More and more healthcare professionals are discovering the educational and netowrking opportunities at the Community Forum's monthly meetings.

June Community Forum Highlights

SafeHouse Denver

Since 1977, SafeHouse Denver has offered women and children a safe haven from domestic violence in times of crisis. SafeHouse provided 8,978 nights of shelter last year to those fleeing domestic violence, said Di Holmes, volunteer and community outreach coordinator for the shelter.

"We're full all of the time," Holmes said of SafeHouse's 26 beds.

In addition to providing emergency shelter, SafeHouse provides counseling services, runs an advocacy center and offers community education about domestic violence.

For more information, visit http://www.safehouse-denver.org/.

 All About Seniors

All About Seniors helps senior citizens find the right place to relocate when the need arises - or even before a life style change becomes necessary. Owner Marnie Marolt offers assessments of seniors' living preferences and health needs in order to find the right living community for each individual, including assisted living facilities, independent retirement communities, home care, dementia care, skilled nursing care and hospice care throughout the Denver metro area.

"Ultimately, the question is, ‘Would we live there ourselves?'" Marolt said.

All About Seniors' services, including tours of facilities, are free to seniors and paid for by the communities they eventually call home.

Marolt encourages senior citizens to plan ahead and look for their next home before a move becomes necessary.

For more information, visit http://www.allaboutseniorsllc.com/ or call Marolt at (720) 837-6306.

Northeast Denver Housing Center

The Northeast Denver Housing Center (NDHC) works to provide sustainable, healthy and affordable homes by acting as a landlord, housing counselor, community educator and architect.

This Northeast Denver nonprofit acquires new properties and makes them more sustainable and "green," manages properties in order to offer affordable rental options in the community and participates in the national Healthy homes Program, an initiative to combat household dangers like lead poisoning, radon and asbestos, said Tommy Gordon, NDHC's marketing and communication specialist.

As part of The Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning in Denver, NDHC is offering free blood lead level testing as well as home risk assessments of lead poisoning levels, Gordon added.

For more information, visit http://www.nedenverhousing.org/. 

daVinci Robot

Participants at June's Community Outreach Forum got a close up look at Saint Joseph Hospital's latest technology, the daVinci Surgical System, fondly referred to as the daVinci Robot.

The three-armed robot will be used for minimally invasive urology, kidney and gynecology procedures and has a track record for allowing patients to recover more quickly than previous methods.

"Our goal is to really help people get back to their life as quickly as we can," said RN Erin Mee, who presented the robot and let community forum members take it for a test drive.

To take a closer look, visit www.exempla.org/body.cfm?id=1068.