Extraordinary care delivered via ‘daunting’ ambulance transfer

For UCHealth Emergency Medical Services (EMS), most patient transfers by ambulance are no more than a city or two away. But when a patient with quadriplegia and complex needs required a ride hundreds of miles to a skilled rehabilitation facility, the EMS team stepped up to make it happen.

Alyssa Broyles, emergency medical technician; Kate Gress, EMS supervisor; and Jeran Kern, paramedic, took excellent care of the patient during the hours on the road.

“He was so kind,” Kern said. “He was pleasant from the beginning – it was easy to just to conversate with him. We were kind of worried he would be anxious.”

The patient, who had been hospitalized for several weeks, required specialized care. In seeking a rehab center, case management faced numerous rejections due to coverage limitations and bed availability. When they finally found a facility willing to accept the patient, another hurdle remained: getting him there.

“The logistics were daunting,” said Kevin Waters, senior director of hospital care. “But what stood out most was what our on-duty supervisor, Mike Maner, recognized immediately: This was an opportunity to improve someone’s life.”

Maner approached EMS leadership about the transport, coordinated with the hospital, and the team stepped in without hesitation. Broyles, Kern and Gress arrived to pick up the patient from the hospital in the morning to begin the journey.

“Our interactions with patients are generally so short-term, we normally don’t get to know them,” Gress said. “To spend an entire day with the patient is different for us. It was special to actually get a prolonged interaction with the patient.”

They gave him medications for comfort and repositioned his shoulder and neck every five minutes. They all played road trip games. At one point, they stopped at a gas station and got the patient a Dr. Pepper. Kern constructed a long straw so the patient would be able to drink it on his own.

“Things we perceive as small differences made a whole impact on this journey,” Kern said.

They reached their destination at night, leaving the patient with the rehab facility whose staff was attentive and reassuring.

“We each got a hotel room,” Gress said. “It was exhausting, mentally and emotionally. That’s the longest I’ve continually provided care, ever.”

The next morning, the three returned in the ambulance.

“Taking care of him, I felt grateful for being able to get him where he needed to go,” Broyles said. “He was so unfortunate, but nothing was bringing him down. So it really made the whole trip worth it.”

Broyles joined UCHealth in 2022 as an EMT and “it’s set the course for the rest of my life,” she said, adding that she’s now in paramedic school.

Gress started her career in EMS in 2013, joining UCHealth in 2014 and later becoming a paramedic. Her father was an emergency responder. “I always admired that he was able to help people out in a time of need,” Gress said.

Kern joined UCHealth in 2018 as an EMT and was partnered with Gress, who was a paramedic student at the time. Kern said Gress inspired her decision to become a paramedic.

“She was an amazing patient advocate,” Kern said. “I just wanted to continue that.”