GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Grand Junction’s 2026 proposed budget includes a Community Paramedic Program to tackle rising non-emergency 911 calls, which the city says account for about 30% of requests.
Instead of routinely sending both an ambulance and a fire engine, the plan would add three fire department positions focused on lower-acuity and chronic conditions; paramedics would likely be reassigned from existing staff, according to KKCO.
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“This is an advanced practice paramedic, so it still requires you to be a paramedic, and then they can actually do a few different things,” interim Public Safety Chief Matt Smith said. “These will be paramedics who can actually practice medicine and work under the supervision of a doctor.”
The program remains in development, but officials say it’s designed to boost fire department efficiency and generate future savings without reducing service levels.
The goal is to steer patients to the right part of the city’s EMS ecosystem: emergency departments, primary care, EMTs, paramedics and fire department resources, so lower-acuity calls are handled more appropriately.
