By: Ernest Gurulé

He may not have realized the eternal quality in his words, but General Douglas McArthur, in his farewell address to Congress, just may have uttered an irrefutable truth with just eight timeless words. “Old soldiers never die,” he said. “They just fade away.”

For a generation of ‘old soldiers,’ the last battle is fought daily at Huerfano County’s Spanish Peaks Veterans Community Living Center. “It’s for vets, spouses and Gold Star parents,” said Trapper Collada, Public Information Officer for the facility. Most of the eighty or so residents of the Center are in the throes of dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease. The home is also fully adapted to care for Hospice patients, a number of whom move in and through on an irregular basis. Capacity has declined over the last year and a half as a result of COVID. In normal times, there are nearly 120 full-time residents who come not only from Colorado but also from nearby states. Current occupancy is around 80.

“We are a well kept secret,” said Collada. But a secret, he said, that has been a major benefit to countless long ago veterans with few other options for care. The center’s residents or their families are responsible for payment but the Veterans Administration also pays for a portion of their stay. While many of the residents are living in a fog that has left them with only a biological and not emotional life, there are others who are more than capable and understanding of day to day happenings. “There is a resident council,” said Collada.

One man who is also a resident is a gentleman Collada only identifies as “Bill, who is 98.” Collada said Bill helps organize events and also lends a hand with some of the details that make life a bit easier for his fellow veterans and their families. “He advocates on behalf of the residents.”

While the Walsenburg facility is off the beaten path for many, the pandemic that has ravaged the country had no trouble finding it. “It took a while,” said Collada. “We lost twelve residents,” despite the facility following all the government’s safety guidelines, said Collada. During the darkest days of the pandemic, a lot of the residents and their families were kept apart. Those whose families did visit were separated by now familiar partitions, others simply, for health reasons, had to stay away. N95 masks became normal parts of staff and patient daily wear, said Collada. The virus also took its toll on staff, he said, referring to it as ‘exodus issues.’ “It was the pressures of Covid that exacerbated reasons for (staff) departures.” But the facility was never so short-staffed that it presented an issue for the welfare of the patients. When vac- cines became available early this year, most all of the staff and residents got their shots. “When that went into effect,” said Collada, “we had a 98 or 99 percent compliance.” Still, there were a few staff that, rather than take the shots, simply resigned.

What makes the facility a good option for veterans, some of whom no longer have family, is its access to “facili- ties a lot of senior living facilities do not,” including state of the art hospitals in the county or in nearby Pueblo, a drive of less than an hour to the north, said Collada.

The center does everything it can, he said, to make the stay for veterans and their families as pleasant as possible, including having bilingual members of the staff. “This is a highly Hispanic area,” he said. “This is also reflected in the population of both the staff and the residents.”

By: Ernest Gurulé

Who doesn’t like a compliment, a comment that often connects someone with a positive trait and is frequently connected to a person’s parents—their eyes, smile, even laughter? It’s the way genetics work. Parents pass certain traits on to their children. But they also pass on are a few other things, traits including predispositions to negative health issues. Diabetes, unfortunately, is one of these things.

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce the proper amount of insulin, the hormone that moves glucose or sugar into cells for energy. Diabetes is also a condition growing across America and impacting the country’s Hispanic population at an even higher rate than the general population.

Diabetes is also a condition the Pueblo Community Health Center sees as much of or more often than almost any other health issue. Many of the people it sees are residents of the city’s east side, an area where an older, poorer and higher Latino population resides.

There are two types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2, said Lynne Evetts, a certified family nurse practitioner and Director of Quality at the Pueblo Community Health Center. Type 1 or juvenile diabetes is genetic and shows up early in life. Type 2 is a condition caused by poor dietic habits and develops over time. Type 2, said Evetts, can lead to a number of serious health problems including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and nerve damage in the limbs that can sometimes lead to obesity and even amputation.

What is alarming about Type 2 diabetes, said Evetts, is the trend it is taking. Her team is seeing it in a grow- ing among adults and now, a number of younger patients. “The youngest child I diagnosed was a 13-year-old boy who weighed 300 pounds,” she said. In seriously obese patients including children, the disease is causing a number of potentially serious other health concerns including higher cholesterol levels and knee and joint pain from carrying too much weight. “It’s especially common on a skeleton that’s still developing,” said Evetts.

Economics and culture are also a couple of factors that play into this common and dangerous health issue. Lower income people, including those who live in food deserts—places where full-service grocery stores don’t exist—tend to buy food they can afford, foods that are often unhealthy and contribute to obesity. Also, many traditional foods can also be high in fat and calories. “We discuss lifestyle,” said Evetts. “We don’t call it diet,” said Evetts. The very word tends to work just the opposite of its intended purpose and can add pressure on patients. “You are not on a diabetic diet…It’s a healthy lifestyle,” she tells them. Evetts says her staff counsels patients to also read labels. “You need to limit carbohydrates, especially unrefined sugars,” she said. A single bowl of sugary cereal can often contain as many carbohydrates as a serving of French fries.

She also tells patients to limit fat intake, “It’s not good for anyone…if it comes out of a package, it’s prob- ably not good for you.” Evetts counsels her patients to use healthier cooking oil—vegetable oil or olive oil—rather than lard. Her rules are simple: eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and watch calorie intake. In addition to becoming more conscious of diet, the veteran health nurse adds one more thing in her conversations with patients: “We all need exercise.” She recommends at least 150 minutes per week (Monday-Friday) for adults and 300 minutes or an hour each day for children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, rates for Type 2 diabetes among Latinos far outrace—17 percent to 8 percent—that of non-Hispanic Whites. Interestingly, Puerto Ricans are twice as likely to have Type 2 diabetes than someone from a South American background. Among all groups, U.S. adults have a 40 percent chance of developing Type 2 diabetes but rates among Latinos are ten percent higher. Latinos also have higher rates of kidney failure and blind- ness caused by diabetes.

Diabetes so far has no cure but there are things that can control it. Evetts said when she discusses it with patients, she never lectures them. Instead, she tells them, “I can’t care about this more than you, but you have to do the hard part. Let me help you live this the best you can.”

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy.