Longmont Mayor Brian Bagley wants the city to restrict Longmont’s two hospitals’ ability to provide medical services to residents of Weld County as long as that county’s commissioners refuse to enforce the state’s COVID-19 response orders.
Bagley has directed preparation of an ordinance that would make it illegal for Longmont United Hospital or UCHealth’s Longs Peak Hospital “to provide medical services to any resident of a county or municipality wherein their elected officials have refused to comply with the governor’s emergency orders, so long as there is a resident of a county or municipality that does comply with the governor’s emergency orders needing access to Longmont hospitals.”
Bagley made that direction in a Tuesday morning email to City Manager Harold Dominguez and City Attorney Eugene Mei, with copies sent to City Clerk Dawn Quintana and the mayor’s fellow City Council members.
Last Friday, Weld County’s Board of County Commissioners issued a statement that Weld plans to ignore the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s decision to elevate Weld on the COVID-19 dial to Level Red, mandating more severe restrictions for that county.
Bagley said in his Tuesday email that Weld, while refusing to comply with orders from the state health department and Gov. Jared Polis’ emergency executive orders pertaining to COVID-19, “has nearly reached maximum hospital capacity and yet still continues to ignore the governor’s emergency orders.”
Longmont has complied with the governor’s orders “and, thereby, has available hospital beds and medical staff;” Bagley wrote, “whereas Weld County points to the hospital capacity in neighboring Longmont … to suggest Weld County has access to necessary hospital services in the event their own hospital systems reach capacity.”
Bagley said “Longmont may face limited hospital capacity in the future as a result of Weld County’s refusal to comply with the governor’s emergency orders.”
Bagley did not specifically name Longmont United or Longs Peak hospitals in his email.
He said the proposed ordinance would impose the restriction on “any hospital or healthcare provider” in Longmont when Weld residents seek treatment.
He wrote that it would apply when residents of Longmont or other municipalities or counties that are complying with state orders need access to Longmont hospitals or health care providers for general health care services, medications, or personal protective equipment.
Bagley said he wants the proposed ordinance on the agenda of the next regular Council meeting, which is Dec. 1.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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