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‘Urgent care on wheels’

New life-saving equipment enhances Ute Pass Health District’s training

BY PAT HILL pat.hill@pikespeaknewspapers.com

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series about emergency services in Teller, Park and western El Paso counties.

Paramedics worked fast and furious to save the life of a man who was seriously wounded in an explosion. As Kaylinn Hathaway cut away the victim’s clothing, EMT Mackenzie Bond took his vitals while Dan Campbell prepared to establish an airway via a cricothyrotomy.

Dramatic and intriguing, the scenario was a simulation to demonstrate new life-saving equipment at Ute Pass Health Service District. The equipment was funded by $36,000 grant from the state’s Emergency Services Training Program.

The “victim,” portrayed by John Gentzel, was fitted with a latex suit that resembles skin and substitutes for the real thing. The “explosion” was part of the open house and barbecue hosted last week by the district.

The primary 911 agency for

Teller and parts of Park County, including Lake George and the Tarryall area, the district covers a 600-square-mile area.

“We run calls (that range) from someone who is short-of-breath to an ATV accident in the middle-of-nowhere,” said Mariah Huffman, emergency medical technician. “We walk the line, I would say, between medicine and rescue.”

The agency’s rescues are often in conjunction with volunteer agencies such as Teller County Search & Rescue and the fire departments in Lake George, Green Mountain Falls and Florissant,

along with Northeast Teller Fire Protection District’s paid staff. “We rely on them for so much and have a good working relationship with all of them,” she said.

In addition to being an opportunity to show off the enhanced training capabilities provided by the new equipment, the event was a chance to highlight the community paramedic program. “It’s urgent care on wheels,” said Ryan Brown, a paramedic.

James Mclaughlin directs the program, which is designed to improve access to care for marginalized populations in rural areas. “Paramedics out here have to know more about health care needs than they do in other areas,” Mclaughlin said.

With the effects of the pandemic lingering, the program has taken on more importance as many people postponed going to the doctor during the past 16 months. “More and more they are waiting until something is an emergency,” Mclaughlin said. “If they have an urgent medical need, they can reach out to us.”

With no urgent care providers in the rural areas, the community paramedics fill care gaps. “We want people to think of us as the alternative,” Mclaughlin said.

The service begins with a 911 call. “We’ll come out, and a lot of times we can provide the care in the home,” he said. “And, if you do need to go to the hospital, we’ll make sure you get to the right place at the right time.”

During the time of pandemic shutdown, the community paramedics responded to many calls for issues related to substance abuse. Those calls continue today. “A lot of folks who embraced those coping mechanisms with drugs and alcohol are starting to realize that they have a problem and don’t know who to turn to,” Mclaughlin said. “We want them to know they can turn to us.”

When called into the home, community paramedics can do urine, blood and pregnancy tests and, with the new equipment, have the results within a short time. If needed, the paramedics can relay information to a physician via a telehealth connection.

“We are no longer just ambulance drivers,” Mclaughlin said. “Paramedics today have to be smarter and have the ability to learn the latest technology and latest practices available in health care.”

PIKE PEAK COURIER

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2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/283403424797854

The Gazette, Colorado Springs