$1.5M renovation planned for new Southwest Teller County Emergency Services headquarters

Pikes Peak Courier Reporter

Eric Murray, executive director of EMS Services for Southwest Teller County Health Services District, is the first to move in to the new headquarters for EMS.

CRIPPLE CREEK • With nearly 18,000 square feet in its new headquarters, Southwest Teller County Emergency Services is primed to meet the demands of the 21st century.

A tour of the facility with Eric Murray, executive director of EMS, is an initial glimpse of the future for Southwest Teller County Health Services District.

While the remodel, a $1.5 million project, is scheduled for completion in October 2023, the tour is a peek at the updates.

How is he work being funded? "The money is coming from the district's bank account," Murray said. "We are pursuing grant opportunities to help with the funding, but we have the money to make it happen."

Jo Ann Kincaid worked for the Cripple Creek Center and is now a member of Southwest Teller County Health Services District. She has been with the district, either the center or on the board, for 25 years. Here she poses with Gigi, the new EMS building's resident cat.

In the new facility, the former Cripple Creek Care Center, a sense of community the department is known for continues.

In a time of Zooms, texts and "dial 1, 2, 3" for this and that, EMS in Cripple Creek retains a personal touch. To this day, people with injuries and illnesses can walk into the facility on Bennett Avenue and be seen by a first responder.

When the new place opens, a room is reserved for walk-in patients who have immediate health concerns.

As providers of emergency health care, Murray and his staff can keep fit by working out in the weight and cardiac rooms equipped with exercise machines, all donated. For instance, Northeast Teller County Fire Protection District contributed the elliptical machines.

And the commercial kitchen can be a source to keep that fitness thing going. "People take turns cooking," said Murray, adding that the on-duty first responders could invite the city's firefighters, former colleagues, to come on over for dinner.

In the event of a community-wide emergency, the kitchen food locker provides backup storage for the Office of Emergency Management under the direction of Jay Teague.

For the first time, there will be offices for Jeremy DeWall, M.D., the agency's medical director, and Christine Sines, EMS liaison with UCHealth.

Everything in the new facility is designed for convenience and efficiency.

Two private bedrooms are reserved for Cripple Creek police officers to use when needed. In addition, Police Chief Bud Bright's dispatchers, in collaboration with the El Paso-Teller County 911 Authority, will have a backup center.

From the looks of things, the 15 full-time paramedics and emergency medical technicians are anxious to get moving. Some of them have begun sprucing up their private bedrooms – a bonus! — with artwork and television sets.

And with seven bays for the ambulances, the new 1.5-acre facility enables vehicles to remain snow-free to speed first responders along and keep them frost-free on their way to an emergency.

The former Cripple Creek Care Center has been approved by the Teller County Health Services District Board as the new headquarters for the EMS services.

While the remodeling project and move-in date is a few months away, Murray is already established in his new office. As a result, he is getting acquainted with Gigi, the cat/mascot that came with the changeover from care center to EMS. "People donate food for her," Murray said.

For the past month, Murray has a front-row seat observing life with Gigi and a sly fox who comes around daily to purloin Gigi's morning meal.

While the two animals aren't exactly buddies, the fox leaves the cat alone. Although that may seem odd, Murray figures the fox realizes that, with the cat gone, there goes that food dish.

For EMS and the health services district, establishing the new headquarters in the former care center, is a financial win-win as the district owns the building. After closing the Cripple Creek Care Center, the board voted to expand and update the emergency services division.

Pikes Peak Courier Reporter

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