PHT Committee

• Dennis Rowe, Paramedic, PHT Chair

  

  Dennis Rowe, Paramedic, is director of Government and Industry Relations for Priority Ambulance Corporation based in Knoxville, Tenn. In 2018, Priority was named Inc. Magazine’s 521st fastest growing company. Prior to this role, he had been the company's director of new business Integration and director of operations. 
  
  

  Dennis has extensive experience in emergency services in Tennessee. He spent 17 years at Rural-Metro Corporation, providing oversight of basic life support (BLS), advanced life support (ALS) and critical care ambulance transports for Knox County. Previously, he was the trauma coordinator for the Level One Trauma Center at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. He was actively involved in research publications, Trauma Center financial analysis, injury prevention and day-to-day operations. Before moving to the surgery department, Dennis was part of the UT LIFESTAR helicopter program startup team.

  Dennis is an instructor and has participated in medical research projects in the Knox County/East Tennessee area. He has served as president of the Tennessee Ambulance Service Association and on the Tennessee EMS Divisions Clinical Issues Committee. Also, he serves as a board member on the National Trauma Institute’s board of directors. Dennis currently serves on the Tennessee Board of Emergency Medical Services. He is a longtime member of NAEMT and has served on the Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Committee, NAEMT Bylaws Committee and on numerous other committees and appointed liaison positions.

  
  

• Col. (Ret) Warren Dorlac, MD, FACS, USAF, PHTLS Medical Director

  Col. (Ret) Warren C. Dorlac, MD, FACS, USAF, is a trauma and acute care surgeon and Medical Director of the Trauma/Acute Care Surgery Service at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, part of the University of Colorado Health. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma and serves on the EMS committee and the Trauma Systems committee. He has worked with the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Committee on military prehospital care since 2008.

  Warren has an interest in prehospital care, aeromedical transport and trauma care research. He served on active duty with the USAF for 26 years, retiring in Oct 2011. Military assignments and duties included: Trauma Medical Director at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany 2004-2007, Director of the advanced Critical Care Air Transport Team program, 2007-2011, Trauma Consultant to the USAF Surgeon General 2008-2011, and Central Command (CENTCOM) Joint Theater Trauma System Director in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009.

  
  

• Andrew Pollak, MD, PHTLS Medical Editor

  Dr. Andrew Pollak is The James Lawrence Kernan Professor of Orthopaedics and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He also serves as Chief of Orthopaedics for the University of Maryland Medical System. Andrew previously served as Chief of Orthopaedics at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center where he has worked clinically since 1994.

  Andrew received BS and MD degrees from Northwestern University and completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals of Cleveland program and a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at the University of California Davis Medical Center.

  Andrew has been involved in prehospital emergency care since 1981 in multiple capacities including volunteer firefighter/EMT, EMS flight physician and fire surgeon. He currently serves as Medical Director of the Baltimore County Fire Department, Special Deputy US Marshal and Editor of the AAOS EMS Orange Book Series.

  He has served previously on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is a Past President of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association and the Maryland Orthopaedic Association. He currently serves as a Commissioner for the Maryland Health Care Commission.
  
  

• Captain Meg Morgan, MD, FACS, PHTLS Associate Medical Director

  Dr. Margaret Morgan is a surgeon in Trauma, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery at the UC Health Memorial Central, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Following medical school, Dr. Morgan entered the active Naval service, completing a transitional year internship at the Naval Medical Center San Diego and then spending the next several years on active duty as a Flight Surgeon.
  
  While in the Navy, Dr. Morgan participated in humanitarian missions in the Western Pacific and deployed multiple times in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. She then completed her residency in General Surgery at Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania prior to moving to New Orleans where she did her fellowship training in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care at LSU. Dr. Morgan remains in the military as a reservist and is currently serving as the Wing Surgeon for the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, United States Marine Forces Reserve. 

  
  

• Alexander L. Eastman, MD, MPH, FACS, FAEMS, Tactical Medical Editor

  Medical Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  Lieutenant and Chief Medical Officer, Dallas Police Department

  Dr. Alexander Eastman serves as the Senior Medical Officer at the United States Department of Homeland Security.  Responsible for protecting the United States from all threats foreign and domestic, his responsibilities are headquartered in the new Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office.  There he works in the coordination/provision of operational medicine across DHS components as well as countering threats to the U.S. worldwide and is a Title 19 Cross Designated LEO with Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

  A graduate with distinction of the George Washington University School of Medicine, he completed his general surgery and two fellowships at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School/Parkland Memorial Hospital.  He is board-certified in General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Medical Services and has a Master’s Degree in Public Health from The University of Texas Health Science Center--Houston.  Dr. Eastman is the former Chief of the Rees-Jones Trauma Center at Parkland Memorial Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and is still a practicing trauma surgeon. His research interests include the prehospital care of the injured, application of stress inoculation/mitigation techniques to surgical training, novel methods of hemostasis, cost effective wound care and the interface between medicine, law enforcement and public health and he continues to be a practicing trauma / acute care surgeon.

  In addition to the above, Dr. Eastman remains an active Dallas Police Department lieutenant and is currently assigned to their SWAT unit and as the Department’s lead medical officer.  He is actively involved in national planning for law enforcement medical support through The USDOJ’s Officer Safety and Wellness Group, the Committee on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care, and The Hartford Consensus Working Group.  He serves as the Medical Director for the Major Cities Chiefs Association and is a Special Deputy United States Marshal, assigned as a Task Force Officer to the Fugitive Task Force in the Northern District of Texas.

  Dr. Eastman was recently awarded the Dallas Police Department Medal of Valor for actions taken during the July 7, 2016 police ambush and has been previously honored as an Outstanding Young Alumni (2014) from The University of Texas at Austin, the Joe C. Jones Reserve Officer of the Year (2013) and Officer of the Year (2014) from the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Police Association.

   

• Frank Butler, MD, Military Medical Advisor

  Dr. Butler is a retired Navy Undersea Medical Officer and an ophthalmologist who served as a Navy SEAL platoon commander prior to attending medical school. He spent most of his career in Navy Medicine supporting the Special Operations community, and was the first Navy physician selected to serve as the Command Surgeon for the U.S. Special Operations Command. He chairs the Department of Defense’s Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC) and helps to ensure optimal battlefield trauma care for our country’s wounded service men and women.
  
  

  Frank has worked with PHTLS and NAEMT since 1999, helping to maintain an ongoing dialogue between military and civilian sectors on prehospital trauma care issues. He also spent five years at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit and helped pioneer numerous advances in SEAL diving capabilities. As director of the SEAL Biomedical Research Program for 15 years, Frank's landmark projects included refractive surgery in the military, the Naval Special Warfare decompression computer, and TCCC. He serves as co-chair of the Decompression Sickness and Arterial Gas Embolism Treatment Committee for the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society. Frank was awarded the U.S. Special Operations Command Medal in 2012 and the New Orleans Grand Isle (NOGI) Award for Distinguished Service to the diving community in 2011.

  
  

• Anthony S. Harbour, BSN, MEd, RN, NRP

  

  Anthony S. Harbour, BSN, MEd, RN, NRP began his EMS career in 1976 and he has over 42 years’ experience in EMS in both career and volunteer roles.  He currently is an Acute Care/EMS Educator with the Center for Trauma and Critical Care Education at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.  Anthony is volunteer Paramedic with the Goochland County Fire-Rescue Department where he serves on the Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement Committee.  He holds a BS in Health Occupations Education, a BSN in Nursing, and a Master of Education in Adult Education and Training with a focus on EMS education.

  Anthony serves as an Affiliate Faculty for many of the NAEMT Educational Programs and he formerly served as the Virginia PHTLS Coordinator from 1989 to 2016.  He serves as Executive Director of Southern Virginia EMS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit EMS education organization he co-founded in 1983. Through Southern Virginia EMS, Anthony has assisted Virginia EMS agencies to establish NAEMT Training Centers and to roll out NAEMT Educational Programs around the Commonwealth.  He has presented TECC and PTEP Provider courses at the Virginia EMS Symposium in 2016 and 2018 respectively.  In 2016, Anthony was the recipient of the Regional Award for EMS Excellence from the Old Dominion EMS Alliance and a nominee for the 2016 Virginia Governor's Award for EMS Excellence.  Anthony is an avid amateur radio operator and he enjoys attending cultural events and going on nature hikes.

  
  

• Jim McKendry, BSc, Paramedic

  Jim graduated from the University of Manitoba with a BSc prior to working as a licensed Advanced Care Paramedic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He has worked as a paramedic and paramedic educator for 28 years for the City of Winnipeg and as a paramedic educator for 2 years with Red River College. He received the EMS Exemplary Service Medal for his work from the Governor General of Canada in 2009. Jim also volunteers as a Director with the Paramedic Association of Manitoba and is the PHTLS Provincial Coordinator.

  Jim lives with his wife of 28 years, 3 dogs, and 3 cats. In his spare time, he builds cedar strip kayaks and competes in open water swimming events (the two hobbies are unrelated). His favorite open water event is the Sharkfest Alcatraz swim which he has completed 4 times.

• Joanne Piccininni, MBA, NRP, MICP

  Joanne Piccininni, MBA, NRP, MICP is the Paramedic Science Program Director and Assistant Professor at Bergen Community College in Lyndhurst, NJ. She began her EMS career in 1992 as a volunteer EMT, obtained her paramedic certification in 1997 and is a practicing paramedic with Hackensack University Medical Center and The Valley Hospital in New Jersey. Joanne served as the clinical coordinator and educator since 2006 for Chilton Memorial Hospital EMS and subsequently The Valley Hospital Emergency Services. She is a member of the New Jersey Office of EMS Mobile ICU Advisory Committee (MAC), the New Jersey Association of Paramedic Programs (NJAPP), and the National Association of EMS Physicians, New Jersey Chapter (NAEMSP). 

  Beginning in 1998 as a PHTLS instructor, Joanne has served as affiliate faculty for many NAEMT education programs. Since 2016 she has been the NAEMT Education Coordinator for New Jersey. Joanne has contributed to developing education materials for NAEMT courses including PHTLS, AMLS, RECERT, GEMS, and the new NAEMT-IAFC First on the Scene (FOTS) course. She represented NAEMT as an AMLS instructor at the Paramedics Across Canada Expo (PACE) in 2017, served as GEMS course coordinator at the New Jersey Statewide Conference on EMS, and has presented at The National Conference on EMS in New Jersey, EMS World EXPO, and Human Patient Simulation Network by CAE Healthcare.

  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Montclair State University, a Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia Southern University, and is currently working on a Doctor of Education with a concentration in Teaching and Learning through the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.

  
  

• Jean-Cyrille Pitteloud, MD, DEAA

  J.C. Pitteloud is head of anesthesiology in HJBE Hospital in the canton of Bern Switzerland and chair of the board for Acute Care Anesthesia of the Swiss Society of Anesthesiology (SGAR).
  
  J.C. Pitteloud was born in Zurich Switzerland. He received his medical degree from  Zurich University, and completed anesthesiology residency in Geneva and Lausanne. He served as a flight physician for REGA Swiss Air rescue and Air Glaciers rescue flight in the Swiss Alps, while acting as an anesthesiologist and EMS Physician in Valais County Trauma Center in western Switzerland, and as Medical advisor for Edelweiss SWAT Team.

  He is lecturer at Zurich University, Geneva Paramedic School, Medi Bern Paramedic school and for the Swiss Military. He has been teaching abroad in Lebanon, Brazil and Mexico. He is a National Coordinator for NAEMT Switzerland Prehospital Education, and has been teaching ATLS, TCCC and PHTLS for almost 15 years.
  
  

• Mark Litwinko, NR-AEMT

  Lt. Mark Litwinko is a 15-year veteran with the Fort Wayne (IN) Fire Department and currently serves as an Engine Company Officer and ALS Medic in the Combat/Fire Suppression Division. He is a member of the Hazardous Materials and Water Rescue Special Operations Teams and serves as a Tactical Medic with Fort Wayne (IN) Police Departments Emergency Services Team. In 2013 he oversaw the design, implementation and training of the FWFD/FWPD Rescue Task Force program in response to High-Threat Incidents. In addition to his operational duties he served two years in the FWFD education department as Academy Instructor for the 88^th and 89^th Fire/EMS academy classes. Mark also served 11 years as an Advanced-EMT with Three Rivers Ambulance Authority in Fort Wayne.

  In addition to his career public safety duties, Mark has been a primary H.O.T Instructor and classroom presenter for the past several years at the Fire Department Instructor Conference (FDIC) and teaches regularly for the Indiana Dept. of Homeland Security, providing Rescue Task Force and TECC education throughout the state.

  As an Instructor and Affiliate Faculty with NAEMT he assisted with beta delivery of the TECC 2.0, provided guidance, authoring and finalizing for the new TECC-LEO curriculum and was appointed to the Prehospital Trauma Committee for 2020.

  Mark has a Bachelor of Science in Hazardous Materials Management from the University of Findlay (OH) and holds numerous certifications in firefighting, emergency medical services, leadership, and emergency services training.  He has been awarded several Meritorious Service and Excellence of service awards during his career.  He currently resides in Fort Wayne (IN) with his wife (Teri) and their two sons.

  
  

• Brian Simonson, BS, NRP, CHEC

  Brian Simonson BS, NRP, CHEC has 30 years of experience in the pre-hospital emergency medicine setting, starting as a volunteer, then working for a paid 911 system. Brian’s career has taken him through 15 years of critical care transport. He has been with New Hanover Regional Medical Center for 25 years. He assisted in building, and has served on, the trauma center’s flight team, and has served as a clinical staff paramedic in the emergency department. Currently, Brian is also the center’s Southeastern North Carolina Regional Advisory Committee trauma coordinator. As part of his duties, Brian serves as the State Regional Advisory Committee chair, a sub-committee of the North Carolina State Trauma Advisory Committee (STAC). Brian is also an active member of the STAC education, research, and systems sub-committees.

  Brian is affiliate faculty with the American College of Surgeons and the NAEMT, and serves as faculty for the American Heart Association. He is an active instructor/ coordinator for ATLS, DMEP, PHTLS, AHDR, RTTDC, HERT, ASSET, ALICE, and Stop the Bleed. Brian holds several certifications, including disaster medical specialist, hospital emergency coordinator, and confined space rescue technician. Brian has served in the United States Army and the United States Navy Reserve and is completing his MBA with a focus in Healthcare Administration at Columbia Southern University.