Dr. Dylan Luyten brings two decades of emergency medicine and leadership experience to St. Vincent. In addition to being an emergency room physician, Dr. Luyten serves as medical director of St. Vincent’s emergency medical services. Dr. Luyten, who attended medical school at Tufts University in Boston, brings humility, optimism, and pragmatism to his practice.
“The practice of emergency medicine is a privilege. It affords me the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives,” he says. “If I can help someone when they’re having one of the worst days of their lives, there’s no higher calling.”
Dr. Luyten also identifies a maximalist, a philosophy in which he works hard every day to bring the greatest value to his patients. “That doesn’t mean doing every test or procedure,” he says. “Rather, really asking how I can best add value: whether that’s diagnosis, treatment, comfort, education; you name it.”
This Boston-born healer grew up on the water and the beaches of Cape Cod, where his father was an oceanographer in idyllic Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Now, as a Colorado mountain biker and backcountry skier, Dr. Luyten’s lifelong love of the outdoors and the outdoor lifestyle played a big part in his relocation to Lake County. So did Leadville’s community fabric.
“It’s a real place, a real community, with unique people and a special history and place in Colorado,” he says. “Similarly, St. Vincent is almost as old as the town and should always have a place of importance here. I hope our practice will help secure the present and future of St. Vincent and improve the lives of the citizens of Leadville.”
Dr. Luyten and his wife Elizabeth recently celebrated 25 years of marriage. They are parents to three young adult children and their hiking companion Tabor, a German shepherd they named for Baby Doe.
This limited series consists of a four-part conversation between the physicians involved and the director of St Vincent EMS. It is hosted by frequent EMM contributor Dr. Elizabeth Esty.