Wake's Myers Named Top EMS Medical Director in U.S.

11/6/2006

Wake Commissioners recognized EMS  Medical Director Dr. Brent Myers today for being named 2006 EMS Medical Director of the Year by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT). The award was granted in recognition of Myers' leadership skills, dedication to improving the quality of emergency medical care, and innovation in system development and clinical care, according to NAEMT officials. In recognizing Dr. Myers, Commissioners' Chair Tony Gurley said, "Protecting the health of our citizens is a number one priority for Wake County government. We expect the best, and we know we're in good hands with Dr. Myers and his team."

Myers has established and expanded partnerships with Rex Hospital and WakeMed Raleigh for initiation of a cutting-edge procedure that gets cardiac arrest patients into the heart catheterization labs in a fraction of the time that it used to take -- and, at the same time, preventing death, stroke or second heart attack in one out of every 15 heart attack patients. Through those same partnerships, Myers has worked to implement the "induced hypothermia" procedure. Initiated by paramedics in the field, this procedure -- which reduces core body temperature of a cardiac arrest patient -- helps restore neurological function in one of six resuscitated cardiac arrest patients. This procedure is done in only three other EMS systems in the U.S. "Brent is setting a national example with his interest in EMS system performance generally, and performance measurement in particular," said Wake Public Safety Director John Rukavina. "As a result of his efforts, we have the evidence we need to undertake specific strategies that demonstrably result in lives saved."

Skip Kirkwood, Director of Wake County Public Safety's EMS Division notes that many EMS medical directors are office-bound, focusing on administrative oversight for paramedics' clinical care, "but Brent is different -- he oversees the work, but he’s out there on the street, teaching and guiding. He wants to see for himself what works and what doesn't, exploring where EMS can improve its care." Kirkwood pointed to last year's arrival of two planeloads of medical evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, where Myers was "in full hands-on mode," helping to unload and triage patients while guiding paramedics in management of more than 200 patients.

"Wake County has made our emergency medical system a priority," said Myers. "I feel that this award is really on behalf of all the people that make Wake County's EMS system work so well -- from the 9-1-1 emergency medical dispatchers to fire/rescue first responders and the EMS paramedics."

Myers oversees the emergency medical response performance and continuing education of 1,000 EMS advanced life-support providers, who respond to nearly 60,000 calls for help each year. He chairs the Wake County EMS System Peer Review and the North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians EMS committees. Myers earned his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994, his M.D. from Wake Forest University's Bowman-Gray School of Medicine in 1998, and his Master of Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002.

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