usability, and the completeness of these data remain uncertain. This project aims to systematically collect and compile publicly available hospital pricing data into a structured repository and compare these data with the Colorado All-Payer Claims Database (CO APCD) to understand overall reliability.

Methods: Hospital price transparency files were collected from Colorado hospitals’ websites. Data were cleaned, standardized, and loaded into a centralized repository. Key variables such as procedure, description, setting, gross charge, and payer-specific charges were extracted. These data were then linked to the CO APCD and compared to allowed amounts for corresponding service-level estimates using variables such as hospital National Provider Identifier (NPI), procedure codes, modifiers, and care settings. Analyses were conducted to evaluate differences, variation, and completeness across data sources.

Results (Phase I): Preliminary findings indicate substantial variation in how hospitals report pricing data, including inconsistencies in formatting, completeness, and definitions. Differences in reporting across hospitals- particularly for variables such as modifiers and payer classifications- as well as structural differences in the CO APCD, required additional methodological approaches to enable meaningful comparisons.

Implications: This project demonstrates both the potential and limitations of hospital price transparency data. While a centralized, standardized repository can improve data accessibility, inconsistencies in reporting create methodological challenges and may reduce comparability. These findings highlight the need for stronger standardization and enforcement to enhance transparency efforts and support informed decision-making among policymakers, researchers, and consumers. The project also demonstrates the potential for analyses linking both data types for evaluations.

Background / Purpose
Public health agencies face increasing challenges in reaching communities due to misinformation, declining trust, and limited communications capacity. Traditional, reactive messaging is often insufficient to build meaningful engagement. This project examines the use of a locally produced podcast as a strategic communications tool to increase transparency, elevate trusted voices, and strengthen community connection. Key questions include: (1) Can podcasting effectively extend the reach of public health messaging? (2) How can it be integrated into routine practice with limited resources? and (3) What impact does it have on engagement and trust? We hypothesize that a consistent, locally focused podcast can expand reach and strengthen trust in public health.

Methods
In 2026, the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment launched Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast, that features staff, partners, and subject matter experts. Episodes are aligned with strategic priorities, recorded, edited, and distributed via major platforms. Promotion occurs through multiple channels. Metrics include podcast analytics, social media engagement, and qualitative feedback. Data are routinely reviewed to assess reach, engagement, and content performance.

Results
Between January-April 2026, the podcast produced 15 episodes and reached over 700 listeners, with consistent month-over-month growth and sustained engagement. Episodes featuring local voices and timely public health topics demonstrate the highest listener retention and interaction. Internal participation has increased, signaling growing staff capacity to contribute to communications efforts. The podcast has expanded message reach beyond traditional channels and created new opportunities for cross-sector visibility. Early feedback indicates audiences perceive the content as accessible, relevant, and credible.

Implications
Podcasting is a practical, scalable strategy for modern public health communication. Key takeaways: prioritize authentic storytelling, align content with public health priorities, integrate podcasting into existing workflows, and equip non-communications staff to share their expertise. This approach strengthens transparency, trust, and community engagement.

Background: Health equity requires sustained, meaningful partnerships with communities most affected by health disparities. This presentation will outline how the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute’s Community Engagement Core (CCTSI CE) has built a pipeline of programming, training, coaching, and leadership grounded in long-term community partnerships. We will show how opportunities are co-developed and integrated across all areas of programming, ensuring relevance to diverse populations statewide and advancing public health at the local and state level.

Methods: The CCTSI CE programmatic pipeline was created in 2008 and quickly built a foundation for fostering and strengthening long-term community-academic partnerships. This includes training that connects public health practitioners and researchers with underrepresented communities in Colorado, a pilot grants program to support relationship-building between practitioners and communities, and follow-up funding for collaborative projects. Governed by Community Research Liaisons and a Council that includes community members, academic partners, and a Public Health Institute, to ensure community priorities guide the work. We will highlight meaningful metrics that reflect how sustained engagement and training opportunities increase trust in community-academic partnerships and encourage practitioners to prioritize engagement in their work long term.

Results: Our pipeline has strengthened relationships between practitioners and underrepresented communities while expanding leadership opportunities for community members. Many continue to deepen their involvement, becoming pilot grant reviewers, committee members, trainers, or Council members, completing the full cycle of engagement. We will highlight success stories, best practices, and the impact of long-term partnerships on health equity goals, including our natural shift toward community-centered approaches that embed equity across all program areas.

Implications: Linking training, funding, and leadership opportunities through sustained community relationships been essential for or equitable public health practice. This model offers practical, replicable strategies for public health professionals and organizations seeking to deepen community engagement, strengthen partnerships, and advance health equity in Colorado.

Background: In December of 2024, Denver Metro non-profit hospitals met with local public health partners to form a unique collaborative addressing the following needs: Lack of awareness about Community Health Needs Assessment processes, gaps in communication between Public Health and Health Systems, and duplicative programming and assessment efforts.

Methods: Meeting monthly, this group became an innovative space for public health and hospital partners across the Denver Metro.

The group created 3 goals:

* Develop a shared awareness of the initiatives and programming being done

* Share timelines for Community Health Needs Assessment processes

* Use shared data and community input to identify areas where collaboration will strengthen existing efforts, and reduce duplication

Group members:

* Hospital Partners: AdventHealth, Children’s Hospital, CommonSpirit, Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, Denver Health, Intermountain Health, UCHealth, Kaiser Permanente

* Local Public Health Partners: Adams County Health Department, Arapahoe Public Health, Boulder Public Health, Broomfield Public Health and Environment, Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, Jefferson County Public Health

Results: Beyond meeting initial goals, the group produced a deliverable in the first year: a shared statement on gun violence with emphasis on injury prevention and safe storage. This statement received 100% sign-on and was disseminated on National Injury Prevention Day (11.18.2025) along with a social media campaign.

The group invited guest presenters from CHAS, CDPHE, and other agencies to speak to the group about shared health priorities over the year.

In 2026, the group will focus on social connection, using recommendations from the US Surgeon General’s advisory.

Implications: The siloed nature of public health and health systems can be overcome with a willingness to be creative, show up, and acknowledge our shared goal: improving health in Colorado.

This partnership has resulted in group members connecting offline, sharing information, and building better strategies due to the shared understanding of each other’s work.