DENVER - The head of the Colorado State Patrol says all three cadets who were hospitalized for various stages of renal failure during the first few days of training will be offered an invitation to try to rejoin the State Patrol this year.
One of those cadets remains hospitalized more than a month after falling seriously ill.
"We're going to have a spot for him," said Col. James Wolfinbarger on Wednesday.
Based upon the nature of the cadet's medical condition, it remains unclear if the cadet will be able to rejoin anytime soon however.
The three cadets were hospitalized two days into the 22-week-long State Patrol Academy. Col. Wolfinbarger said the State Patrol has already implemented some minor changes in terms of hydration and urination issues, but insisted the program remains reliable.
"Our training academy has a phenomenal record," he said. "This is not an easy training academy, and I would say that's OK."
Col. Wolfinbarger said he spoke to the hospitalized cadet on Tuesday and said his spirits remain high despite his condition.
"He's improving, but it could be a long road," he said.
As for the program itself, Col. Wolfinbarger stated his has full confidence in his staff, but admitted the illnesses are cause for a need for some reevaluation of procedures.
"It's something that you just have to stop and just take an assessment. How did we get there? What are we going to do from this period moving forward?" Col. Wolfinbarger said.
It's not entirely clear why the three had to be hospitalized in the first place and whether or not the simultaneous nature of the hospitalizations was pure coincidence.
Col. Wolfinbarger said the room temperature in the training room was not abnormally high and added that hydration is an issue that is drilled into new recruits from the start.
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