Prehospital care is a crucial component of the emergency care spectrum. Duke Emergency Medicine has always strived to be a leader in this area primarily with a long-standing relationship with Durham County EMS, the sole provider of 9-1-1 response in Durham County. Over the last few years, Duke Emergency Medicine has seen significant growth in this area and is currently in the process of formally creating the Section for Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Medicine. The services and scope of responsibilities that our faculty provide expertise and oversight in have also expanded. The group currently provides medical direction to several different services and agencies, including Durham County EMS, Wake County EMS, Duke Life Flight, the City of Durham HEART team, and the Emergency Department Paramedic program. Additionally, we have expanded our role in disaster medicine and emergency preparedness through providing the roles of Medical Advisor for the Duke State Medical Assistance Team, Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness at Duke University Hospital, and Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness at the Durham VA Medical Center.
Research
From a research perspective, EMS faculty have published in several areas of prehospital medicine, including falls risk, prehospital blood product administration, pediatric airway management, DEI in the EMS workforce, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, falls, and global prehospital emergency care system development. Faculty have led preconference workshops and presented didactics and research findings at several national conferences over the last few years, including Eso Wave, SAEM, and the National Association of EMS physicians.
Future Directions
As the section continues to grow, we envision the creation of an ACGME-accredited fellowship which will allow us to train the next generation of EMS physicians and continued growth through providing high-quality medical direction to local EMS agencies and specialty programs.
Our Faculty
Anjni Joiner, DO
Associate Professor
Medical Director, Durham County EMS
Medical Director for Prehospital Medicine, Duke University Hospita
Erin Hanlin, MD
Assistant Professor
Associate Medical Director, Durham County EMS
Medical Advisor, Duke SMAT
Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness, Duke University Hospital
Jason Thieling, MD
Associate Professor
Medical Director, LifeFlight
JJ Hoff, MD
Assistant Professor
Assistant Medical Director, LifeFlight
Andrew Godfrey, MD
Assistant Professor
Associate Medical Director, Wake County EMS
Jessica Wanthal, MD
Medical Instructor
Medical Director, Duke ED Paramedics
Medical Director, City of Durham HEART Team
Assistant Medical Director, Durham County EMS