AMR Appoints Leading EMS Physician As New CMO

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – American Medical Response (AMR) today announced the appointment of Edward Racht, M.D. to the newly created position of Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Racht has been an emergency medical services physician and educator for more than 20 years. A widely recognized leader and frequent keynote speaker, Dr. Racht received his medical degree from the Emory University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Racht will join AMR effective September 20, 2010.

Prior to joining AMR, Dr. Racht served as Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Piedmont Newnan Hospital in metro Atlanta. He has served as the Medical Director of the Austin / Travis County Emergency Medical Services System (Texas), Co-Medical Director of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia) and in multiple career and volunteer EMS organizations in Texas and Virginia. Dr. Racht is a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, and is an active member of the Medical Director’s Course faculty for the National Association of EMS Physicians. In 1999, he was appointed as the first Chairperson of the State of Texas EMS & Trauma Advisory Council, and served as Chair until 2008.

Dr. Racht has been extensively involved with the American Heart Association and has been active in international healthcare, serving as a consultant to the World Bank and as the American founder of the Vladivostok and Moscow, Russia, EMS Training Centers. Dr. Racht serves on multiple national and local committees and advisory boards, and is a frequent educational and keynote speaker on acute healthcare and the complexities of medical practice in the streets. He is well known for his “operationalizing medicine” initiatives and his passion for building integrated systems of care.

Mark Bruning, AMR President, said of Dr. Racht, “I am truly pleased to welcome a physician leader of Ed’s caliber to the AMR family. In his new role, he will work closely with our paramedics and EMTs, medical directors, clinical services professionals and operations leaders to advance our clinical commitments to excellence and the provision of quality emergency medical care. He will lead our efforts in delivering to our employees the training, education and clinical standards to ensure that the patients and communities we serve continue to receive the highest-quality level of pre-hospital services.”

About American Medical Response

American Medical Response Inc. (www.amr.net), America’s leading provider of medical transportation, provides services in 38 states and the District of Columbia. More than 17,000 AMR paramedics, EMTs, RNs and other professionals, with a fleet of 4,100 vehicles, transport more than three million patients nationwide each year in critical, emergency and non-emergency situations. AMR, a subsidiary of Emergency Medical Services Corporation, is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo.