NAEMT presented Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) with the inaugural Field EMS Bill Legislator of the Year Award at the March 26 EMS On The Hill Day. This prestigious award recognizes a member of Congress who demonstrates extraordinary support of EMS and our pursuit to pass H.R. 809, the Field EMS Quality, Innovation and Cost-Effectiveness Improvement Act (also known as the "Field EMS Bill").

“I am honored to receive the Legislator of the Year Award from NAEMT for my work on Emergency Medical Services,” said Heck. “My career in public service began 37 years ago as a volunteer ambulance attendant/firefighter in rural Pennsylvania and it was EMS that motivated me to a career in medicine. The presentation was especially meaningful, coming from former Henderson Fire Department Paramedic and North Las Vegas EMS Chief Bruce Evans!”

The Legislator of the Year Award was presented in front of nearly 200 grateful EMS On The Hill Day participants, who had just completed nearly 250 congressional office visits. “Rep. Heck has the gratitude of EMS across the nation, and we are fortunate to have his vision and experience behind EMS on Capitol Hill,” asserted NAEMT President Don Lundy.

Elected to Congress in 2010, Rep. Heck has more than 25 years in public service as a physician, Army Reservist, and community volunteer. A Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, he was called to active duty three times, including a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.