Full-time staff: Forty full-time allowed

Current staffing:
A. 2 EMT-Basic
B. 18 EMT-Basic I.V. certified
C. 3 EMT- Intermediates
D. 10 EMT- Paramedics
E. 3 Shift Captains, EMT- Paramedics
F. 1 Deputy Chief, EMT-Paramedic
G. 1 Administrative Assistant
H. 1 Billing Specialist, EMT-Basic
I. 1 EMS Captain, Finance/Administration, EMT-Basic
J. 1 Chief, EMT- Paramedic
 

Shift schedule: 48/96

Two days on, four days off
 

Medical Direction: Dr. John Nichols, M.D.

 

Stations: Four
1- Headquarters - Granby
2- Fraser
3- Grand Lake
4- Kremmling
 

Fleet: Seventeen
A. Four 2004 emergency ambulances
B. One 2002 remounted and one 2002 emergency ambulances
C. Two re-mounted double stretcher ambulances
D. One all-hazards paramedic response unit
E. Two paramedic quick response units
F. Two EMS crew transport units
G. Five command staff paramedic response units
 

Deployment:

Four static stations with a dynamic posting pattern of staging points for maximum protection. This plan utilizes station fill-in first, then pre-determined posting sites for staging of ambulances and paramedic response units.
 

Services offered:
Emergency response, definitive care, and transport of medically ill and traumatically injured citizens and visitors.
 
Emergent and non-emergent transport and continued definitive medically ill and traumatically injured persons to tertiary care facilities.
 
Customer service oriented billing services. The in-house billing division provides customers with courteous and professional care after the call.
 

Specialty Teams:
Mountain Medical Response Team
Operates as the medical support for Grand County Search and Rescue
Wildland Fire Medical Response Team
This is a new team being established in April 2004. The staff members a all red Card qualified.
Community Programs:
High school EMT-Basic course
Shattered Dreams - High school DUI prevention.
I.D. your Child program.
Grand County EMS has become a car seat inspection station
CPR & First aid community training site.
A participating community healthcare partner in the health fairs.
 

Professional Programs:
The EMS Education Division provides a broad range of educational and skills training in-house.
Pre-hospital continuing education site.
Initial training site for EMT-Basic & EMT- Intermediate
National core training and education site for ACLS, PEPP, NRP, and PHTLS
I.V. & Combitube training site
 
RETAC: Foothills RETAC
State & Regional Participation:
Dr. John Nichols-- SEMTAC
Ray Jennings, EMS Chief - State Ambulance Licensing committee.
Allen Pulliam, EMS Captain - Foothills RETAC
Mike Stern, EMS Deputy Chief - SEMTAC Care Sub-Committee
 

Current projects:
1. Building enhancements including education and training for station 1.
2. Build three new stations to place the crew and ambulance together.
3. Implement a critical care paramedic training program.
4. Continue the enhancement of communications system by replacing the radio repeaters.
5. Implementation an ambulance replacement program.
6. Implementation of a paperless patient report / billing system.
 

Accomplishments: 2005
1. Second ambulance service allowed by the state to use the combitube by EMT-Basics
2. 85% I.V. certification of the EMT-Basics.
3. Award of $19,00 dollars in last six months for education equipment, CCEMTP training, Polaris Ranger 6 Wheeler, and rugged protective clothing for the EMS staff.
4. Becoming a member of SafeKids and a car seat fitting and inspection station.
5. Medical update of the Advanced Life Support, ALS, protocols.
6. modernization and re-tolling of the EMS program
7. Implementation of a Paramedic response program
8. Implementation of a dynamic readied response program
9. Standardization of the EMS medical equipment
10. Upgraded radio communications equipment
 

Department Goals:
1. The development of a comprehensive EMS program meeting the needs of the community.
2. Improvement of employee retention
3. Implementation of an ALS-Intermediate service by 2006
4. Increase the professional status of the paramedic staff to critical care paramedic by December of 2005
5. Receiving the National EMS Service of the Year award.
 

Operational Improvements
In April of 2004 Grand County EMS completed a major milestone to become a tiered ALS, (Advanced Life Support), ambulance service. Grand County EMS as an organization has diligently worked to increase and improve the quality and quantity of ambulance service for the community. This challenge to improve services required extensive training of the EMT-Basics are the foundation of the ambulance service and primary personnel staffing the ambulances.  Because of the staffing limitations and need for ALS car Grand County EMS has taken a proactive approach.  This required additional training of the EMT-Basics to allow them the ability to provide ALS care.  The training included I.V. certification, pharmacology instruction, and advanced airway training.  These additional skills now allow the EMT-Basics to perform specific ALS skills in an emergency including starting an I.V. administering glucose. (sugar), to a diabetic, administering nitroglycerine and aspirin to a heart attack victim, and nebulized respiratory medications to an asthma or respiratory compromised patient. This achievement will greatly enhance the care to the community and save lives.   
 
In addition to the improving and upgrading the skills of the EMT-Basic staff is the need to elevate the advanced life support staff. The EMT-Intermediates are allowed to treat patients with additional medications and modern medical equipment. The EMT-Intermediates provide an important role in the EMS system with their ability to provide advanced life support skills during an emergency call or out-of-county transport. The EMT-Intermediates have at their disposal life saving medications and through waiver approval benadryl has been added. Grand County EMS believes the EMT-Intermediate provides the community with a great service as life savers.
 
Grand County EMS implemented a paramedic response program in May of 2004. This program is designed to allow the paramedic more autonomy. The paramedic is assigned a emergency quick response unit to respond to calls throughout the county. This enables the paramedic to quickly respond to the hot calls or those calls requiring additional care or therapies beyond the scope of the EMT-Basic. This program also allows the paramedic to float freely in the county without being tied to a single district or ambulance. The paramedic program has and continues to adapt and change to meet the changing needs of the community. In the spring of 2005 the paramedic response program implemented the new change to have three paramedics per shift. In the fall of 2005 the paramedic program will again change as two field paramedics will be sent to UMBC’s Critical Care Paramedic Program in Augusta, Georgia. This will be the beginning of a new level of sophistication and professional development of the paramedics for the medical treatment and medical care of the community.
 
In summation, Grand County EMS is continually seeking and working to improve EMS for the community as well as improve the dynamics for the EMS staff. Grand County EMS has demonstrated it is a professional department with dedicated Emergency Medical Service providers working as a successful team. The department has and is continually changing to serve the community as more than an ambulance transport agency. The programs provided by Grand County EMS are improving the quality of life, preventing injury, and saving lives. Grand County EMS is at as our motto states “Professional Care with a Personal Touch”.
 

Statements:

Management Statement "Provide our Professional EMS Staff with a positive atmosphere to foster quality patient care."      
Value Statement "It is the goal of Grand County EMS to provide quality patient care and customer care that benefits the community."
Vision Statement "Building on the past, perfecting in the present, and growing into the new - Excellence is Cutting edge patient care."
Slogan "Professional care with a personal a touch."

Department Profile

Grand County Emergency Medical Service has a long and established history as a premier pre-hospital provider.  The department was formed in 1970 as a Basic level ambulance provider, responding in a two Cadillac ambulances as a combination service under the sheriff’s office.  The ambulance service started out in a little room at the courthouse and stationed the ambulances where planning and zoning are located today.  In 1974 the ambulance service became its own department.  In the early years the ambulance staff had the responsibility to pick up and deliver mail as well as office supplies.  Since that time the ambulance has seen a number of changes growing to become the single provide for all of Grand County.  

Today, Grand County Emergency Medical Service has emerged as a prominent Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Provider with a full-time paid staff.  The department became a full-time paid EMS Department in 2001.  Grand County EMS employees thirty-nine full-time staff members and operates a fleet of eight ambulances, two paramedic quick response units, and five command staff quick response units.  The staff and fleet operate from four stations strategically located through out the county.  The growth of Grand County EMS is in response from the increased number of out-of-county transports.  Grand County EMS responded to more than 650 out-of-county transports and 1722 total calls for fiscal year 2003. 

Grand County EMS provides a tiered level of response.  This tiered system provides the EMT-Basics greater autonomy as primary care givers.    The EMT-Basics are given the opportunity to advance their skill set being allowed to establish I.V. lines and using the CombiTube for airway management.  The EMT-Basic staff is the foundation of the department providing initial patient care and treatment.  The EMT-Intermediate and Paramedic staff responds as second tier responders when patients require advanced procedures.  The paramedic staff has the flexibility to run on more of the hot calls being in a quick response units.  Paramedics are also required to be Grand County EMS has also established a comprehensive training department, providing pre-hospital and hospital education opportunities featuring national continuing education programs.

Grand County EMS’s central station and administration is located in Granby, Grand County, Colorado.  Grand County is located just West of Denver and North of the I-70 corridor.  Grand County is a destination community for more than a million visitors to the ski resorts, vast forest, rivers, and Rocky Mountain National Park. Grand County provides a host of outdoor recreational activities including hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails, hiking trails, mountain climbing, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, and four-wheeler trails.  Grand County is best known for its world class fly fishing and game hunting.    

Grand County Emergency Medical Service is a state of the art ALS pre-hospital provider with small town pride. “Professional care with a personal touch”
   
Type of service:          Third Service, a department of the County of Grand and operates at the pleasure of the Board of County Commissioners.         
Level of care: Basic Life Support - Paramedic Advanced Life Support
Years of operation: Thirty-five years
Coverage area: Grand County, More than 1800 square miles
Population: 12,400 (More that a million visitors annually)
Call response: 2041 calls in 2004: 1722 calls in 2003      

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