NOCO Regional ARMOR Response

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Andrea grew up in a town of 400 people in south west Nebraska. She started her EMS career right out of high school getting her EMT certification in 1994. She worked for Rural Metro Ambulance Service in Grand Island, Hastings and Lincoln. She moved to Colorado in 2000 and took a job as a 911 dispatcher for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office  and began volunteering as an EMT/Firefighter for the Wellington Fire Department. After 3 years of dispatch, Andrea wanted back in on the action so she took a job as a Detention Deputy where she stayed for another 2½ years. Although thankful for the opportunity in Law Enforcement, she missed medicine and returned to EMS. The next 9½ years she spent with Thompson Valley Ambulance service before deciding to go to nursing school. Knowing she could not go to nursing school and continue working 24-hour shifts, she started with Poudre Valley EMS to have more flexibility with her school schedule. Two years later she graduated with her Associate's degree in nursing, and another 18 months later finished her Bachelor's degree in nursing.

Nursing has given her many opportunities to work with patients in medical/surgical, telemetry, progressive care unit, and the operating room. She started a program while going to nursing school in Cheyenne where each semester students go to Haiti with the organization Love Takes Root, to help with orthopedic surgeries, mountain health clinics, the onsite health clinic, and the orphanage. She has made several trips to Haiti and continues to give her time to the organization to provide teaching for the older orphans who are getting ready to go out on their own. “Initially, I was going there to make a difference and help the people of Haiti. Little did I know it would be them that healed my soul and showered me with an abundance of love.”

Andrea volunteered to go to New York City and was stationed at North Central Bronx hospital in April when COVID-19 hit the city hard. She currently works for Rocky Mountain IV Medics, where she travels to patient homes to give them IV hydration and vitamin infusions.  "I have many escapes from the stress of my jobs including my two French bulldogs, Norman and Matilda, and photography."

Andrea is a valuable asset for FRTC  and to our “One Team, One Mission” concept. She is excited to assist in the creation of this vital service to her 911 care continuum partners. FRTC is proud to have this culturally competent resource as an example of cooperation and care.

Michael is currently a Firefighter for a northern Colorado Fire Department.

His dream was always to be a firefighter from a very young age and for the last 10 years Michael has been living his dream. He began his full-time fire career as an Engineer for the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (CDFPC) as an "all-hazard" firefighter. He eventually transferred his wildland/urban firefighting knowledge to a full-time structural position of Firefighter. 

While at CDFPC and after completing First Responder Trauma Counselor's National Peer Support Academy, Michael became a member of his agency's Peer Support team, where he served as a member for many years.

Not only a firefighter himself, Michael comes from a family of public safety professionals, as his wife, parents, and siblings are all deeply rooted in various aspects of first response including paramedicine, firefighting, law enforcement, nursing, and the military. 

Michael says that it is an honor to serve, and First Responder Trauma Counselors considers it an honor that he has chosen to serve with us.