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Fremont County honors Bruce McCandless Veterans Community Living Center for emergency evacuation of 63 residents
Summary
Public Health Director Rick Gutierrez and facility administrator Barbara Moore described the facility's evacuation and successful return of 63 residents during the Aspen Acres Fire; the board approved a proclamation recognizing the center's response.
Rick Gutierrez, director of the Fremont County Department of Public Health and Environment, told commissioners that during the Aspen Acres Fire the Bruce McCandless Veterans Community Living Center at Florence was "in a vulnerable position" but that staff planning and coordination allowed the facility to relocate 63 residents and maintain continuity of care. Gutierrez said the facility had prepared evacuation plans and worked with state and local partners to move residents and return them after 11 days.
Barbara Moore, the facility administrator, thanked county and state partners, saying the facility deployed staff, supplies and medications and relied on assistance from the Colorado Department of Human Services and regional partners to transport and care for residents. The board moved to approve and carried the proclamation by roll-call vote. "We deployed staff and supplies and medications, and we cared for them for 11 days before we brought them back home," Moore said.
