UCHealth Burn and Frostbite team educates rural communities ahead of incoming cold snap.

As Colorado braces for another cold snap with single digits and near-zero temperatures, the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center is making sure rural communities and hospitals across the Rocky Mountain Region are prepared. Today, the burn and frostbite team provided educational outreach to rural community hospitals, EMS teams, and clinicians on how to treat a frostbite injury.

Every month, the burn and frostbite outreach team invites hundreds of clinicians from Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, and across Colorado to participate in these educational programs. The goal is to provide education so patients receive appropriate level of care in their home communities where a frostbite specialist may be less accessible.

Today’s discussion focused on how frostbite injuries occur, treatment and wound care, understanding the rewarming process and determining when a patient transfer is necessary.

In determining when a patient needs to be transferred to the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center at University of Colorado Hospital (UCH), providers across the Rocky Mountain Region have access to the burn consult app. They can submit HIPAA compliant photos and information and request a consultation with a UCHealth frostbite expert who can then provide guidance on treatment or request a patient transfer.

Since November, the UCHealth frostbite team has received around 150 calls for consults, some of which required a patient be transferred and admitted into the UCHealth Burn and Frostbite Center. 37 of those 150 calls happened this month, in February 2023.

To learn more about how to prevent and treat frostbite injuries, visit our website.