Chris Rowland sits at his desk with an energy drink in hand and his Emergency Medical Services radio chattering in the background. As the Emergency Medical Services Coordinator for the entirety of Mesa County, Chris is constantly on the move to provide supervision to all 450 Emergency Medical Service providers in the county.

Becoming an Emergency Medical Service provider, or Paramedic, was a lifelong dream for Chris. He grew up watching a television series which chronicled the journey of firefighters in Los Angeles County training to be EMS providers under doctors. While Chris wasn’t interested in the fire aspect, he was fascinated by the emergency medicine aspect. As a senior at Grand Junction High School, Chris took courses to become an Emergency Medical Technician, or EMT, and began his career two days after graduation. Over the years, Chris moved up in his career; from Emergency Medical Technician, to Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, and finally to Paramedic in 2013.

In 2018, Chis was presented with a unique opportunity - to become the Emergency Medical Service Coordinator for Mesa County. Mesa County has a somewhat unique EMS system in that all but one EMS provider is public service based. In East Orchard Mesa and Glade park, community-based EMS providers can respond to emergency calls and provide advanced level first aid to patients until an ambulance arrives. Across Mesa County, eight agencies are full EMS providers with ambulance service. The final agency provides ambulance service between Intermountain Health - St. Mary’s and CareFlight.

Across these agencies, Chris oversees all 450 EMS providers in conjunction with the Mesa County EMS Medical Director, Doctor Glenn Burket III, DO. In order for an EMS provider to practice, a doctor must extend their licensure to the provider. As Chris explains, think of it as Nurse Practitioners or Physician Assistant, but Dr. Burket does this for 450 EMS providers in Mesa County.

Emergency Medical Service providers must recertify each year, which requires Chris and Dr. Burket to review, verify, and record each new certification. When a new EMS provider is hired, Chris and Dr. Burket must verify these credentials, followed by managing a five month long probationary period. The first three months consist of the new provider riding and training with a senior provider that holds their same certification (EMT, advanced EMT, or Paramedic) and monthly check-ins with and homework assignments provided by Dr. Burket. The last two months consist of working on their own, two more check-ins with Dr. Burket, and meetings to go over all calls responded to for a review and learning opportunity. Once the EMS provider completes probation, they are sent out for full service. 

In between coordinating these probationary periods and reviewing all documentation that comes with it, Chris must also read through every single EMS call for quality assurance. Should the calls for service show an EMS provider needs support in improving performance, Chris coordinates the training for the EMS provider. 

Chris explains that Emergency Medical Services in Mesa County are unique. Typically, EMS is managed by the Health Department of the county, but in Mesa County, EMS falls under Emergency Management which is housed in the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. Additionally, there is only one Medical Director for the county, Dr. Burket, and one set of EMS protocols for six different types of EMS providers:

• Emergency Medical Technicians provide basic lifesaving care

• Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians provide lifesaving care with limited invasive procedures.

• Paramedics can provide care such as cricothyrotomy, medications, and advanced lifesaving measures.

• Critical Care Paramedics help in the transport of critically ill patients between healthcare facilities.

• Community Care Paramedics provide care at home akin to urgent care in order to prevent overcrowded emergency rooms.

• Emergency Medical Dispatchers provide medical guidance over the phone when an individual calls in with a medical emergency, such as providing directions for chest compressions or active birthing.

When you ask Chris what all his job entails, he’ll jokingly quip, “when you figure it out, can you let me know?” Chris is passionate about providing the highest quality healthcare and response to the citizens of Mesa County and it shows every single day. Though you can often find Chris verifying the certifications of EMS providers, reviewing calls for quality assurance, and updating protocols, you can also find him supporting our EMS providers as a mentor, friend, and teacher. 

Thank you, Chris, for all that you do for Mesa County.