Jurisdiction across state line a concern for ambulances, residents

    Patients just across the state line in Colorado can not be transported by a Perkins County, Nebraska, ambulance.
    This was a topic of discussion at a recent Perkins County commissioner’s meeting.
    The board did not sign a mutual aid agreement from Sedgwick County Ambulance Service as it does not permit Perkins County Ambulance to do anything beyond what is outlined by state law.
    Colorado state law states that no person or agency, public or private, shall transport a patient from any point within Colorado in an ambulance to any point unless that person holds a valid license and permits issued by the county where the patient originates.
    This creates a problem for residents who live just across the Nebraska state line in Sedgwick County, 25-plus miles from Julesburg.
    “Responders need to understand that we can NOT transport a patient picked up in Colorado. Period. End of story. It can’t be done. Colorado state law does not allow a Nebraska-licenced ambulance to pick up a patient in Colorado and transport them,” said Perkins County Ambulance Captain Bob Tatum.  
    He explained if a car accident should take place a mile outside of Venango, Nebraska, across the state line, “it’s going to be hard to sit there and not do what you would normally do” when there’s an ambulance 1 mile away and the one coming is 25 minutes away.

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