By Shannon Lukens.

 

Governor Polis signed two bills into law in Steamboat Wednesday. It happened at the Steamboat Springs Fire Station.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than Northwest Colorado. I mean Moffat and Routt counties are two of the more incredible counties in the state of Colorado.”

 

 

The two bills were written by State Representative Dylan Roberts, who represents Routt and Eagle counties. One was an Ambulance/EMS bill that would provide more support across the state especially in rural areas, with a statewide licensing program for ambulances. (SB22-225 Ambulance Service Sustainability and State Licensing)

“The issue is with a lot of our more rural counties in that they don’t have the funding or the resources to have full-time ambulance services or buy another ambulance or hire more people. So what this bill will do is create a statewide funding source for places like Moffat County and the smaller counties that can apply for funding and help build up their program so that they can serve more people throughout the whole year.”

 

A second bill signed in Steamboat Wednesday is the Cardiac Arrest Bill which will get more Automated External Defibrillators, or AEDs, placed in public places across the state. An Office of Cardiac Arrest Management will be created to look for strategies to increase survivability for those having cardiac arrest, and it will also start a campaign to help people know how to use AEDs. (HB22-1251 Cardia Arrest Management)