New Staff for a New Era in EMS

The Center for Patient Safety launched its first EMS programs fifteen years ago. With support from state organizations, foundation grants, great clients and staff, and sponsoring companies, CPS expanded its focus as EMS evolved. We want to bring safety culture development and expertise to programs like mobile integrated healthcare and industry-wide quality initiatives. Recognizing that true safety success involves more than just the agencies and individual providers, CPS sees a critical role for educators and regulators in creating the framework for reliably safe care. Strong structural support for safety also requires collaboration with the vendors to make EMS work possible. We need to be able to interface with all of them.

With those daunting challenges in mind, we are excited to announce the addition of Daniel Burke, MBA, NRP to our staff. Dan continues our line of experienced nationally registered paramedics who bring clinical experience to CPS and leadership background from that service. However, Dan has held other roles that position him to take the Center’s EMS work to new levels, including regional association leadership positions and ten years as an EMS instructor. He’s even done some dispatch. His recent career accomplishments include:

• Bureau Chief, Emergency Medical Services (State EMS Director) for DC Health (Washington DC Department of Health). Dan began this position in February 2020 and had the “opportunity” to lead key components of the DC response to COVID-19, including testing and sampling activities throughout the community.
• EMS Quality Assurance and Continuous Quality Improvement support for Washington DC EMS, reviewing care and investigating discrepancies. He also led specific quality programs within the department.
• EMS Planning and Response. As part of his positions at the time, Dan participated at leadership levels in outlining EMS response for events like the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017 and the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.

Dan has packed an incredible amount of experience into a career that started when he was in college. He represents a new generation for us, and we look forward to putting his energy and background to good use as he brings unprecedented expertise in EMS education and state bureau management.

You can learn more about Dan (including his publications and awards) in his biography on our website or on LinkedIn. Please join us in welcoming him as he reaches out to our EMS clients and contacts.