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County commissioner announces interim ambulance-district appointees after mass resignations
Summary
At a Jan. 23 special meeting, a Dolores County commissioner announced four interim appointees to the local ambulance district board after multiple resignations left the district understaffed; the commissioner said a 5 p.m. meeting will swear in appointees and address restoring ambulance service.
A special meeting of the Dolores County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 23, 2026, was convened to address a sudden vacancy on the local ambulance district board after several board members and the ambulance chief resigned.
A county commissioner who spoke at the meeting said multiple resignations over two days left the district severely understaffed and that the remaining authority had acted to name interim appointees to get services back online. "I was about to say ... Maybe every hour matters," the commissioner said, describing the urgency of restoring local ambulance coverage.
The commissioner announced the interim appointees as Jake Klein (who was not present at the 04:00 meeting but was expected to attend the later meeting), Christina Gartcher, Branson Smith and Laverne Baster. The commissioner said the appointments were made from among people who had expressed interest and that the goal was to have an interim board in place quickly so it could confirm an interim chief and negotiate with the medical director about which services could be restored first.
The commissioner named a candidate for interim chief and said the new board would need to formalize that choice. "We do have a candidate in mind," the commissioner said, and added that the board first needed to be sworn in and hold officer elections at a follow-up meeting.
The meeting notice said a follow-up board meeting would be held at 05:00 at the Adventist Barn, where Lorena would swear in the appointees and the board would elect officers and take up initial administrative business. The commissioner said the medical director, identified in the meeting as Dr. Gresham, had restricted some operating authority because the district lacked sufficient providers and local supervision.
In the meantime, the commissioner said outside providers and dispatch arrangements were covering calls: Southwest (regional provider), Norwin and Cortez dispatch were providing coverage for Dove Creek during off hours, and Pleasant View Fire would respond to critical calls when needed (Pleasant View Fire is not a transport ambulance). The commissioner acknowledged those arrangements have produced longer response times and said the interim board’s immediate priority was to reestablish more local coverage.
No formal appointment vote was recorded at the 04:00 session; the commissioner described the names as appointees and scheduled a formal swearing-in and organizational meeting for later that evening. The meeting closed after officials expressed appreciation for volunteers and those stepping forward; the chair then moved to adjourn, the motion was seconded and the meeting was adjourned.
The follow-up board meeting at 05:00 was expected to include the swearing-in of the interim board, officer elections and a discussion about selecting an interim chief and the phased restoration of ambulance services.
