Author

Kate Ruder, KFF Health News

Kate Ruder, KFF Health News

Kate Ruder reports for KFF Health News.

A hospice care patient smiles as she receives a massage.

Massage therapists ease the pain of hospice patients — but aren’t easy to find

By: - June 8, 2023

This story originally appeared in KFF Health News. BOULDER, Colo. — Ilyse Streim views massage for people in hospice care as “whispering to the body through touch.” “It’s much lighter work. It’s nurturing. It’s slow,” said Streim, a licensed massage therapist. Massage therapy for someone near the end of life looks and feels different from […]

Rural Colorado tries to fill health worker gaps with apprenticeships

By: - November 30, 2022

This story originally appeared at khn.org. During her 12-hour overnight shift, Brianna Shelton helps residents at BeeHive Homes Assisted Living go to the bathroom. Many of them have dementia, and some can’t get out of bed on their own. Only a few can remember her name, but that doesn’t matter to her. “They’re somebody’s mom, […]

Fire closes hospital and displaces staff as Colorado battles omicron

By: - January 13, 2022

This story originally appeared at khn.org. The Colorado wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes last month has forced the temporary closure of a hospital and upended the lives of health care workers as the state’s already strained health care system braces for another surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations. Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville, a community […]