EMS Director Witt, Tenders Resignation

Three-year, award-winning Hinsdale County Emergency Services Director Buffy Hurd Witt, highly acclaimed for her empathy and professionalism, has submitted her resignation from the post in a letter received by Hinsdale County Commissioners.
Witt has served in the post since December, 2019, when she was hired as Emergency Medical Sercices Director, taking the place of the short-tenured interim medical services director, Britt McLaughlin. The director position had previously been held by Jerry Gray, who prior to retirement had served as both director of EMS and Emergency Management in the county.
Witt has received extremely high marks for her work as EMS Director, working non-stop to recruit a corps of EMTs and continually striving to educate, compensate and reinforce the local EMT team, most recently writing grant funding which will allow for an augmented team with eight students currently enrolled for multi-hour classroom EMT instruction and hands-on training starting in early January.
The EMT class, which will be taught on a rotating basis by members of the local EMT team, comprises 8-16 hours’ instruction each week and will continue January into June, 2024.
After receipt of Witt’s resignation letter, Hinsdale County Commissioners hastily scheduled a discussion item on her replacement which was planned for this week’s Wednesday, December 20, county board meeting. Witt has indicated no particular time for her departure from the director position and will remain on to assist with the transition.
At Wednesday’s meeting, county board chair Levine characterized Witt’s resignation has a “cataclysmic event,” later noting, “it’s a sad time forour community but also a good time for change.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by fellow commissioners Borchers and Hurd, the former referring to the “dumpster fire” which Witt inherited when she was first hired as EMS Director and crediting her for her “solid leadership, professionalism, and dedication.” Commissioner Hurd, who is Witt’s uncle, agreed that under Witt’s tenure Hinsdale EMS “was turned around in such a big way” and, optimistically, said “we’ll be together now more often” as she returns to the private sector.
County Administrator Hines stated an application will be made through Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment to send in professionals for a team study on how EMS may move forward in a sustainable fashion. Funding for that service, if approved, is available starting July next year, Hines adding, “Buffy only thinks we’re going to let her go.”
As part of commissioners’ workshop discussion on Wednesday, one option may be to restructure the role of EMS Director into two positions.
The text of Witt’s letter, addressed to her fellow EMS teammates and received by Hinsdale County Commissioners on Tuesday this week, is as follows:
To my dear friends and teammates!
After many months of consideration, vacillation and meditations on the topic, I have made the difficult decision to begin the transition out of the EMS Director seat. It has been my absolute pleasure to lead this team and rebuild an agency to serve our people and this community.
When I became an EMT here in Hinsdale County in 1997, I almost instantly felt as if I had found my path. I was sure that what I needed to do is to go to Paramedic school so that I could come back to Lake City and serve as a volunteer and help where I could. I did go to Paramedic school and return to Lake City in June of 1999. Within days of returning, EMS received a call for help from Alpine Gulch above timberline. A youth group was camping and a 13-year-old was unconscious, unresponsive at 13,000 ft.
Much like these days, there were not a lot of responders and I, being a fancy new Paramedic, was immediately chosen to respond. I had one EMT with me (Steve Nutting for those who remember) and a smattering of able outdoors people from the youth camp. We hiked for hours, finally getting to camp where there was in fact a 13-year-old girl in her tent completely unresponsive.
As happens in our county, we had no reliable communications but could hear Keith Chambers in town asking if we needed a helicopter. We couldn’t get a transmission to go through but Keith could hear us keying the mic. Finally, Keith asked if we needed a helicopter to key the mic three times. Steve hiked to the top of the ridge and keyed his mic three times. A helicopter was now on the way but would be more than an hour and we needed to hike to a proper landing zone (LZ).
I was terrified! We didn’t have all the fancy equipment we have today (I know, back in my day!) but what we lacked in equipment we had in medications. I had a drug kit with all sorts of scary medications, an airway bag with intubation equipment AND an experience level of only clinicals in paramedic school… I felt inadequate at best.
This call turned out great. We hiked to an LZ and successfully loaded the patient into the helicopter with very capable hands inside. As the helicopter descended to Montrose, the patient began to wake up. The diagnosis was high altitude cerebral edema. Very few documented cases in the state at that time.
It was after that summer of being a brand-new Paramedic in the middle of nowhere that I realized I had to go back to the city and get some experience. Twenty-plus years of learning medicine, administration, billing, management, instruction, field training, making a ton of mistakes, saving some lives and losing others.
All to finally make it back home in 2020 to take the reins as EMS Director and work to build our team. I worked hard to create systems and protocols, procure necessary equipment and vehicles and focus on training. EMS in the most remote county in the lower 48 requires insight and training beyond the typical EMS service.
In our county, we get to serve the people that we know and love, which is a blessing and adds a difficult layer to an already difficult environment. As all of you know, I had a rough season a few years ago when my son crashed his car and was severely injured. Being the primary responder that day altered my life forever. That event was followed in short succession by several other very close people requiring emergency care and not surviving their situation. More situations like this, coupled with the overwhelming feeling of responsibility that comes with being the EMS Director, have contributed to my final decision to step down from the head seat.
I have been explaining my feelings by way of an analogy. When I came here in 2020 with COVID breathing down our necks, this agency was a sunken ship. The team was swimming for the closest floating object to hold on to. I am proud of the hard work and dedication put into pulling that vessel up and making it seaworthy.
I have seen all of you progress in ways that have inspired me to keep moving forward. YOU have been my drive to continue to do the next right thing. I am so proud of the team we have today and the level of service we are able to provide, despite our challenges and small size.
Now that the HCEMS vessel is seaworthy and has a mast with a sail… WE need someone with the capacity, expertise and sure will that will take the service to the next level.
Gary and I are staying in Lake City. We have a great life here. My plan is to take a step back to get some breathing room but continue to serve as a volunteer and offer my Paramedic skills to the service.
I promise my transition from the hot seat to the side seat will be mindful. My goal is to be pretty much in the side seat by the time Ethan graduates from High School in May. My priority is to see through the successful completion of our upcoming EMT course and tie up all loose end projects I have on my plate.
The Board of County Commissioners have been very supportive of EMS and me over the last few years. I have no doubt they will do the right thing to put pieces into place to move HCEMS to the next level. Everything will not only be ok; it will be better in so many ways.
Please know how much I genuinely love each of you and how grateful I am to be working elbow to elbow with you in service of our community. I look forward to the next leg of the journey with you.
I am asking you to be open to the upcoming changes and to be patient as we work through this transition. Katherine has been an integral part of my survival over the last year and she has been absorbing all of my tips and tricks. She will be a very important part of a successful transition. Please remember to give her hugs and love all the time.
Circling back to baby Buffy in 1999, who wanted to come back to Lake City and volunteer as a Paramedic. She isn’t a baby anymore, but it looks like that will finally be her role. Volunteer with my favorite team to take care of our people in their time of need. I am humbled by each of you and love being your teammate.
My door is open and I am here to answer any questions you might have. I appreciate your support as this will undoubtedly be a very emotional detachment, but one that I am ready for and I know only good things come from necessary change.
I love you all to the moon and back!
Buffy