Clear Creek County EMS warns the public in Colorado as staff are stretched thin

A Colorado mountain community that sees millions of visitors each year is now warning the public that help could take longer to arrive if you need it. Clear Creek County EMS has begun posting "staffing status" alerts on social media, letting residents and tourists alike know when emergency response levels are stretched thin. The simple red-yellow-green chart shows when crews are fully staffed, and when they're close to their limit.

Interim County Manager Colton Rohloff said the strain comes from a combination of geography, growth and limited resources.

"The situation in this county is pretty unique," Rohloff said. "We are technically part of the Denver metro area, but we haven't grown population-wise in 20 years. We're 75% public land, we get around 10 million visitors a year ... we only have about 9,000 residents. That creates an incredible burden on our EMS."

Without a hospital in the county, every emergency transport takes time.

"The closest hospital is in Lakewood, that's at least a 35 minute run," Rohloff said. "They're not back in service until they're back in the county. That's what's really driving our time on task."

Rohloff explained two of the county's ambulances are outside their jurisdiction about 30% of the time, leaving command staff to fill in on a third rig should another call come in. Mutual aid from neighboring counties helps, but it's not always guaranteed.

"Sometimes Gilpin, Summit, or Evergreen, our great mutual aid partners ... they can't help either," he said. "They have their own residents to serve. When that happens, we're just very resource-strained."

The county's voters recently approved a funding measure that could add three more paramedics to the roster, helping provide stability. Still, the workload, especially during busy weekends remains a challenge.

"Our resources and our population, our tax base are relatively fixed," Rohloff said. "And this liability keeps increasing. What I'd ask for is simple; if you're going to hike Mount Bierstadt, grab a coffee in Georgetown. Help us get that tax revenue, because we want to be there when you need us."

Clear Creek EMS posted on Facebook that it's doing everything it can to meet the growing need for emergency response. Clear Creek EMS issued this statement saying:

"No matter the staffing level, our Clear Creek EMS team is on the job, giving 100% to provide emergency care. We are doing everything within our power and available resources to respond quickly and effectively. While current staffing makes this tougher, please know that when you call 911, we are working diligently to be there for you with the highest level of care possible under the circumstances."

Rohloff says that kind of transparency isn't meant to alarm people, it's only meant to keep them informed.

"That's why we need to start communicating when these entities are stressed, because it's better to be informed," he said. ""If you're going to take on an optional high-risk activity that day, when we know we're going to be short an ambulance because people get sick, people get hurt ... we would like you to maybe think about it differently, right? Maybe fix your roof when we're fully staffed."

For updates on EMS availability and safety reminders, follow Clear Creek EMS on Facebook.