HomeMy WebLinkAbout980567.tiff WE! D COUNTY
JOHN M. SCORSINE
Attorney at Law 4t R — r 10: 56
1050 State Highway 214 ,- t
P.O. Box 68 CLERK
Burns, WY 82053 TO THE E ' -`"
(307)547-3371
Saturday, February 28, 1998
Ms. Constance L. Harbert
Chair, Weld County Board of Commissioners
915 Tenth Street
P.O. Box 758
Greeley, CO 80632
Dear Ms. Harbert:
Thank you for your letter of February 3rd. I serve as a member of and as the secretary of the
Board of Directors for the Burns Community Volunteer Ambulance Service. I am also an EMT with the
Service. The Service is an official function of the Burns'town government. Your letter and the enclosure
concerned the Board greatly.
Please rest assured,the Burns Ambulance Service has no intention, whatsoever, to solicit patients
fic'ni Weld County. We recognize that our service is not licensed in Weld County nor do we have
personnel licensed in the State of Colorado to serve on ambulances. The solicitation or `FYI"
memorandum which you enclosed was neither published,distributed nor authorized by the Service.
Since receipt of your letter, I have learned from Gary McCabe and others that Diane Lembitz, of
Carpenter, Wyoming, was responsible for the document and its distribution. Ms. Lembitz is not affiliated
with the Burns Ambulance Service, though she is a first responder with Fire District#4, which covers the
area immediately north of Weld County in Wyoming. As such, Ms. Lembitz often interacts with our
service.
While our service in no way ratifies nor endorses the letter she sent, I can assure you from my
personal knowledge of Ms. ILombitz that her motives were only to provide better care to residents of
northern Weld County. The Board will be addressing her unauthorized actions in an appropriate manner.
However, the memorandum does bring to the forefront a significant concern.
There is sufficient antedotal evidence to suggest that some Weld County residents have their
primary care physicians in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We have had several calls where Coloradans have
traveled north, rather than entering your State's EMS system. In this manner, they hope to be seen by
their own physician, rather than an unknown doctor in a Greeley or Fort Collins emergency room. Once
(hey get into Wyoming, they contact our county 911 center and we are dispatched with District #4 to
locate a patient in a private vehicle traveling north on Wyoming's State Highway 214. This poses a
dangerous situation both for the patient,their well-meaning family members who are operating the private
vehicle, other motorists, as well as the responders from our Service and District #4. Fiscally, this places
an undue burden on our Service which does not charge for the assistance it affords the sick and injured in
our community.
3;17, 03/09/9d 980567
This situation is one that should be addressed and your residents educated as to the risks involved
with family or neighbor transportation. I am certainly willing to meet with Mr. McCabe to attempt to
address the problem and develop strategies for its solution.
In the meantime,the Burns Service will not refuse care to anyone in need within our service area,
regardless of their domicile. We are dispatched by the Laramie County 911 Dispatch Center, only. We
do not, under normal conditions, intentionally enter the State of Colorado to deliver emergency medical
services. The Service recognizes the existence of mutual aid agreements between Weld and Laramie
County, as well as between Wyoming and Colorado. It is our intent to be your good neighbor. When
dispatched by 911 to a location within Weld County, we will respond to the degree permitted by our
capabilities. However, we are only a basic life support unit at this time, though we anticipate upgrading
our level of care with the addition of several intermediate EMT's in the latter half of the Summer. We
assume that any dispatch received from our 911 center is in full conformity with existing mutual aid
agreements and understandings. We accept these taskings,without question.
Once again, thank you for bringing this matter to the attention of the Board. As your neighbors
to the North,we stand ready to assist you and your residents in any way we can. The board looks forward
to working with you and Gary McCabe on topics of mutual concern and interest.
Sincerely,
k . Sco sine
or The Board
Bums Community Volunteer Ambulance Service
cc: Gary ivicCabe
Diana Lembitz
9g,sb7
WELD COUNTY AMBULANCE SERVICE
PHONE (970) 353-5700, EXT. 3200
FAX: (970) 353-5700, EXT. 3215
1121 M STREET
GREELEY, COLORADO 80631
February 26, 1998
To: Cyndy Giauque
From: Gary McCabe
I received a phone call today from John Scorsine, secretary of the Burns Wyoming
Ambulance Service. He advised me that they had nothing to do with the "fliers" posted
and circulated in northeastern Weld County. He did say that Diana Limbitz of the
Laramie Fire District #4 "has a history of acting on such matters without using good
common sense." I told him that I had just heard from her and, she admitted to
circulating the fliers.
Mr. Scosine will be replying to Connie Harbert by mail. His phone #s:
307-772-5288 (W)
307-547-3371 (H)
307-633-0751 (Pager)
cc: Commissioner George Baxter
WELD COUNTY AMBULANCE SERVICE
PHONE (970) 353-5700, EXT. 3200
FAX: (970) 353-5700, EXT. 3215
1121 M STREET
GREELEY, COLORADO 80631
February 24, 1998
To: Cyndy Giauque
From: Gary McCabe
I received a phone call today from Diana Limbitz (sp?) of Carpenter, Wyoming
(307-649-2328). She advised me that she was with Laramie Fire District #4 and was
involved with the EMS solicitation flier that was circulated in northeastern Weld County.
She said they "were only trying to provide better patient care to certain citizens who
needed it." She said "the fliers were not meant for public display." She went on to tell
me that "there was a heart attack case that got lost on the highway going to Cheyenne
and the fire department couldn't find them" (?)
I advised her that Weld County Ordinance 77D required licensure if they intended to
solicit and provide ambulance service in this county. I also advised her to follow the
normal 911 procedures so that all emergency providers could be properly notified,
including any in Wyoming that may have mutual aid agreements with Colorado
providers.
cc: Commissioner George Baxter
9 sioz7
ilip (114146 OFFICE OF BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PHONE (970) 356-4000, EXT 4200
FAX: (970) 352-0242
I
915 TENTH STREET
P.O. BOX 758
WI
C GREELEY, CO 80632
COLORADO
February 3, 1998
Attn: Billie Pauli
Burns EMS
P.O. Box 186
Burns, Wyoming 80253
RE: Providing Emergency Medical Services in Weld County
Dear Fire Chief
This is written in response to a notice, a copy of which is enclosed, that was apparently recently
distributed to Weld County residents.
As you may know, Weld County Ordinance 77-D deals with Emergency Medical Services
provided in Weld County, Colorado, with its principal purpose to ensure that all residents of
Weld County receive the same high quality emergency medical services. Ordinance 77-D
defines Ambulance Service as "...the furnishing, operating, conducting, maintaining, advertising,
or otherwise engaging in or professing to be engaged in the transportation of patients by
ambulance. Taken in context, it also means the person so engaged or professing to be
engaged...."
Section 3.1 of ordinance 77-D provides: "No person, partnership or corporation, shall provide or
operate an ambulance service publicly or privately in Weld County unless that person holds a
valid license to do so issued by the Department, except as provided in subsection 3.7 of this
section...."
The enclosed notice indicates that you are involved in providing ambulance service to Weld
County residents, although you have not yet obtained a license in Weld County. It is also
important to note that there is pending legislation in the State of Colorado which sets forth
destination policies for trauma patients. It is unknown if any facility in Cheyenne has been
9vsa 7
Letter, Fire Chief
February 3, 1998
page 2
designated as a trauma center, or the level of trauma center designation. Emergency medical
services protocols will require that trauma patients be transported to the appropriately designated
trauma center.
If you would like to continue to provide ambulance services to Weld County residents, it will be
necessary for your service to obtain a license in Weld County. To obtain further information
concerning licensure, please contact Char Davis, at 970-356-4000, Ext. 2239. Until such time as
you are licensed, you may not provide initial response emergency medical services to residents
of Weld County.
Sincerely,
Constance L. Harbert
Chair
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