Dr. Jeff Beckman is a board-certified emergency medicine and emergency medical services physician who comes to St. Vincent from CarePoint Health. In addition to being an emergency room physician, he serves as medical director of St. Vincent’s emergency medical services. Dr. Beckman earned his bachelor’s degree in his home state at the University of Georgia, completed medical school at Emory University Medical School and residency at the Denver Health Residency in Emergency Medicine.

Emergency medical practice is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Dr. Beckman. His day-to-day work aligns with his big-picture patient care philosophy. He also seeks to engage and empower patients at an individual level, encouraging them to be active participants in their medical care.

“Since childhood I had an interest in biology, physiology, and the healing arts of medicine with an inherent mission to make an impact upon the greater community.  Emergency medicine, along with EMS on the front lines of treating the sickest and most injured patients, captivated my interest,” says Dr. Beckman. “The emergency medicine service mission is to care for every patient regardless of age, gender, race, ability to pay, or socioeconomic status and that’s congruent with my desire to practice medicine for the benefit and wellness of the entire community.” 

Dr. Beckman, a longstanding ER and EMS physician in Colorado, now balances his clinical time with his role as the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment EMS Medical Director.  

He notes that medicine is in his genes—his great grandfather was the only doc in a small town in Missouri—and he loves his work in Leadville. “St. Vincent serves as the epicenter where primary care, public health, EMS, and hospital medicine intersect; a truly unique environment for healthcare and the resultant connectivity to the patients and community of Lake County is palpable.”

Dr. Beckman traded the Appalachian wilderness of his youth for Colorado about two decades ago and hasn’t looked back. He’s a racer and supporter with the Leadville 100 MTB and Leadville Trail 100, respectively, and has interest and experience in high-altitude medicine from his work in the Himalayas.

“My first case of managing high-altitude cerebral edema was not in my clinical experience in Nepal or Aconcagua but occurred with my wife while we were on the summit of Mount Princeton,” Dr. Beckman recounts. Not surprisingly, when Dr. Beckman is not at work, he’s engaged in one of several outdoor recreational pursuits, which he pursues in all four seasons.