PEMS Announces the 2023 Regional EMS Award Winners

  PEMS 2023 Regional EMS Award Winners

The Peninsulas Emergency Medical Services (PEMS) Council, Inc., is proud to announce the 2023 Regional EMS award winners recognizing the outstanding achievements and notable work of individuals, agencies, organizations and facilities who provide emergency medical services in the PEMS region (Peninsula, Middle Peninsula, and Northern Neck).  PEMS held its annual Regional EMS Awards Ceremony at Busch Gardens to give special recognition to our nominees and award winners.  

This year’s theme EMS: Where Emergency Care Begins!

This relevant message for those in the EMS profession reminds us that every day we are faced with so many new challenges in our lives.  Yet, we still rise above them all and continue to respond, support, and care for the needs of our communities. 

EMS Strong reminds us that strength in our field can be found in a variety of ways: bravery, self-sacrifice, passion, and dedication.  Those in EMS are challenged to find both physical and mental strength daily.  As we come together this year for what has become our annual “Celebrate EMS” Day at Busch Gardens, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the EMS profession and those supporting them for their vital contributions.  

 

“Most of us tend to take for granted that when we need it, we will have ready-access to a comprehensive, coordinated and efficient Emergency Medical Care System (EMS) system provided by caring, knowledgeable and skilled clinicians. That kind of a system does not just happen. It is the result of tens-of-thousands of hours of hard work, undertaken by thousands of dedicated individuals’, said Michael Player, Executive Director of the Peninsulas EMS Council, Inc.

“Recognizing the excellence in our EMS system through the Regional EMS Awards program, is critical to ensuring that their hard work does not go unnoticed, unappreciated, and most importantly, unsupported. The Peninsulas EMS Council is proud to showcase its high-performance system, and the individuals and agencies selected by their peers, who make our communities a better and safer place to live and work.”

Recipients of this year’s regional awards will have the chance to compete for the prestigious 2023 Governor’s EMS Awards, which will be announced later this year at the Annual Virginia EMS Symposium. Winners will be presented with a trophy and a certificate signed by the Governor.

The 2023 Peninsulas EMS Council Regional Award Recipients:

• Excellence in EMS (Michael B. Player Award) – Chief Ryan T. Ashe, James City County Fire Department
• Outstanding EMS Leadership (Russell Lowry, Jr. Award) – EMS Chief Lewis A. Kerns, Gloucester County Volunteer Fire and Rescue
• Outstanding EMS Agency – James City County Fire Department
• Outstanding Prehospital Provider (Joseph B. Howard Award) – Master Firefighter/Paramedic Jeremy E. LeFever, Newport News Fire Department
• Innovation Excellence in EMS – Captain Michael B. Stinson, York County Department of Fire and Life Safety
• Outstanding Contribution to EMS by a Physician (Gaylord W. Ray, M.D. Award) – Dr. Benjamin D. Nicholson, Operational Medical Director for VCU Health LifeEvac and Lancaster County EMS
• Outstanding Contribution to EMS by a Nurse (Melissa Holloway, R.N. Award) – Matthew J. Jensen, RN, VCU LifeEvac
• Outstanding Prehospital Educator – Philip N. Shahan, EMS Adjunct Instructor at Rappahannock Community College
• Outstanding Contribution to EMS for Children – Middlesex County Volunteer Rescue Squad - Camp Rescue
• Outstanding Contribution to EMS Health and Safety – James City County Fire Department
• Outstanding EMS Telecommunications Dispatcher – Brooke Tidwell, Public Safety Specialist II for Newport News Police Department
• Outstanding Contribution to EMS Preparedness and Response – Doug Smith, Riverside Health System
• Outstanding Contribution to EMS by a High School Senior ($1,000 Scholarship) – Joshua Craig, Gloucester Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad
• Outstanding EMS Call - Newport News Fire Department - Response to the Richneck Elementary School Shooting and the York County Department of Fire and Life Safety for its Response to the Interstate 64 Party Bus Crash

President’s Awards:

• Exceptional Services for the PEMS Council as Board Member 2017-2023 - Trisha Anest, MD, System Medical Director, US Acute Care Solutions, Bon Secours Mercy Health Virginia
• Exceptional Services for the PEMS Council as Board Member 2020-2023 - Bradley Beam, NRP, Chief of Emergency Services, Amherst County, Virginia
• Exceptional Services for the PEMS Council 2019-2023 - Eleanor Erwin, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician, Sentara facilities on the Southside as well as the Williamsburg Regional Medical Center on the Peninsula, and OMD for Eastern State Ambulance
• Exceptional Services for the PEMS Council 2009-2023 - Kimberly Harper, RN, Director of Patient and Team Member Safety, Riverside Health System 
• Exceptional Services for the PEMS Council 2019-2023 - Jeff T. Sensenig, DO, Emergency Medicine Physician, Riverside Walter Reed Hospital
• Exceptional Services for the PEMS Council 2012-2023 - Frank Wingfield, Realtor, Virginia Country Realty

PEMS Partnership Awards:

• Platinum Partnership Award – Riverside Health System
• Gold Partnership Award – Sentara Healthcare
• Silver Partnership Award – Busch Gardens Williamsburg
• Silver Partnership Award - Bon Secours
• Bronze Partnership Award – VCU Health
• Bronze Partnership Award - Chesapeake Bank/Chesapeake Wealth Management

PEMS Special Recognition Awards

• Moulage Artistry Courses - Robert S. Ryalls, NRP, National Fire Academy Instructor, Retired EMS Chief James City County Fire Department, Master Chief Retired United States Navy
• Design and Retrofit of the Medication Kits - Travis Veach, NRP, Newport News Fire Captain and the PEMS EMS Field Coordinator - Operations

 Thanks to the PEMS Board of Directors, PEMS Awards Committee, PEMS Staff, and the generous financial support of our Partners for making this year's EMS Awards Celebration a success!