By Paramedic Bruce Evans, MPA, NRP, CFOD, SPO

Chief, Upper Pine River Fire and Rescue

On September 4, 2024, a group of Colorado paramedics and fire chiefs sat down with U.S. Senator Hickenlooper at the Granby Fire Station in Grand County.  Hosted by Chief White from Grand County Fire, Tim Dienst from Ute Pass Ambulance introduced everyone present. The meeting was moderated by paramedic and former Colorado Senate President LeRoy Garcia. For more than an hour EMS leaders from Colorado discussed community paramedicine.  Senator Hickenlooper was looking for feedback on House of Representatives Bill 8042,  The Community Paramedicine Act 2024, and evaluating being the Senate sponsor of a companion bill.

H.R. 8042, has been introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND). This bill would create a grant program under the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would authorize $25 million per year for five years to support community paramedicine services, award qualified entities up to $750,000 for individual applications and $1.5 million for joint applications and establish an advisory board comprising national community paramedicine, emergency medical service and fire service organizations to advise, assist, and peer review grant applications in rural and underserved areas.

Then-Governor Hickenlooper and then-Colorado Senate Majority Leader LeRoy Garcia passed Colorado’s Community Paramedic Bill, SB16-069 in 2016.  While that bill took community paramedics 50% of the way by establishing recognition and licensure a reimbursement mechanism remains a challenge. 

Senator Hickenlooper listened to Chief Randy Royal of Colorado Springs, Alice Harvey from Eagle County, James McLaughlin from Ute Pass Ambulance, Chief Bruce Evans from Upper Pine River Fire, Tom McNally from UC Health, and Brandon Daruna from Eagle County Paramedics.  Each speaker took a different angle on the delivery of community paramedicine covering everything from Veterans services, data, value-added services and public health initiatives.  Colorado and the nation is keeping our fingers cross that a companion bill to House Bill 8042 appears in the US Senate lead by our own Senator Hickenlooper. 

The Community Paramedicine Act is endorsed by Mid-Atlantic Regional Council, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, National Association of EMS Physicians, International Association of Emergency Medical Services Chiefs, Kansas EMS Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, Missouri Ambulance Association, Missouri EMS Association, Missouri 911 Service Board, National Association of Mobile Integrated Healthcare Providers, National Emergency Number Association, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and American Ambulance Association.

Bruce Evans is a Colorado and Nationally Registered paramedic and has a Supervising EMS Officer credential.  Bruce co-authored several textbooks including, Crew Resource Management with Jones and Bartlett, Management of EMS and EMS Quality Improvement and Research with Pearson Publishing, IFSTA’s Structural Series on High-Rise Firefighting and has contributed to IFSTA’s Fire and Life Safety Educator and Company Officer’s Textbook. He is one of the authors of the National Association of EMT’s Safety Course and the Principles of Ethics and Personal Leadership course. Chief Evans has been on the LaPlata County Suicide Prevention Team and the regional Child Death Review Team. Chief Evans, his wife Debora and son Oliver have lived in Durango since 2008.