Per the City of Denver’s contract with Denver Health, Denver firefighters are currently prevented from providing advanced care during emergencies, including administering IVs to patients, something licensed paramedics are qualified to do.
Denver city leaders are now seeking answers about response times and decisions to bypass other qualified hospitals by Denver Health’s paramedics division. The questions from Denver City Council come after more than eight months of reporting by Denver7 Investigates.
A third former Denver Health paramedic has come forward and is telling Denver7 Investigates on camera that she was also pressured to bypass closer level-one trauma centers and bring critically injured patients back to Denver Health.
In 2016, Denver Health paramedics transported a severely injured 11-year-old girl 6.6 miles from her home to Denver Health, despite Swedish Medical Center being just over 2 miles away. Now, Denver's executive director of public safety is calling for an official review of the emergency response.