By Pat Hill
The Gazette
TELLER COUNTY, Colo. — An up to $12.5 million grant to Ute Pass Regional Ambulance District is intended to increase healthcare services in Teller County.
Passed by the U.S. Congress last year, the Rural Health Transformational Program allocates $50 billion over the next five years to support rural health in the United States.
| READ NEXT: Congratulations, you won a grant! Now try not to give it back.
Of the $170 million awarded annually to Colorado, the ambulance district, part of Ute Pass Regional Health Service District, will receive $2.5 million annually for the next five years, provided conditions are met.
A collaboration of UPRAD, UCHealth Pikes Peak Regional Hospital and Teller County Public Health & Environment, the program focuses on telehealth, whole-person wellness and workforce development
“For telehealth, we are teaming up with UCHealth to provide an innovative model for inter-facility transfers,” said James McLaughlin, director of UPRAD’s Community Paramedics.
“When a patient comes to the emergency room who needs to be transferred, that team is already there working with UCHealth staff,” McLaughlin said. “So, they are familiar with the patient’s condition because it’s the same team treating the patient.”
No matter how the patient arrives in the emergency room, the team is ready.
“This collaboration is for physical or mental health calls,” McLaughlin said.
Along with the transport, the ambulance will be equipped with the latest technology.
“That technology allows for real-time video telehealth in the back of the ambulance with the receiving physician,” McLaughlin said, adding that the transport would probably be from PPRH down to UCHealth Memorial Hospital , Central or North,” he said.
McLaughlin noted that patients are at their most vulnerable when transported from one facility to another.
“This project reduces that risk and improves overall patient outcome,” he said. “In addition, we are strengthening our relationship with the mental health team at UCHealth in a more meaningful way.”
To administer the program, the grant covers salaries for a project manager, an administrative assistant, two emergency medical technicians, two paramedics and two community paramedics.
“The community paramedics will work with primary care providers in the community and case managers in the hospital to work with people who are at high risk for readmission to the hospital or who are struggling with their treatment plan,” McLaughlin said.
The program covers visits with a community paramedic who will help the patient identify challenges and comply with their care plan.
“This will empower the patient with the knowledge and ability to be their own best champion,” McLaughlin said. “So that’s the whole-person wellness.”
With workforce development, healthcare providers across the rural community will receive advanced training.
“That includes advanced obstetrical and gynecological training to prepare first responders and other healthcare providers to respond to emergencies,” McLaughlin said.
The grant covers additional training for pediatric emergencies as well.
“The goal is to provide opportunities for our staff, UCHealth staff and other healthcare providers in the community,” he said.
The grant includes advanced wilderness training where there is limited access to technology and other higher levels of care, McLaughlin said.
“All the training prepares our workforce to be that first safety net for medical or behavioral health crisis in our rural community,” he said.
© 2026 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Visit www.gazette.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.