4-Dec-2012 Source: STAT MedEvac
The 2012 Pennsylvania State EMS Awards were held on Monday, November 19 at the Radisson Harrisburg Hotel and Conference Center in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
These annual awards recognize individuals and organizations that have provided outstanding community service as part of Pennsylvania’s emergency medical services system. The awards ceremony is presented by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of EMS and the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council.
The EMS Educator of the Year honors an individual who has contributed significantly to the development and growth of emergency medical services education in Pennsylvania.
This year’s award recipient is Don Holsten, who is a clinical manager with STAT MedEvac in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County. He is an EMS educator who has contributed to the development and growth of EMS education in the Commonwealth for over 20 years.
Don obtained his Pennsylvania EMS Instructor certification in 1990 and is also an instructor in advanced cardiac life support, CPR and other disciplines. His commitment to education is not limited to his role instructing flight nurses and paramedics at STAT MedEvac; Don also teaches at the community and local EMS level in his hometown.
He is the past chairman of the Crawford County Advanced Life Support Committee; past president of the Pennsylvania Paramedical Society and is a former board member of the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council. Don has served on many committees at PEHSC and most recently is contributing to a group that is working to formally establish the critical care paramedic in Pennsylvania.
He was Pennsylvania’s Paramedic of the Year in 1996; Mercer County’s Paramedic of the Year in 1999; and the recipient of the EMMCO West’s EMS Achievement Award in 2002.
Mr. Holsten was also presented with a House of Representatives Proclamation authored and introduced by PA Representative Michelle Brooks in recognition of his achievements in the field of emergency medical services education.