By Bill Carey
EMS1
ST. PETERS, Mo. — After a national search, St. Charles County Ambulance District (SCCAD) has announced the selection of Dr. David K. Tan, MD, EMT-T, FAEMS, as chief medical officer – medical director.
Tan’s appointment as chief medical officer makes him the first full-time EMS physician in the State of Missouri. Since 2006, Dr. Tan has served as associate medical director for SCCAD, focusing on the Tactical EMS Unit aligned with the St. Charles County Regional SWAT Team, and the medical specialists serving with St. Louis Metro Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 1.
A double board-certified subject matter expert in the field of Emergency Medicine and EMS Medicine, Dr. Tan was a professor and EMS Division Chief at the Washington University School of Medicine and an attending emergency physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, a certified Level 1 Trauma Center.
Dr. Tan’s contributions to the advancement of prehospital medicine extend beyond St. Charles County. He has served as president of the National Association of EMS Physicians and is vice chair of the Missouri State Advisory Council on EMS. He is also chair of the Metropolitan St. Louis Emergency Transport Oversight Commission. His professional honors include Fellowships from the Academy of EMS and American Academy of Emergency Medicine, and in 2011 he was named Physician of the Year by the Missouri EMS Association.
Dr. Tan is also a member of the EMS1.com Editorial Advisory Board. He provides medical direction to EMS1.com and the EMS1 Academy and is an expert columnist and contributor.