By EMS1 Staff
CLINTON, Miss. — Dr. David Persse, MD, FACEP, FAEMS, was awarded NAEMT’s 2019 Rocco V. Morando Lifetime Achievement Award, the organization’s highest honor.
The award was announced during NAEMT’s General Membership Meeting in New Orleans on Oct. 15.
“Dr. Persse’s leadership, dedication and integrity sets an example for everyone in the EMS profession,” said Dr. Robert Swor, National Registry of EMTs board chair. “This is a highly deserved honor, as Dr. Persse has served as a teacher, leader, role model and friend for many current EMS leaders. He is an inspiration for those of us in EMS across the nation.”
Persse spent the first 10 years of his EMS career as a field paramedic and paramedic instructor in New York and New Jersey. He attended Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his emergency medicine residency training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. Persse then completed fellowship training in EMS at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the City of Houston EMS program, and completed his fellowship resuscitation research at the Ohio State University.
Persse served as the assistant medical director for the EMS system of Houston before taking on the role of medical director of the Los Angeles County Paramedic Training Institute, as well as the assistant medical director of the Los Angeles County EMS Agency. Persse then migrated back to Houston and served as the director of EMS; later, he was appointed by the city council as Houston’s public health authority.
“Dr. Persse has dedicated his impressive career to the EMS profession, training of paramedics and public health,” NAEMT President Matt Zavadsky said. “He is an EMS innovator and respected by his peers in emergency medicine for his leadership and commitment. It is our honor to highlight Dr. Persse’s contributions to patient care, lifelong learning and disaster preparedness.”