EMS Shark Tank: Drs. Ed Racht and Joelle Donofrio-Odmann

EMS recognition and appreciation in the house of medicine

June 22, 2022 11:53 AM •

This episode of EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.

In this edition of EMS One-Stop, Host Rob Lawrence welcomes Ed Racht, MD, chief medical officer at Global Medical Response; and Joelle Donofrio-Odmann, DO, deputy chief medical officer, San Diego Fire Department, to discuss what the future holds for EMS. The discussion focuses on how we get others in the house of medicine to realize what we do and appreciate it.

EMS1 is the premier media partner at the Pinnacle EMS conference, and Rob, Mike and Remle are also part of this year’s Pinnacle Shark Tank Innovation Generator pre-conference session. In this series of podcasts, the EMS cast of the Shark Tank will join Rob to discuss their own hot topics.

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Rob Lawrence

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for EMS1 and is a member of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.