March 16, 2022 | Kathleen Allen

Honor caps off a year of prestige and safety for Eagle County Paramedic Services

Who are the people behind the successes of Eagle County Paramedic Services (also known as Eagle County Health Service District)? We’ll give you a hint: their values are integrity, excellence, community, patient advocacy, and professionalism. And in this district, excellence abounds.

2021 proved to be a prestigious year for the team at ECPS. On its own, it would be a banner year for the district to receive the distinction of EMS Agency of the Year Award from CMRETAC, the Central Mountain Regional Emergency Trauma Advisory Council. However, for ECPS, the accolades didn’t stop there.

One of their Community Paramedics, David Miller, won the Community Professional of the Year award from the same organization. On top of that, the President of the Board of Directors of Eagle County Paramedic Services, Jeff Babb, earned the 2021 Board Member of the Year Award from the Special District Association of Colorado.

In 2021, a year marred by a record number of health professionals leaving the profession entirely, it is a testament to the skill, professionalism, and compassion exhibited by the entire organization.

About the District

ECPS exemplifies the ability to perform at such a high level in these unprecedented times and continue to provide the highest standards of care in their community.

It isn’t an easy feat. ECPS has a service area of approximately 1,700 square miles and operates ambulances using five stations from Gypsum to Vail, with 14 ambulances and seven 24-hour paramedic crews. This area includes twelve cities, two ski resorts, 63 miles of I-70 and the Eagle County Regional Airport. They share this response area with three fire districts, two fire departments, two ski patrols, Vail Mountain Rescue and the Airport Fire Department.

This large area means that ECPS already has the pressures of rural land and long transport times. Regardless, 2021 showed that the professionals on staff at ECPS can rise to the challenge.

EMS Agency of the Year

Eagle County Paramedic Services was nominated for the EMS Agency of the Year because of the “incredible, community-wide impact they made during the epidemic, but also for the continued and tireless efforts maintained throughout the past year.”

According to CMRETAC, ECPS was an industry leader in a number of ways. Their award nomination reveals the following accolades:

• Took a proactive approach to the pandemic including activating the emergency preparedness plan, securing PPE, and coordinating communication
• Proactively hired and trained 16 members of ski patrol for a surge crew
• Took a creative approach to reusable PPE
• Kept staff members safe during COVID-19
• Offered critical care inter-facility transport to surrounding areas
• Community Paramedics program went into homes for COVID-19 patients
• Used community resource navigators to support patients’ needs, including behavioral health

Safety features at the very top of the list of merits, and therefore, priorities for ECPS. One line item, about keeping staff members safe during COVID-19, takes up the least space but remains paramount for ECPS to keep service uninterrupted during the worst moments of 2021.

“That’s a testament to the fact that we’ve kept our crews safe by being very, very proactive in keeping them from being infected from COVID and having some of these workplace exposures, we’ve been very diligent about making it as safe as possible for our environment,” says Will Dunn, senior manager of clinical services for Eagle County Paramedics, quoted in The Vail Daily.

Support from the CSD Pool

Recently, ECPS made the switch to SmartNotice, the mass communication platform offered by the CSD Pool to members at no-charge. This service allows ECPS to transmit mission critical messages and information either instantly during an emergency or at a scheduled time. Messages can go out to all staff or to selected groups. For more information, or to request a demo, visit csdpool.org/safety/smartnotice

Congratulations to Eagle County Paramedic Services for recognition as the EMS Agency of the Year, and as a model for other Health Service Districts to follow.