CLINTON, Miss. — Captain Frank K. Butler, Jr., (USN ret), MD was presented with the 2018 Rocco V. Morando Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing a lifetime of commitment, contributions and leadership to Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The award is NAEMT’s most prestigious and is generously sponsored by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT). The presentation was made during NAEMT’s annual General Membership Meeting in Nashville on Oct. 30.
Dr. Butler has conducted, promoted and applied the results of military health system research in his roles as a founder of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and Director of the Prehospital Care Branch of the Joint Trauma System and the Department of Defense Center of Excellence for Trauma.
Bill Seifarth, Executive Director of NREMT remarks, “Dr. Butler has contributed greatly to the medical field, in particular the military medicine. His focus and attention to detail have resulted in many advancements, namely championing addressing preventable deaths. His systematic approach transferred the knowledge gained from the battlefield to the civilian arena. As a result, more lives are being saved... everyday.”
Dr. Butler’s work in trauma care was first recognized in 1996 when he co-authored a landmark paper in a Military Medicine journal which introduced the concept of TCCC. As a guideline customized for use on the battlefield, TCCC aimed to address preventable causes of combat death by optimizing care given prior to arrival to a fixed medical facility. An important innovation proposed in the paper was recognition of the need in battle to rectify both good tactics and good medicine.
The TCCC guidelines were first adopted by U.S. Special Operations Command, Navy SEAL Teams, Army Rangers, and Air Force Pararescue and endorsed by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma and NAEMT. The guidelines, updated every year, are now followed by combat medics, forward operating bases, medical evacuation teams and surgeons in both the military and civilian sectors in the U.S. and abroad.
Dennis Rowe, President of NAEMT states, “Dr. Butler’s name is synonymous with prehospital and battlefield trauma care. He has dedicated his life’s work to ensuring medics are trained to the highest possible standard for combat medical providers, and that they have the full support of their senior medical providers and line commanders. Dr. Frank Butler is a most deserving recipient of this award and we are grateful for his lifelong efforts and dedication to advance the medical care of those who bravely serve our country in all military branches.”
In 2002, Dr. Butler worked with then NAEMT Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Medical Director Dr. Norman McSwain to include his findings and best practices in battlefield prehospital trauma care in a military version of the PHTLS textbook. NAEMT has since published additional versions with military chapters written by Dr. Butler and his colleagues at the Committee on TCCC that document the medical science behind the TCCC guidelines and curriculum.
Dr. Butler has been integral in building bridges of learning between military and civilian trauma care. He has been instrumental in transferring knowledge gained on the battlefield to address critical civilian trauma challenges. He has been key to the national Stop The Bleed Campaign sponsored by the White House.
Dr. Butler’s relentless pursuit of advancements in military prehospital trauma care has earned the respect of prehospital trauma care providers worldwide. Lessons learned from TCCC are adopted and applied in just about every country on our planet. Globally, Dr. Butler is the single most recognized and respected voice in prehospital trauma care.
About NAEMT
Formed in 1975 and more than 65,000 members strong, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) is the nation’s only organization that represents and serves the professional interests of all EMS practitioners, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, emergency medical responders, and other professionals providing prehospital and out-of-hospital emergent, urgent or preventive medical care.