Mike Williams, A Pioneer in the Field of EMS and Trauma Care, Passes Away

A major influence and benefactor of EMS and trauma care passed away on September 25 at the age of 72. Mike Williams, MPA/HSA, was best known as the Founder and President of The Abaris Group, a leading provider of EMS and trauma consulting in North America.

Mike discovered his love for EMS while growing up in Michigan. He realized that he could save more lives by moving into EMS leadership and influencing the care of all providers than by working in an ambulance. His first management jobs were as the EMS Director for Imperial and Orange Counties, California from 1974-1980. In Orange County, Mike recognized the need for organized trauma care. He established the first formal trauma system in the United States, creating a network of trauma centers covering the entire county. Following this success, Mike decided to begin consulting to benefit other regions of the country.

In 1980, Mike founded EMS System Design, eventually becoming The Abaris Group. For the next 43 years, Mike and his experienced group of consultants completed over 300 projects in the fields of EMS, trauma, emergency departments, patient throughput, health plans, etc. This led to many great opportunities, serving on several editorial and professional society boards, publishing hundreds of articles, and presenting at numerous national conferences. Some of his proudest accomplishments include creating dozens of new trauma centers, formalizing EMS systems, teaching emergency department design at Harvard, serving as Senior Faculty to The Robert Johnson Foundation, working with the Los Angeles Olympics EMS service, and being a charter member of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. The lives saved by Mike Williams are incalculable.

Mike is survived by his wife and business partner, Juliana Boyle. A celebration of life is being planned. A memorial scholarship has been arranged with the Department of Economics at the University of New Mexico. Anyone interested in contributing can visit econ.unm.edu/what-we-do/donate and select the Gerald and Vivian Boyle Memorial Graduate Student Award.

Bill Bullard, MBA, EFO, CFO, worked alongside Mike Williams from 1997 to 2019 as the Senior Vice President before starting his firm, Healthcare Strategists. He is extremely grateful for all the knowledge and experience he collected under Mike’s guidance.