40 years as EMT medical director

In the old days, when an ambulance call came in, they’d swing by “Doc” Colglazier’s house, he’d grab his medical bag, jump in the ambulance and away they would go.

That “Doc” Colglazier was Dr. Ernest Colglazier and in 1979, his son, Dr. Cliff Colglazier, would return to Grant and take over his dad’s duties.

Ever since, Colglazier has served as medical director for the Perkins County EMS.

Monday, members of the Grant EMS and volunteer fire department recognized Colglazier as he gets ready to pass on the role to one of his colleagues. 

“At age 70, it’s time to step down,” he said.

The members held a public reception for him at the hospital in appreciation for all those years of dedicated service. 

And just like his dad, Doc Colglazier would jump in the ambulance and accompany a critical patient being transferred to Denver, Fort Collins, North Platte, Scottsbluff or Kearney. 

And with that came the comradery he enjoyed with the members of Grant’s EMS and fire department. 

Once the patient was safe and secure at their destination, the pressure was off. That meant there was time to stop at a good hamburger joint or nice restaurant to eat before heading home. 

Colglazier said he’d ride along 10 times a year or so during the ’80s and ’90s.

But over his career, he said there were 30-40 times when he just put a patient in his own car and took off. 

Sometimes that would be with his wife, Janie, in the back seat, holding the IV bag all the way. 

Sometimes, it would be with his one of his kids. After they delivered their patient at a Denver hospital, he said they would always go do something fun, like Elitches or a museum. 

He remembers one time when his son had ridden along in the ambulance. After the patient was delivered, they made a stop at the Museum of Natural History.

“I don’t imagine the ambulance guys were really happy with that one,” he recalled.

Other times, Janie and the kids would follow behind and after the patient was delivered in Denver, they’d go on and spend some time in the mountains.

Then, there were those double headers. 

On a Saturday in 1980, he recalls flying to Denver with an accident victim. When they got back about 3 p.m., they ended up using the same plane to fly a heart patient back to Denver.

On a Sunday in 1990, he and the ambulance driver trans- 

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