Council to hear about Denver's new ambulance response model after Denver Health missed its target

The Council's Health and Safety Committee will be briefed Wednesday, Nov. 18, on the "Denver Dynamic Response Model" (26-1761). No slides had been posted as of Friday.

Why it matters: the model is a proposed change to how Denver sends help to medical calls, and it comes after Denver Health's ambulances missed the city's response-time target.

What we know about the model

The Denver Fire Department is moving away from the national standard for measuring response times, which is the same for urban and rural areas, to what it calls the Denver Dynamic Response Model, according to an EMS1 report in September on a CBS Colorado analysis. The model would use the type and severity of a medical call to decide which resources are sent, the report said.

According to the same report:

• The city's agreement requires advanced life support ambulances to arrive within nine minutes of assignment on at least 90% of calls.
• Denver Health reported 82.1% compliance in 2025.
• From Jan. 1 through July 31, 2026, 7,865 of the most urgent responses took more than nine minutes, including 202 that took more than 20.
• Denver Health's chief paramedic said traffic, congestion and construction affect response times, and that the fix may involve using existing resources better rather than only adding ambulances.

What our records add

Denver Health's next agreement is up Monday. The $48.8 million 2027 operating agreement, 26-1622, gets its first reading Nov. 16. That's down from $69.3 million this year (our story). The 2027 Long Bill gives the Fire Department the biggest dollar increase of any department, $7 million (our story).

We'll report what the briefing says once the presentation is posted or the meeting is held.

Also on the agenda

Reentry for women, $1.6 million. 26-1737 is a new three-year, $1,614,718 contract with The Empowerment Program for residential and non-residential case management for women leaving incarceration at the Project Elevate community corrections facility, 4280 Kearney St., in District 8. The Department of Safety's request describes the services as "person centered, gender responsive and trauma informed." It runs from Jan. 1, 2027, through 2029.

Head Start, $2.4 million more. Denver Public Schools' Head Start agreement, 26-1728, adds $2,435,850 for 350 slots, bringing it to $2,930,850. It follows the same pattern as the other Head Start partners, which started the year at $495,000 each (our story).

After-school programs. Summer Scholars gets $60,000 more, for a total of $995,700 (26-1725). A matching $60,000 amendment for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver is on Monday's Council agenda (26-1653).

What's next

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 10:30 a.m.: Health and Safety Committee (meeting).