Although Hagen doesn’t expect to create systemic change, he hopes to look for ways to continue to move the organization forward. “I’ve always been a strong system advocate,” he says.
In his 19 years with Ada County, Hagen worked as assistant director, supervisor and paramedic. He served as the Ada County paramedics director since 2004. Hagen began his career in EMS working as an EMT at Brookings (S.D.) Hospital, now Brookings Health System, while attending South Dakota State University.
In addition, Hagen is the current president of the National EMS Management Association.
For more than 40 years, Care Ambulance has provided EMS transportation services to Orange and Los Angeles counties. In 2010, the company was purchased by Falck. According to its website, Care Ambulance maintains a fleet of 135 ambulances and responds to more than 190,000 requests for service annually.
Hagen replaces Rick Richardson, son of the founder and co-owner with brother Dan Richardson. After the purchase by Falck, Rick Richardson stayed on as president and CEO. He will remain a member of the board of directors, along with his brother.
The Board of Ada County Commissioners has appointed Paramedics Deputy Director Darby Weston to serve as interim director.
Meanwhile, Hagen says that he and his wife and three sons are excited to be in California, especially his sons. “We don’t have a lot of beaches in Boise,” he says. Hagen’s wife, the executive director of the American College of Clinical Information Managers, plans to work for the organization remotely.
“We think this is the right move for both of us,” he says.
REMSA President Patrick Smith resigns for health-related reasons
Patrick Smith announced Jan. 21 that he is stepping down, effective immediately, as president of Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) in Reno, Nev., due to health issues.
Jim Gubbels, REMSA’s chief administrative officer and second in command at REMSA since 1995, has been named interim president by the organization’s board of directors.
REMSA is a private, non-profit regional authority, providing ground and air ambulance EMS services for northern Nevada, including the cities of Sparks and Reno. REMSA’s Care Flight helicopter also covers northeastern California.
Smith joined REMSA in 1989. He was a key player in helping REMSA to land one of only three EMS-focused Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Healthcare Innovation Grants this past year. During his tenure, REMSA achieved numerous international and national EMS and medical dispatch achievements and accreditations.
REMSA operates the only accredited medical dispatch center in Nevada and was also unique nationally in its simultaneous achievement of accreditation in critical care air transport, critical care ambulance transport and ALS ambulance services.
