EMS Hall of Fame: The Pioneers of Prehospital Care—Dawson, Stoy

The short history of EMS has been driven by the wisdom, foresight, and innovation of countless individuals. As the field ages into its second half-century and its origins fade to the past, it’s worth commemorating the greatest pioneers of prehospital emergency medical services. This series honors these trailblazers. 

Drew Dawson

State, national EMS leader

Born in Boulder, Mont., Drew Dawson rose from a volunteer EMT to director of the Boulder Volunteer Ambulance Service and ultimately Montana state EMS training coordinator and then director, a position he held for more than 20 years. 

In 2003 he moved into a national role at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), leading its Office of EMS and overseeing the development and implementation of its programs and activities. There he helped establish both the National EMS Advisory Council (NEMSAC), a stakeholder group to advise federal policy, and the Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Services (FICEMS), the coordinating body among federal agencies involved in EMS. 

Dawson served in this role for 12 years before returning to Montana. Back in Boulder he has remained involved both locally, as chair of the Boulder Transition Advisory Council and a member of the city council, and on the national EMS scene, where he’s served as interim executive director of the NREMT. 

He has served as president of the National Association of State EMS Directors (Officials) and chair of the NREMT’s board. His awards include the NAEMT’s/NREMT’s Rocco V. Morando Award for Lifetime Achievement in EMS; an Outstanding Contribution in Emergency Medical Services award from ACEP; an Eagles Award from the International Association of EMS Chiefs; the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Meritorious Contributions to the Health and Well Being of Children, Youth and Families; an NREMT Special Recognition; the NAEMSP’s Ronald D. Stewart Award for Outstanding Contributions to Prehospital Emergency Care; and the National Association of EMS Educators’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Walt Stoy, PhD, EMT-P, CCEMT-P 

EMS education leader

Walt Stoy, PhD, EMT-P, CCEMT-P, is a professor and director of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the director of educational and international emergency medicine at the Center for Emergency Medicine. He is globally recognized for his work in the field of EMS education, which has included key roles in developing the EMS National Standard Curricula and serving as the founding president of the National Association of EMS Educators. 

Stoy came to the CEM and started teaching EMS and emergency medicine at Pitt in 1981. Around that time he attended his first meeting of what would ultimately grow into the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP). Stoy ultimately became a reader and site visitor for CoAEMSP.

He served as project director for the 1998 EMT-Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic NSC revisions and was principal investigator for both the national guidelines for first aid training curriculum and 1994 EMT-B update. He was also project director for the 1995 First Responder revision. In the 2000s he oversaw the four levels of EMS patient assessment sections in the National EMS Education Standards. 

Stoy has written more than 60 instructional guides and published work that includes instructional guides for multiple EMS instructional series. He has authored Mosby’s EMT-Basic and first responder textbooks and is an instructor or affiliate faculty in ACLS, BTLS, and PALS. He has received 
lifetime achievement awards from both NAEMSE and NAEMT, as well as the James O. Page EMS Leadership Award. 

John Erich is the senior editor of EMS World.