The Denver Health Paramedic Division, part of the Denver Health public safety net system and the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center, provides 911 ambulance service to the City and County of Denver and to Glendale. All Paramedics are state certified, and trained in advance life support and advanced emergency medical and cardiac care. Medical oversight by board-certified emergency medicine physicians is provided by Denver Health’s Emergency Department. These expert physicians, in constant telephone contact with the Paramedics, provide instruction and advice to Paramedics who are caring for patients in the field.
At peak times there are 14 Advanced Life Support (ALS) and 6 Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances serving the city. Each of these ambulances has a 10-hour day shift and a 10-hour night shift, with the shifts staggered throughout the day to provide continuous 24-hour coverage.
When a 911 call is received, dispatchers determine whether the call will require an ALS or BLS response. Approximately 70 percent of calls require an ALS response, while BLS ambulances handle the remaining 30 percent. Denver Health Paramedics responded to nearly 80,000 calls last year, and transported nearly 50,000 patients to 12 hospitals throughout the Denver metropolitan area.
ALS ambulances are staffed by two medically-trained paramedics, and are equipped with the latest in lifesaving technology, including: 12-lead cardiac monitors, adult and pediatric infusion supplies, advanced airway tools, CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), and numerous emergency medications.
Every new Paramedic and EMT-Basic must undergo a rigorous field training program of at least six months. Physician leadership and training is a major component of the field training program. This program has helped reduce the turnover rate in new hires to the Division, with a 93 percent retention rate among these new hires.
A Well Maintained Fleet
With a fleet of 31 ambulances, the Denver Health Paramedic Division provides continuous dynamic coverage throughout the City and County of Denver. On each shift, ambulances are stationed on the streets of Denver, dispersed in locations around the city. Ambulances are in constant assignment mode, and when one ambulance responds to a call, remaining ambulances are shifted to new locations to effectively cover the city. The coverage shifts based on analyses of call volume. Coverage varies with time of day to ensure the highest level of efficiency in responding to medical emergencies. This dynamic dispersal system is made even more effective in saving lives through an extremely important partnership with the Denver Fire Department.
A Highly Efficient Two-Tiered System
The City of Denver is fortunate to have a robust two-tiered medical response system, which is one of the reasons that Denver has such high trauma survival rates.
There are 28 fire stations located in neighborhoods throughout the city to ensure rapid responses to fire emergencies. EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) trained by Denver Health Emergency Medicine physician Christopher Colwell, M.D., medical director for the Denver Fire Department and Denver Paramedics, serve as first responders to medical emergency scenes, providing Basic Life Support. Denver Fire EMTs are dispatched in their fire trucks on all Code 10 medical calls (lights and siren emergencies), normally arriving quickly due to their nearby locations. Denver fire trucks are equipped with Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) to help rescue people whose hearts have stopped. The Paramedics, who practice high level medical Advanced Life Support, often arrive at the same time or shortly after the fire fighters.
This two-tiered system allows for basic life support firefighters to be on scene usually in less than 4 minutes. Studies have shown that administering basic life support in the first 4 minutes is crucial to improving patient outcomes.
The BLS firefighters are closely followed by the health care professionals – Paramedics – who are more highly skilled in advanced life support care. Additionally, studies have shown that advanced life support within the first 9 – 10 minutes also improves patient outcomes.
This system helps maintain the skill level needed by paramedics to perform advanced medical procedures such as intubations.
Without this highly efficient two-tiered response system Denver would not have one of the best survival rates in the country, and the city would have to double the number of ambulances which would have the effect of doubling the budget.
In addition to the close-knit partnership Denver Health Paramedics have with the Denver Fire Department, they work closely with the Denver Police Department, and provide tactical medical support to the Denver Police SWAT Team.
Throughout the City and at DIA
Denver International Airport was one of the first airports in nation to have on-site paramedics 24/7, covering all 52-square-miles of airport property. Denver Health Paramedics stationed at DIA respond to thousands of calls for emergency assistance at the airport each year.
Denver Paramedics Go Green
The Denver Health Paramedic Division’s Green Initiative reduced fuel consumption by converting the entire fleet from petroleum-based diesel fuel to B20 biodiesel. Biodiesel creates less carbon pollution than conventional diesel.
The Paramedics also streamlined the ambulance external wash process, reducing water consumption by 30 percent, and saving thousands of dollars a year by diluting the detergent used. For information visit Denver Health Paramedics Green Initiative.
A Rolling ICU
The Denver Health Paramedic Division also provides Critical Care Transportation for patients being transferred from one level of care to another, anywhere in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. Staffed by nurses and paramedic teams, the critical care transport ambulance is a highly specialized rolling intensive care unit. The ambulance meets fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to transport patients from rural areas to any hospital, including the Rocky Mountain Regional Trauma Center at Denver Health. It also transports patients to rehabilitation and extended care facilities throughout the region.
At Coors Field and on the 16th Street Mall
Denver Health Paramedics cover 100 special events each year in the City and County of Denver, including all Colorado Rockies baseball games; street festivals; parades; civic events; and presidential and dignitary visits.
For more information visit www.denverems.org.