By Kevin Unger, George Hayes, Russ Branzell and Rulon Stacey
Dear colleagues and community,
We share your concern for the people and responders affected by the High Park Fire.
High Park fire responders, we honor and thank you.
Many members of University of Colorado Health are personally impacted by the fire. Some employees have been evacuated from their homes; others have escaped with fire bearing down on them.
Poudre Valley Hospital EMS continues to assist at the front lines, as well support day-to-day community needs.
HOW TO HELP
Anyone looking for a personal way to support victims of the fire and the response effort should contact www.helpcoloradonow.org. Monetary donations are what agencies are most encouraging at this time. This site also has links for submitting products or services you may wish to offer. Offers of goods and services are being reviewed and selected by the responder teams and support agencies.
HOW UC HEALTH IS HELPING
UC Health is actively helping the response effort. Thankfully, so far there have not been any large increases in medical needs at our hospitals related to the fire. We of course stand ready for any potential increase in need for medical care.
We are also honoring our responsibility to support our community, beyond providing world-class health care, in the following ways:
- $25,000 donation to the Northern Colorado Chapter of the Red Cross to assist with High Park Fire response.
- $5,000 donation to the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, which is wholly dependent on donations.
- $5,000 donation to the Poudre Canyon Volunteer Fire Department, which is also dependent on donations.
- Café 1024 at Poudre Valley Hospital and Café 2500 at Medical Center of the Rockies will provide meal vouchers for affected community members and responders. Those vouchers will be distributed by the Red Cross.
- Assisting members of the Northern Colorado Public Communicators group to share and distribute fire response information.
- PVHS.org and social media (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube): Web and video content on health-related questions about the fire. We will continue to create and provide content that will help the community understand health concerns during this time.
- Offer, through the Red Cross, of 18,000 square feet of storage space in vacant UC Health space near The Ranch evacuation center. This space could help response agencies store food, water or other donated items.
- Offer, through the Red Cross, of sunscreen, hand sanitizer, clothing.
This is a difficult situation for all of us and our community. Continue to support each other and let us know how we can support you during the challenges.
Kevin Unger is the president and CEO of Poudre Valley Hospital
George Hayes is the president and CEO of Medical Center of the Rockies
Russ Branzell is the president and CEO of Colorado Health Medical Group (formerly Poudre Valley Medical Group)
Rulon Stacey is the president of University of Colorado Health
I can’t begin to say how much your donation to the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department means to my husband and I. There were firefighters who were doing structure protection while their own homes burned. Chief Gann and his crew, as well as many others, have given their all to this horrific fire. They are heroes in my book.
As a former evacuated, thank god got back into our place last night 6/25, Thanks you for everything you have done it is appreciated