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Yuma Ambulance, Dr. Nowland honored

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This story was written by The Yuma Pioneer. If you’d like to subscribe, email [email protected] or call 970-848-2174.

The Yuma Ambulance Service and Yuma District Hospital headlined the Northeast RETAC awards ceremony last week.

The annual awards ceremony was held at the Thompson Valley EMS building in Loveland.

The Yuma Ambulance Service’s Keriann Josh was honored as EMS Leader of the Year.

The Yuma Ambulance Service’s Michael Brophy was honored as the BLS EMS Professional of the Year.

Yuma District Hospital’s Dr. Matt Nowland was honored as Trauma Medical Director of the Year.

The Northeast Colorado Regional Emergency Medical and Trauma Services Advisory Council (NCRETAC for short) is a cohort of dozens of EMS agencies across nine counties in northeastern Colorado (Jackson, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Weld, and Yuma counties).

The NCRETAC Annual Awards celebrate the people and organizations who quietly and consistently strengthen emergency medical and trauma care across Northeast Colorado. These recipients represent the best of our regional system — professionals who show up for their communities, support one another across agencies, and help ensure patients receive high-quality care no matter where or when they need it. By recognizing leadership, clinical excellence, education, and collaboration, these awards highlight the individuals and teams whose work makes our EMS and trauma system safer, stronger, and more connected for the communities they serve.

Dr. Matthew Nowland exemplifies the role of a trauma medical director who strengthens both clinical practice and system performance.

As Trauma Medical Director at Yuma District Hospital, Dr. Nowland provides thoughtful leadership across the trauma continuum. His work reflects a commitment not only to high-quality patient care, but to continuous improvement, education, and collaboration with EMS partners throughout the region.

The nomination submitted on his behalf highlights his dedication to strengthening clinical standards, supporting multidisciplinary teams, and ensuring that trauma care remains coordinated, accountable, and responsive to the needs of the community. In rural systems especially, medical leadership plays a critical role in aligning hospital capabilities with prehospital care.

Dr. Nowland’s engagement with EMS agencies, quality improvement initiatives, and system development efforts reinforces that connection. His leadership helps ensure that trauma patients receive timely, evidence-informed care from the scene through definitive treatment.

For his commitment to clinical excellence, system collaboration, and advancing trauma care across Northeast Colorado, we are proud to recognize Dr. Matthew Nowland as our Trauma Medical Director of the Year.

Melissa Kriley is seeing patients at the Yuma Clinic

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Melissa Kriley is seeing patients at the Yuma Clinic

She joined the staff earlier this year as a Family Nurse Practioner. A FNP provides comprehensive primary and preventative care to patients of all ages, including diagnosing, treating illnesses and prescribing medications. The Yuma Clinic’s FNP staff also includes Vanessa Dischner, Haley Perry and Alan Favier.

Kriley lives in Wray, where her husband, Tom, has been a medical provider at the Wray Hospital for five years. They are expecting their first child in about one month.

She grew up in Greeley, graduating from Greeley Central. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Northern Colorado.

Kriley was a Registered Nurse at North Colorado Medical Center for six years. She met Tom, who ended up taking a job in rural Kansas.

“I learned about rural communities and their needs that I can provide, so I went back to school,” Kriley said, adding she now has had a lot of rural health experiences.

She joins a growing list of bilingual medical providers in Yuma, which is proving to be beneficial. She also has a personal experience of the strong array of services available this rural area.

“As a patient myself I appreciate the services available around here,” she said. “I am grateful I am working close to home after doing so much traveling. It means a lot to me with a baby on the way.”

Dr. Blitch calling Yuma home

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Dr. Blitch calling Yuma home

This story was written by The Yuma Pioneer. If you’d like to subscribe, email [email protected] or call 970-848-2174.

Alexander Blitch, M.D., said he is thrilled to be a part of the Yuma community.

“Ultimately, I think I chose Yuma because of the excellent hospital and excellent community,” he said late last week.

Dr. Blitch has been a primary care provider at Yuma District Hospital and Clinics since September, seeing patients in the clinic and working in the ER. He and his girlfriend Hannah Wiser have purchased a house in Yuma and are integrating themselves into the community.
He first came to Yuma while doing a rural rotation during his residency at Poudre Valley in Fort Collins. He said he went to Old Threshers Days during that time, met some people in the community, and ended up staying in Yuma the whole month even on his off days.

“I really got to know the people and loved it,” Dr. Blitch said. “I also love working the excellent staff they have here; that and the community itself. Great patients and great co-workers.”

He brought a U-Haul full of possessions to Yuma in August. He said it took him three days to load it, but it took the Yuma High School girls wrestling team only 20 minutes to unload. The good doctor said he really enjoyed his interaction with the Yuma teens.

Dr. Blitch’s enthusiasm for Yuma extends beyond him. His parents came here for Thanksgiving and have extended their stay because they are enjoying it so much.

The irony is Dr. Blitch has spent his life living all over the world.

His father, who is half-American, half-Spanish, was in the U.S. Navy stationed near the small beach town of Rota, Spain, when he met his future wife. To this marriage came Alejandro Blitch. (He goes by Alexander because it is the English version of Alejandro, he said.)

Dr. Blitch’s father retired from the Navy, but still moved all over due to his new job in the financial world. Dr. Blitch said grew up living in Argentina, Venezuela, California, Utah, Oregon, back to Spain, and then to Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.

He earned his degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Utah.

“I always liked human physiology and biomechanics,” Dr. Blitch said. “I did not start out wanting to be a doctor.”

However, he started volunteering at the Hope Clinic in south Salt Lake, and started to realize he liked the interaction.

“I always loved biology, but I also love people so I had to shift,” he said.

He enrolled into the University of Utah School of Medicine. It was during that time his enthusiasm for practicing in small towns started to blossom as he did rural rotations in small communities throughout Utah.

He knew Yuma was the place he wanted to be by the time he graduated from medical school and completed his residency.

Now Dr. Blitch is serving the community, winning new patients along the way.

“The way I practice medicine is (the patient) should be the smartest person in the room,” he said. “They know themselves better than I do. I am a big advocate for patient autonomy. I like to break down the wall and let them make informed decisions about themselves.

“I give recommendations based on what’s good for the patient, what’s good for you.”

Being bilingual also helps him connect to a significant sector YDHC’s customers.

“I really like the opportunity to provide care in the language you speak, wither it be Spanish or English,” Dr. Blitch.

Dr. Todd McLaughlin and Dr. Daniel Edmondson also are bilingual, as well as ER Dr. Michelle Disher. Nurse Practitioner Melissa Kriley, who starts at YDHC on January 6, is bilingual. YDHC also employs a full-time interpreter to support patients, and many of the support staff also is bilingual.

“I think it’s a differentiator for our services,” CEO Anne Kreutzer said.

Dr. Blitch works full time each week, either in the clinic or in the ER. He was asked about the purpose of patients having a primary care provider. He said he was glad he was asked.

“You want someone who knows and advocates for you if you do get sick,” he said, explaining the importance of having regular check-ups with your doctor. “It’s someone to have on your side.”

One can make an appointment with Dr. Blitch, or any other of the family medicine providers at YDHC, by calling 848-5405.

Oh, and if you want to have a little bit of a snicker about the good doctor’s surname, go right ahead, he does not mind.

After all, as he pointed out, all the men in his family are a son of a Blitch.

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