DOT Sec. Foxx Appoints New Members to the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council |
|---|
Topics: Anthony Foxx
|
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
May 12, 2015
NHTSA 19-15
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Contact: Kathryn Henry, 202-366-9550, Public.Affairs@dot.gov
WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today appointed 25 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) executives and practitioners, physicians, researchers, and patient advocates to serve on the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council (NEMSAC), which is authorized by Congress to advise the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS (FICEMS).
The new and returning appointees assume a two-year term effective immediately. The Council meets three times per year to discuss its recommendations; the first meeting of the new Council will take place in the summer of 2015.
“The leadership and professional expertise of these 25 appointees will help the Department support innovation in EMS at the local, state, and tribal levels,” said Secretary Foxx. “I look forward to a productive two years of collaboration with the newly appointed members and our other federal partners to strengthen the nation’s EMS systems.”
Supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of EMS, the NEMSAC provides expert advice and recommendations to the safety agency and its federal partners on key issues such as data collection, performance measurement, and the EMS workforce.
NEMSAC members are selected to represent a specific EMS stakeholder community – including patients and the general public – rather than a specific organization or association. The appointments were coordinated with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Health & Human Services through their representatives on FICEMS.
“It’s through the efforts of these individuals that the United States is prepared with optimal response to injuries on the nation’s roadways, natural and man-made disasters, and the daily medical response needs of the public,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “I thank the dedicated men and women who have recently served on the Council for their service to NHTSA, the EMS community and the nation.”
The 2015 appointments to NEMSAC are:
Katrina Altenhofen, MPH, Paramedic • Volunteer EMS
Ms. Altenhofen is a founding member of the West Chester First Responders in Washington, Iowa and has been a volunteer paramedic since 1989. She is the State Emergency Medical Services for Children Program Director and has worked with the Iowa Bureau of EMS since 1995.
Shawn Baird, MA, Paramedic • Private EMS
Mr. Baird is the co-owner of Woodburn Ambulance Service, which employs more than 50 people and provides primary 911 response to 75,000 people in an area of 450 square miles in Oregon. He has been an Oregon licensed paramedic since 1990 working in rural and suburban settings and has served as president of the Oregon Ambulance Association, secretary of the American Ambulance Association, and a member of the Oregon Public Health Advisory Board.
Sabina Braithwaite, MD, MPH • Emergency Physicians
Dr. Braithwaite is EMS system medical director for Wichita-Sedgwick County, Kansas; associate medical director of the EMS System for Metropolitan Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla.; and clinical associate professor of emergency medicine and preventive medicine and public health at the University of Kansas. She is past chair of the American College of Emergency Physicians EMS Committee and currently chairs the National Association of EMS Physicians Quality Improvement Committee.
Carol Cunningham, MD, FACEP, FAAEM • EMS Medical Directors
Dr. Cunningham is the state medical director for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Division of EMS; an associate professor at the Northeast Ohio Medical University; and a board-certified emergency physician at Akron General Medical Center. She is a member of the American Board of Emergency Medicine EMS Examination Committee and is the co-principal investigator for the National Association of State EMS Officials National Model EMS Clinical Guidelines.
Steven Diaz, MD, FACEP, FAAFP • Hospital Administration
Dr. Diaz is the senior vice president and chief medical officer for MaineGeneral Medical Center. He has served as a regional EMS medical director in Maine and was the state EMS medical director from 2003 to 2010. In 2010, he was awarded the Governor’s Award for his contributions to Maine EMS.
Eric Emery, BA • Tribal EMS
Mr. Emery is the program director of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Ambulance Service in Rosebud, S.D. In addition, he serves as director for Native American EMS Association. He has also worked for the Pine Ridge Sioux Tribe, Sanford USD Medical Center, and the Medical Air Rescue Company, where he still serves part-time as a flight paramedic.
Mary Fallat, MD • Trauma Surgeons
Dr. Fallat is the Hirikati S. Nagaraj professor and chief of pediatric surgery at the University of Louisville, and the chief of surgery at Kosair Children’s Hospital. She has been continuously funded as principal or co-investigator for the EMS for Children program in Kentucky since 1993, and is currently leading a project to develop a systems approach to out-of-hospital pediatric death that equips EMS providers with knowledge, tools, and skillset needed to manage emotional and psychological repercussions for grieving families and for themselves.
Val Gale, BA • At-large Member
Mr. Gale is the battalion chief of health and medical services for the Chandler (Ariz.) Fire, Health & Medical Department, where he oversees nearly 200 EMTs and paramedics. He has served as a firefighter, engineer, captain and chief, and is actively involved in state and regional EMS councils, including the Arizona NEMSIS Data Committee.
Brett Garrett • EMS Practitioners
Mr. Garrett is a firefighter/paramedic at Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue and Deputy/EMS Chief with Green Pond Volunteer Fire Department in Alabama. He is an active instructor, teaching EMT, ACLS, CPR, car seat inspections and other classes. Most recently, Brett developed and implemented a new prevention program in Tuscaloosa that identifies chronic users of 911 and addresses their medical and social needs.
Michael A. Hastings, MS, RN, CEN • Emergency Nurses
Mr. Hastings is the trauma program manager at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas, and formerly the research quality outcomes coordinator at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. Mr. Hastings began his career as an EMT and 9-1-1 dispatcher and served as the Emergency Nurses Association’s representative on the CDC Field Trauma Triage Guidelines project.
Douglas Hooten, MBA • Local EMS Service Administrators
Mr. Hooten is the executive director of MedStar Mobile Healthcare in Fort Worth, Texas. He has over 33 years of experience in EMS, having served in senior leadership roles for American Medical Response, the Metropolitan Ambulance Service Trust (MAST) in Kansas City, and Rural/Metro. He began his career as a paramedic in Conroe, Texas. He currently serves as president of the Coalition of Advanced Emergency Medical Systems (CAEMS), president of the Texas EMS Alliance, and a board member of the American Ambulance Association.
Sean Kaye, BA • EMS Data Managers
Mr. Kaye is a specialist with the EMS Performance Improvement Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He began his career in 1991 as a National Guard Combat Medic and has worked in North Carolina as a volunteer and career firefighter and paramedic. At the EMS Performance Improvement Center, Mr. Kaye works with clients to utilize EMS data meaningfully to improve patient care.
John LeBlanc • State Highway Safety Directors
Lt. Colonel LeBlanc is the executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. Lt. Colonel LeBlanc previously served as the deputy superintendent of patrol at the Louisiana State Police where he directed nearly 600 uniformed officers and more than 100 non-commissioned personnel. He has over 30 years of law enforcement experience, including more than 26 years with the Louisiana State Police.
Nanfi Lubogo • Consumers
Ms. Lubogo is the co-executive director of PATH Parent to Parent/Family Voices of Connecticut, a network of families providing information and emotional support to others who have a child with development or health related needs. She is the mother of three children, ages 21, 15, and 9; her 15-year-old daughter is diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome, sleep apnea and other developmental disabilities.
David Lucas • Dispatcher/9-1-1
Mr. Lucas, a public safety consultant, is the former director of enhanced 9-1-1 for Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government in Kentucky. He implemented Lexington’s E911 system in 1996 and drafted Kentucky’s original wireless 9-1-1 legislation in 1998. He has served on several national committees with the National Emergency Number Association and currently chairs the Kentucky Commercial Mobile Radio Emergency Services Board.
Chad McIntyre • Air Medical
Mr. McIntyre has worked in EMS for over 20 years as a paramedic, educator and administrator. He is the manager of trauma and flight services for TraumaOne, part of the University of Florida Health System in Jacksonville. He also sits on the board of directors for both the International Association of Critical Care & Flight Paramedics and the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians where he also chairs the Committee on Emergency Pediatric Care.
Keith Monosky, PhD, MPM, Paramedic • EMS Educators
Dr. Monosky is program director for the EMS Paramedicine program and a tenured professor in the department of nutrition, exercise, and health sciences at Central Washington University. Previously, he held a similar position at The George Washington University. A textbook author and an educator-at-large for the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education Programs, Dr. Monosky began his career in EMS in 1971.
Anne Montera, BSN • Public Health
Ms. Montera has 17 years of nursing experience in public health, labor and delivery, patient safety, quality improvement, and EMS coordination in urban and rural hospitals and community settings. Currently, she serves as a public health nurse consultant, assisting with program development and stakeholder engagement on projects around the country. She is the co-creator and public health partner for the first National Community Paramedic Pilot Program in Eagle, Colo., where she resides.
Terry Mullins, MBA • State EMS Directors
Mr. Mullins is chief of the Bureau of EMS at the Arizona Department of Health Services. Mullins previously served as the Trauma-EMS Technical Assistance Center Manager at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and has assisted NHTSA with several state EMS system assessments.
Steven Pawlak, MS, BS • Emergency Management
Mr. Pawlak is the manager of emergency readiness for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and has been involved with EMS since 1986, working in both New Brunswick and Newark, N.J. He has also served as a uniformed officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the New York Field Office as a hazardous materials team operator, an independent duty paramedic, and a member of the Rapid Deployment Team.
Vincent Robbins, MS, FACHE • Hospital-based EMS
Since 1990, Mr. Robbins has served as the president and CEO of MONOC, New Jersey’s largest EMS and mobile healthcare shared-service hospital cooperative. While leading MONOC, the company has grown to include 15 member hospitals and employ over 750 people. Mr. Robbins also serves as secretary of the National EMS Management Association and as a member of the editorial board of EMS World magazine.
Freddie Rodriguez • State/Local Legislative Bodies
Mr. Rodriguez is a member of the California State Assembly, a former Pomona City Councilmember, and has served as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in the San Gabriel Valley for over 29 years. In 2006, he was awarded the Star of Life Award by the California Ambulance Association for his service during the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita recovery efforts.
Manish Shah, MD • Pediatric Emergency Physicians
Dr. Shah is an assistant professor and co-director of research education for the Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Emergency Medicine, in Houston, Texas. He has directed the Emergency Medical Services for Children State Partnership in Texas since 2009 and is a recipient of two EMS for Children grants to develop, implement, and measure outcomes after implementation of evidence-based, standardized pediatric prehospital protocols in Texas and New England.
John Sinclair • Fire-based EMS
Mr. Sinclair is the fire chief and emergency manager for the Kittitas Valley Fire Rescue Department in Ellensburg, Washington. The 130-member department utilizes career and volunteer personnel to provide fire and EMS coverage. Mr. Sinclair is active in the International Association of Fire Chiefs and serves on its board of directors.
Lynn White, MS • EMS Researchers
Ms. White is the national director of resuscitation and accountable care for American Medical Response, and an adjunct assistant professor at The Ohio State University School of Medicine, where she was previously the clinical research manager in the Department of Emergency Medicine. She serves on the board of directors for the National Association of EMS Physicians and is a member of the editorial board for Prehospital Emergency Care.
Since its creation in 2007, NEMSAC has played a key role in enhancing communication between EMS providers and agencies collaborating on EMS at the federal level. Its recommendations helped shape the strategic plan adopted by FICEMS in 2014 and have paved the way for several critical efforts to improve local EMS systems and the quality of EMS care delivered across the nation.
Stay connected with NHTSA: Search for open recalls with VIN look up | Download the Safercar Mobile App for Apple or Android devices | Receive recall alerts by email | Visit us on Facebook.com/NHTSA | Follow us on Twitter.com/NHTSAgov | Watch 5-Star Safety Ratings crash tests on YouTube.com/USDOTNHTSA | SaferCar.gov