Tag Archives: Hospital District

2019, BOCC

SHOCK: Hospital District REQUIRED to Provide EMS Service to Wetmore!

by George Gramlich,
News, Analysis and Commentary

Contrary to what we have been told repeatedly by the West Custer County Hospital District Board (the “District”) and District Management for around the last decade, the District is required, by contract with the Custer County Board of County Commissioners, to provide emergency ambulance services to ALL of Custer County, regardless of whether the area is in the District’s taxing area or not. This surprising fact somehow has not been disclosed to the public by the District and directly contradicts multiple District Management statements that the District has no responsibility for areas
outside of their taxing district. Continue reading SHOCK: Hospital District REQUIRED to Provide EMS Service to Wetmore! →

2019, BOCC

BOCC Workshop with Hospital District on Ambulance Coverage

Monday’s Workshop Clarifies and Distills;
2nd Ambulance Problem Remains

by Jackie (Muddy) Bubis

After three-plus hours of talk and discussion amongst the Commissioners and the Hospital District Board, the people in the eastern portion of Custer County are still relegated to a big maybe on whether they will get an ambulance if they need one.
The meeting began with hospital district chairman Tobin reading several options for EMS for the Wetmore area residents – mostly relying on the county and the commissioners to foot the bill – up to $40K per month.
BOCC Chairman Tom Flower tried unsuccessfully to get the answer to the simple question: who’s responsibility it is to make sure EMS coverage is available for these residents. At one point, the commissioners had to remind Tobin that this issue is no laughing matter.
Two citizens’ input at the end of the meeting really summed the issues up well. One citizen of the hospital district asked if he has a car accident out of the bounds of the hospital district and there is no second crew, will he get the service he is paying taxes for. When the answer was no, he responded that, in that eventuality, the clinic would then be getting a call from his attorney.
The other citizen observation came when the comment was made that, even if you’re in the district, if the first crew is out, the likelihood is that there will not be a second crew to answer your call. The finding from this citizen was that this shows that the ambulance service is incapable of covering even their own district – a job they are being paid to do.
The OEM also commented that the first question that must be established is who is responsible for handling this issue – and Mr. Flower’s question came full circle. “Only one entity can make the decision,” she stated. In the end, three things are on the to-do list:
1) The BOCC will schedule another meeting with the people of Wetmore to find out what the people in the area want to do – because the entire hospital district board didn’t come to the last one.
2) Clinic administrator Lisa Drew is meeting with AMR tomorrow (Tuesday) and will let her board and the BOCC know what came of that meeting.
3) The clinic will come up with a call for service fee for the Wetmore area people, what board member Weisenbach called “Uber for medical.”
How soon any of that will happen is anyone’s guess. But if a call for chest pain comes in tonight in no-man’s land – even if it’s for a taxpayer in the district – and if a second crew is not available – that person is on his own.

2019, BOCC

No EMS Response to Wetmore Emergency

Custer County
Commissioners (BOCC)
A.M. Meeting
by Jackie (Muddy) Bubis
-July 17, 2019
WETMORE, Colo.
As you have read in the Sentinel, the people in Wetmore are no longer covered by emergency medical care. For years the people below McKenzie Junction have been served by the Florence Fire Department. But that is no more, due to a lack of personnel.
The West Custer County Hospital District also does not, technically, service this area. At numerous meetings, Director Lisa Drew has attempted to lay this issue in the laps of the the county commissioners, who have been wrestling with the issue.
The new policy handed down from the hospital district is this: if a 911 call comes in from out of the
“district”, then it is dispatch’s job to tone out a second ambulance crew. Until that second ambulance crew is available, the on-call crew stationed in Westcliffe, will not respond.
Imagine for a moment the poor dispatcher trying to handle emergencies is now tasked with scrounging up a second ambulance crew. Imagine it no longer. In the early hours of July 5th, an extreme emergency happened to a person driving down the mountain. At the junction in Wetmore, the driver pulled over for the passenger to be sick. What happened then was the
unthinkable.
The passenger had a significant medical emergency right there in the middle of the road. EMS was toned. Dispatched toned the second crew. No one answered. Finally, Flight for Life was called. Ordinarily, the Fire Department lands the helicopter. In this case, a lone fireman from
Wetmore did the best he could and the helicopter landed and loaded up the unfortunate patient. All the while the ambulance crew up the mountain went back to sleep.
The County Commissioners will further address the issue at a workshop this afternoon at the Wetmore Community Center. More to come on this issue.

Ms Drew responded to this article on 7/25/19. Response HERE

2019, BOCC

BOCC: No More Wetmore EMS Service? OEM Job Director Misstep

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)
-June 6, 2019
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.
by Jackie (Muddy) Bubis
The meeting started at 9 a.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Introductions of the public followed.
Commissioner Reports:
Commissioner Printz reported attending the planning/needs assessment meeting with the architect for the future Justice Center.
Commissioner Canda reported that Aught-Six Ranch is waiting for the airport grant in order to itemize the work to be done. He had a fruitful conversation with the BLM Director at the CCI conference and learned of a better way to do land swaps with the BLM. He also reported that Silver Cliff will be doing a broadband study. Continue reading BOCC: No More Wetmore EMS Service? OEM Job Director Misstep →

2019

Clinic to Ban 2nd Amendment

Clinic to Ban 2nd Amendment,
Second Ambulance Staffed Soon, Plans to Partner with Heart of the Rockies – Salida

WCCHD Board of Directors Regular Board Meeting
—February 13, 2019
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.
by Dallas Anderson

The meeting was called to order by Board Chairman Bob Tobin at 3:25 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was followed by approval of meeting minutes of November 29, 2018.
Director Lisa Drew provided an update on the proposed partnering with Heart of The Rockies hospital in Salida, CO. This partnership is in the planning stages, and will take up to a year to finalize. Continue reading Clinic to Ban 2nd Amendment →

2018, Uncategorized

Hospital District Board: WHERE IS OUR SECOND AMBULANCE THAT WE PAID FOR?

Another Hospital District Mirage

by George Gramlich,
News and Commentary
The critical issue of not having a 2nd Custer County EMS (CCEMS) ambulance with a qualified crew reliably available still plagues Custer County (CC) and its citizens. Not to mention that the Clinic has NO doctors. (See below.) This problem has been with us for a long time and has been quite visible for the last seven years or so.
It was supposed to have been solved with the large EMS mil levy ($280,000) voters approved in 2014 but that has NOT happened.
After reading multiple incidents on the daily Custer County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Incident Report and listening to them on the scanner, the Sentinel reached out to the Sheriff’s Office (SO) and asked if there were any statistics available for times when a 2nd CCEMS crew was needed and called and was NOT available. It turns out that there was. The SO was gracious enough to compile a spreadsheet from 1/29/18 to 6/12/18 showing the cases where someone in Custer County needed an ambulance crew while one was busy on another call and CCEMS could not provide the 2nd crew. To say the least,it is very, very alarming.
In a four-and-a-half-month period, FIFTEEN TIMES CCSO Dispatch requested a 2nd crew and CCEMS was UNABLE to answer those calls. In those cases, thankfully, Deer Mountain EMS was able to send their primary or SECONDARY ambulance to help CC out. On at least one call, Flight for Life was also called as it was uncertain if Deer Mountain could make it in time. (Flight for Life would have caused the patient to incur an enormous bill, of $10,000 to $20,000!)…

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2018

Incumbents Win Big in Clinic Board Election, Tonsing and Virden Grab the Two Spots on Fire Board

by George Gramlich
In the biggest voter turnout in the history of the West Custer Hospital District Board, all four incumbents easily beat the challengers from the “Patients First” slate for the four open slots on the District’s Board. There were lines at the Custer County Courthouse all day long as the citizens re-elected the current board members, Janet Candelaria (625 votes) and Bob Tobin (621) to the Clinic Board for four-year terms over Patients First candidates Mike Haga (217) and David Brothers (214). Similarly, incumbents Ann Evans (590) and Bob Weisenbach (574) easily defeated challengers Ann Barthrop (196), Larry Luikart (164) and Mike Kienbusch (163) for the two open two-year Board positions.
The first ever high-profile campaign for the Clinic Board was highlighted by mailed flyers from both camps, newspaper ads and multiple community meetings. Apparently the Patients First message of a poorly managed clinic, no full-time doctors on staff, and a chronic lack of second ambulance availability did not resonate with the voters of Custer County who voted to keep the current Board in office. Hopefully, the new Board will somehow address these issues in the future.
There were two open positions up for election on the Wet Mountain Fire Protection District Board with four candidates vying for the slots. The two winners were ex Fire Chief Henry (Dave) Tonsing (430 votes) and Scott Virden (310). Coming up short were Jeremiah Coleman (190) and James Lewis (140). Voter results subject to certification by the Secretary of State.
The Sentinel would like to thank all the candidates and supporters on both District elections for running excellent, open and informative campaigns. A light shining on our government is always welcome.

2018, Letters

Clinic Treasurer Letter and a Response

Clinic Treasurer Letter to the Editor 4-30-18

(Editor/GG: The Treasurer of the West Custer County Hospital District (the “Clinic”) responded to some points made at last week’s Liberty Rocks Forum on rural health care. It is too long to print so we placed it here on our website for our readers. Facebookers have seen it posted by others in multiple community groups.)
There are a few points in her letter that need to be addressed.
1. Transparency: The Board meeting dates are not printed in the two local papers. Posting notices in the courthouse and town halls doesn’t cut it. For the last four years, the Clinic Board has never advertised vacant board positions in either paper. They have been filling the vacancies with their buddies. No transparency there.
2. The mill levy passed in 2014 for EMS was sold to us as funding to provide for a second ambulance. Period. EMS grosses around $600k to $700k a year from their billings which should be enough for the first crew. Even with the new $280,000 mill levy, we still don’t have a reliably available second ambulance. There have been numerous times lately when Flight for Life or an outside-the-county ambulance had to be called. There was no second crew available. This is a disgrace. Just talk to the Sheriff’s Office or listen to the scanner. A major reason a second crew is not available is that the majority of EMS live OUTSIDE the county. Why? All the local EMS employees left or were fired over the last six years or so, mostly due to management issues.
3. By any reasonable measure, the Clinic has way too much administrative overhead for an entity of around 18 people. Not even close. We need doctors, not bureaucrats.
4. The Treasurer stated that somebody made a comment that “The clinic will not suture a patient.” We have had multiple people come to the Sentinel who have been denied sutures for simple cuts because they did not have an appointment.
5. There are no doctors. The Treasurer attempts to use a doctor from up north who comes here THREE DAYS A MONTH to say they have a doctor! Give us a break.
Time for a change, folks. Doctors Mohr and Bliss are willing to come back if a new board is elected. And that’s a good start for a new, patient centered clinic.

2018, Letters

Patient In Pain Left Alone at Clinic

Editor;
I’d like to discuss a recent problem that I encountered at the Westcliffe Clinic.
First let me say that I’ve been seen there periodically since about 2006. I have a variety of physical problems which make it difficult for me to get “out and around” much.
I am 67, and my back has been broken in at least [five] 5 places, I had an acute attack of Peritonitis at age 27, which has caused many internal and hormonal issues. And regrettably, I have many other health issues. Continue reading Patient In Pain Left Alone at Clinic →

2018, BOCC

BOCC April 30: Clinic Board Chair Defends Clinic Performance

BOCC: Clinic Board Chair
Defends Clinic Performance
Update: Accused of Illegal Electioneering
Tourism Board Members Issue?
Kerfuffle Ensues

Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC)

—April 30, 2018
WESTCLIFFE, Colo.

by Jackie Bubis
The Board agreed to cancel the Executive session scheduled for 2 p.m. They approved the minutes of the April 18th meeting.
Commissioner Items
Commissioner Canda reported on attending the Justice Center committee meeting. At the E-911 meeting there was a discussion on the IGA for sharing costs on the towers used by emergency services. He stated that the Road & Bridge department may be able to do more than anticipated this year because of lack of snow plowing. Mr. Canda had a conversation with Armstrong Engineering regarding some of the upgrades at the airport that the new owners of the south part of Wolf Springs Ranch are wanting – and are willing to pay for. There will need to be a study – funded by these new owners – of the load capacity of the existing runway. He also confirmed that he is registered for the Mountain Connect conference in Vail later this year. Continue reading BOCC April 30: Clinic Board Chair Defends Clinic Performance →