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Honoring heroism, courage and enduring sacrifice

National EMS Memorial Foundation and National EMS Memorial Bike Ride

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Photo/National EMS Memorial Bike Ride FB

This episode of EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.

In this edition of EMS One-Stop, Rob Lawrence welcomes Tony O’Brien (Boston EMS), treasurer of the National EMS Memorial Foundation and Tim Perkins (VA Office of EMS), board member of the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride.

Tony identifies a timetable and the progress towards establishing a permanent monument in the national capital to honor the heroism, courage and enduring sacrifice of all past, present and future EMS providers and to remember and celebrate the lives of those killed in the line of duty.

Tim outlines how the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride honors emergency medical services personnel by organizing and implementing long distance cycling events that memorialize and celebrate the lives of those who serve every day, those who have become sick or injured while performing their duties, and those who have died in the line of duty.

Tony explains that H.R. 1037 – the National EMS Memorial bill – was signed into law by President Donald Trump, becoming public law 115-275 in 2018, starting the formal countdown to establishing a memorial. Additionally, Tim reveals the routes and dates of the five 2022 routes covering the East Coast, southern route, Midwest, Colorado and West Coast.

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for EMS1 and is a member of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.

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