Chaffee County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) officials briefed commissioners on operational data, training and staffing needs, saying call patterns shifted this year with fewer daytime transfers and more long overnight hospital transfers that take crews off the road for 6–8 hours.

The department reported a net 2% decrease in April–July call volume overall versus the previous year but a large 11% drop in Buena Vista calls (attributed to low river flows) and a 5% increase in South End calls. Transfer activity in the period totaled about 63 transfers; EMS said roughly 30% occurred during daylight hours and the remainder at night. Staff said overnight transfers create extended turnaround times and operational strain on a small fleet.

Fleet and facilities: EMS said vehicles average about 35,000 miles apiece and the department runs six ambulances in rotation. Managers said industry replacement benchmarks are about 100,000 miles but their ambulances approach a 200,000‑mile service life due to budget constraints. The department is evaluating whether to keep a reserve ambulance in service rather than trading or selling older units, and to use new base facilities to position crews and reduce long deadhead coverage.

Training and clinical operations: EMS described recent training investments, including physician‑led delayed sequence intubation (DSI) training, neonatal resuscitation, a field‑training officer program and an emergency vehicle operator certification program being stood up as train‑the‑trainer. The department is refining scoring matrices used with hospital transfer requests to reduce unnecessary long transfers.

Staffing and finance: EMS leadership said two positions currently staffed via PRN/part‑time processes will be moved to full‑time roles to reduce unscheduled overtime and stabilize scheduling; managers expect the change to be budget‑neutral over time. The department noted 60% of transports are billed to government‑based insurers (Medicare/Medicaid), limiting revenue and complicating budgeting. EMS staff said they will reexamine transport rates in Q4 and attend finance symposiums to explore revenue options and AI‑assisted financial operations.

Regional and policy items: EMS staff described participation in a state EMS sustainability task force exploring long‑term funding options for rural systems and said a regional survey will be distributed to assess public understanding and funding awareness.

This was an operations briefing; commissioners and staff discussed the need for a dashboard of high‑level performance metrics for public communications and the potential to use lodging‑tax proceeds or other grants for future vehicle purchases. No formal board actions were recorded.