Hinsdale County’s EMS Director Buffy Witt was honored last month, November 4, in Keystone Colorado, at the annual Colorado State EMS Conference where she received a state-wide award for 2023’s Best EMS Director from West Region EMS & Trauma Advisory Council.
Hinsdale County’s Western Regional EMS and Trauma Advisory Council (WRETAC) representative, Danny Barela, nominated Witt for the honor. Although she is reserved about accepting such accolades the honors bestowed on her are far more than deserved. According to Wilderness EMT Katherine Heidt, who accompanied Witt to the awards ceremony, “Buffy is someone who leads with heart and pays attention to detail. Her ability to organize and distill a lot of information while keeping up with 50 different tasks has kept Hinsdale County EMS going in a professional and effective manner. She has brought to Lake City decades of experience, both in the back of an ambulance and on the administrative side of EMS, and that has been a huge asset to our community.”
It is widely understood by locals, seasonal residents and visitors alike that Lake City is extremely fortunate to have the talented and dedicated medical and EMS staff the community enjoys, especially for such a small town; it should be further recalled that in 2022, Lake City Medical Technician Amanda Hartman received the state-wide award for EMT Provider of the Year at the same awards event from Emergency Services Association of Colorado (EMSAC). That’s two years consecutively that Hinsdale County has been honored with extremely prestigious awards for excellent in service, and this is unprecedented in Hinsdale County.
In a letter penned to the EMSAC Award Committee in support of Witt by retired Hinsdale County Coroner, EMS Director and Emergency Manager, Jerry Gray, Witt’s EMS career began when — though she could not yet see the bigger picture — she was 11 years old with the death of her grandmother, Charlotte O’Toole Hurd.
Buffy was alone with her grandmother, and at first, young Buffy hoped that maybe she was just asleep; but her instinct told her something was wrong. The year was 1986, before 911 was available in Lake City, so Buffy called the Sheriff’s Office, and an ambulance was paged out to the location. The ensuing minutes between the call and the arrival of the ambulance were formative for Buffy. She wanted to do something to help, but had no idea what. It was a great relief to her when the ambulance crew arrived, but a chord was struck in the impressionable young girl, and she knew she never again wanted to be
in a situation where something needed to be done and she was powerless to assist because she lacked the knowledge. Unfortunately, according to Gray, there weren’t any training options for an eleven-year-old child in 1986. Years later, however, when Gray was canvassing the streets of Lake City in search of candidates to fill an EMT class in town, he came upon a 22-year-old Buffy Hurd, who signed up for the class at once. She found herself immediately hooked, and went on to be an excellent EMT for Hinsdale County EMS. According to Gray, “In order to change EMS from an avocation to an actual vocation, EMTs must leave Lake City and work in a busier service and make money doing so. Buffy did just that.” Earning her Paramedic Certification at North Suburban Hospital in Denver, she worked for Northglenn Ambulance in Northglenn, Thornton and Commerce City, eventually returning to Northglenn as EMS Director while still serving as a street medic. She also worked in Black Hawk, then returned to Northglenn as a Paramedic and administrator in charge of education and developing onboard and field training. She wound up leaving that position to return to Lake City in January, 2020, as Hinsdale EMS Director.
While it is true that with her skill and dedication, Witt could earn as much as a basic EMT in a big city as she earns as Paramedic Director of Hinsdale County EMS, she grew up here, loves and is committed to this community, to her job and to her team.
Gray, in his letter to the awards committee, explains that in Hinsdale County, an EMS Director will fail to build and retain a team if they are uninvested in this community. “Lake City has always been a difficult place to live and it is becoming more so; the pay scale is low and the cost of living is high. However, Buffy’s passion for Lake City and EMS community,” Gray said, “along with her city experience, has created a successful organization that she continues to lead.”
Gray also said in his letter of recommendation that “Hinsdale County EMS is a system in which volunteers must respond at a moment’s notice, interrupting work, business, meals, family time, sleep, leisure time – that is to say, all aspects of life.
Buffy is an exemplary EMS Director. She serves as a role model in the community, drawing in new team members with a new EMT class planned for this winter and sparking interest in the children of some of her current team members who have become Wilderness First Responders and have joined Search and Rescue. She also serves as a role model in the state. Other EMS Directors would do well to follow her lead in developing Peer Support Teams which not only benefit the mental health of individual responders, but build bridges, understanding and friendships between those agencies which must work together under stressful situations.”
Gray concluded his letter by saying, “Please grant Buffy the honor of this award. She wholeheartedly deserves this recognition. She gives her heart and her soul and wears her scars on her psyche as a result of her unwavering commitment.”
