Colorado paramedics

A few years ago I blew up the mountain project forum trying to find a paramedic job in CO. Went so far as to fly out to Denver for an interview with Rural/Metro...but it didn't work out due to lack of experience.

Since then I've been working full time as a paramedic at a 911 only county service in the city of Chattanooga. High volume and high acuity, which I am cool with, I just want to be around taller mountains/long gear routes.

Although CO was put on the back burner, I still feel the call to move out there. I have put an app in with Denver Health and a few others on the western slope. Denver Health has been getting back to me promptly, which is encouraging. I hold a CO paramedic license which seems like a big deal for an out of state applicant.

Anybody have experience with Denver Health? Have questions regarding schedule, work culture, etc...

Even if you don't work for Denver Health, tell me about your service, open jobs, etc.

Let er rip!

Sam from Tennessee

I'll also mention that Sam makes a super-psyched climbing partner for those interested...

I am not a medic but from observing Denver Health medics you can probably expect to be hauling bums to detox and hitting junkies with narcan.

I recently had medic a friend move to Denver from another big city EMS. He did not have glowing reviews of the paramedic division. In his words, they were stuck in the 80s and were not very open to letting new research inform their protocols. Denver Health was his foot in the door in CO, but he moved on pretty quickly.

Aurora Fire is always looking for new blood, as is West Metro, if you are not wanting to be Fire, and just EMS, might want to try AMR for either Denver area or Cheyenne, and I am blocking on the name for the service that is run out of the big new trauma center in Loveland, but I have heard they are a good service.

Rick Blair wrote:I am not a medic but from observing Denver Health medics you can probably expect to be hauling bums to detox and hitting junkies with narcan.

You think its different in any city in the US?

William Kramer wrote:Aurora Fire is always looking for new blood, as is West Metro, if you are not wanting to be Fire, and just EMS, might want to try AMR for either Denver area or Cheyenne, and I am blocking on the name for the service that is run out of the big new trauma center in Loveland, but I have heard they are a good service.

In Loveland, are you talking about Thompson Valley EMS?

Derek DeBruin wrote:I'll also mention that Sam makes a super-psyched climbing partner for those interested...

Thanks for the shout!

If you're thinking about signing up for fire/EMS in Denver, you should start applying now. The process is long and you will be in line with thousands of others.

Thompson Valley EMS is superb.

Mark E Dixon wrote:Thompson Valley EMS is superb.

^^^+1

Also, these guys are excellent: rwbfire.org/index.php/about…

Sam-I think you are putting the paramedic job on a pedestal... I worked in the metro area for several years as a medic. Denver Health runs ragged but is good, there's plenty of non-fire EMS services. I suggest if you want EMS experience then forego the fire route, as there are immense hoops to jump through with metro fire companies albeit, excellent jobs.
The out lying areas if you have experience ( i.e 2+ years) will accept you due to longer transport times. I'm a fan of not encouraging people to aimlessly move to colorado, cause I grew up here and it's gotten crazy! If you want to work as a paramedic in Denver, then I guarantee you can make that happen. Remember there's even paramedic tech positions too.

A really good friend of mine is finishing medic school in Denver and probably has lots of insight from doing clinical time with the different agencies down there. Pm me and I can see about booking you guys up for a chat.

PS being a paramedic just generally sucks recalled bd cams. Working as a medic in a city is pretty shitty, try to get on a flycar in a rural area so you don't have to deal with shitbags for a whole 24 hour shift

My old partner moved to Denver from Atlanta and took a significant pay cut to do so as a medic. Private EMS in general pays less out west than east.

Hahahahaha nope. Medics in ny/surrounding make $45k / yr ;) so glad I quit that profession

I'm an RN at Denver Health currently on OBS/short stay unit working closely with ED. It's the "knife and gun club" of Denver. Yes lots of homeless, addicts, and non English speaking patients which can be trying but also entertaining. My neighbor has been a medic there for a while and also worked in NYC and enjoys it. His wife is MD in ED and she enjoys it too.

Sam Latone wrote: You think its different in any city in the US?

No, just wanted to make sure you didn't have any idealized picture of Denver. Denver is a bum magnet. There are church groups that come down in vans and hand out food, clothes, tents etc. They are constantly out there. Probably giving them clean needles too. Homelessness is a full on industry in Denver.

Thanks for the help guys. I've been in EMS for 4 years...I know that some people think its a shitty job. I understand what working in a city is like...I'm not sure if y'all have visited the southeast but our cities are extremely rough. People in the south are obscenely unhealthy, and gang violence is rampant. I'm no stranger to those things. I like using my skills every shift.

Hope you find something Sam! Let me know if you head out!

There are job postings every few days if you join Google groups "COEMS" list serve. Today Gilpin County posted a medic position paying @$47K.

I worked as an EMT with MCR out of Loveland. I enjoyed the hospital and the value they placed on their staff. I was always impressed with my HR rep, quarters for EMS folks and the cafe in the hospital serves impressively good food for a hospital cafe. Small detail, I know, but it mattered for the days where we spent so much time in the hospital sitting around. I also spent time with Northglen and the quarters were nice for 24 hr shifts but the work load was rather boring most of the time. As an EMT, I made about $12 or more at each job. I make more money taking kids climbing than I do running on a rig. I have since left the EMS world to pursue higher income yields with less work. I'm glad I did (so far anyway). Best of luck to you. Remember, the Front Range is the new L.A. or the crowds make it feel that way anyway. The cost of living is getting outrageous, traffic is outrageous and it is only getting worse for now. Don't come out here until you have a job AND housing situated. My wife and I came back from guiding in CA for a season only to find that we were living in the climbing gym parking lot for almost four months before solidifying housing again albeit we have a pit bull but still, it was a ridiculous process. Ok, that's all I've got. Good Luck!