The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce another outstanding achievement for the Office and the Pikes Peak region community.
On Friday, July 31, 2026, two teams of El Paso County Sheriff’s Office deputies competed in the second annual UCHealth Sporting Clays Invitational at Kiowa Creek Sporting Club in Bennett, Colorado. The Sheriff’s Office earned first place among first responder teams for the second consecutive year.
Hosted by the UCHealth Memorial Hospital Foundation and Lonnie Cramer, President and CEO of UCHealth Southern Colorado, the event brought together first responders and community partners from across the region for a day of friendly competition, camaraderie, and support for UCHealth’s Access and Innovation Fund, which helps launch and expand programs to improve care across Southern Colorado.
“Our deputies are honored to support initiatives with the power to strengthen care across our community,” said El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal. “While we’re proud to earn first place among our fellow first responders, the real victory is helping support programs and innovations which give patients a better chance when every minute matters. I want to thank Lonnie Cramer, UCHealth, and every organization involved for investing in this important work. We’re proud to be part of this mission, and we look forward to returning next year.”
The Invitational welcomed more than 134 competitors and raised more than $120,000 to support UCHealth’s Access and Innovation Fund, which helps advance emerging needs, innovative programs, expanded access to care and transformative initiatives across Southern Colorado. Participating agencies included the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Carson Emergency Services, UCHealth LifeLine, the Colorado Springs Police Department, the Colorado Springs Fire Department, and American Medical Response.
Proceeds from this year’s Invitational support UCHealth’s Access and Innovation Fund. Programs like UCHealth’s groundbreaking Whole Blood Resuscitation Program, which launched in the Pikes Peak region in May 2024, demonstrate the type of innovative, community-focused care philanthropic support can help make possible.
“Congratulations to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office on winning the Chief’s Challenge for the second year in a row,” said Lonnie Cramer, President and CEO for UCHealth’s Southern Colorado Region. “The Clay Shoot was a tremendous day of friendly competition, fellowship, and community spirit. But this event is about far more than sport – it is about impact. Every participant and underwriter helped ensure that lifesaving care is available when and where it matters most across Southern Colorado.
“We are incredibly proud to have raised more than $120,000 in support of innovation and access to care, including nearly $7,000 contributed by our first responder teams. The commitment shown by the Sheriff’s Office and all of our first responder partners reflects the very best of our community, and we are grateful for their leadership and support.”
One example of the kind of innovation supported through philanthropic investment is UCHealth’s Whole Blood Resuscitation Program. Hemorrhagic shock, or severe blood loss, remains the leading cause of death for children and adults under age 46 in the United States. In Colorado Springs, an estimated one person dies every 48 hours from blood loss before reaching a hospital.
Whole blood transfusions administered before a patient reaches a hospital can increase survival rates by as much as 40 percent. Through a partnership among UCHealth, the Colorado Springs Fire Department, the Ute Pass Regional Health Services District, and the Plains to Peaks Regional Emergency Trauma Advisory Council (RETAC), two ground ambulances—one serving El Paso County and one serving Teller County—are equipped to administer whole blood in the pre-hospital setting.
Although the military has used whole blood since World War I, civilian pre-hospital transfusions did not begin until 2018 with the San Antonio Fire Department in Texas. Colorado Springs became the first community in Colorado to implement a Whole Blood Resuscitation Program in the field.
With continued community support, UCHealth and its partners can continue investing in programs and innovations which help meet urgent needs and strengthen care across Southern Colorado.