Contact Your City Council Representative in Three Easy Steps:

Step Three: Send the Following Message

Dear Councilmember [Representative's Name],

As your constituent in Wheat Ridge, I am writing to express my strong support for maintaining our city's current moratorium on Freestanding Emergency Departments (FSEDs). I urge you to vote NO on any proposal to lift this important protection for our community's healthcare quality and accessibility.

Our community already benefits from high-quality, comprehensive emergency care at Lutheran Hospital. Introducing an FSED would duplicate existing services while potentially creating serious problems for residents:

1. Community Safety: Wheat Ridge has a high concentration of older adults, who are at risk of complex medical emergencies. FSEDs are not equipped to provide time-sensitive care required for strokes, heart attacks and other life-threating conditions.

2. Patient Confusion in Critical Moments: During medical emergencies, patients need clear options. FSEDs may not be equipped to handle complex emergencies, potentially causing dangerous delays when patients discover they need to transfer to a full-service hospital.

3. Potential Transfer Issues: Patients requiring more complex care than an FSED can provide may face transfers to facilities outside our community, separating them from their local support systems during critical times.

4. Strain on Emergency Medical Services: Adding another facility to our emergency response network could burden our local EMS resources and potentially hurt response times throughout Wheat Ridge.

Well-respected healthcare organizations and experts have highlighted these exact concerns. I believe that maintaining the current moratorium is the prudent choice to ensure our community continues to have access to efficient, high-quality emergency care at Lutheran Hospital, which already serves us well with its full-service capabilities.

I appreciate your consideration of this important healthcare issue for our community. Please vote NO on lifting the FSED moratorium to protect access to comprehensive emergency care in Wheat Ridge.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]