Sabina A. Braithwaite, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAEMS, currently serves as Medical Director of Patient Flow at the Veterans Administration Sierra Nevada Healthcare System and provides subject matter expertise in service to development of the VA National Emergency Ambulance Service program.
She happened into EMS as an undergraduate at Georgetown and became an EMT to confirm that medicine was the right path for her. Dr. Braithwaite volunteered as an EMT/firefighter with Fairfax County, then established a career and volunteer EMS system in Richmond while at the Medical College of Virginia. She became involved in ACEP while serving as Basic Trauma Life Support Medical Director in Virginia. She then served as a member of the Board of Directors and President of Virginia ACEP.
Dr. Braithwaite’s first EMS Medical Director role was with Albemarle County Fire-Rescue after joining the University of Virginia EMS Fellowship faculty. During her time with ACFR, it grew from six BLS daytime first responders to a 100-plus provider ALS transport agency. She became a full-time EMS Medical Director with the Wichita-Sedgwick County Kansas EMS system, providing oversight to all components of the system. EMS offered an unparalleled opportunity to care for an entire community by putting in place progressive credentialing, protocols, and integration of city and county EMS-related services on many levels.
Dr. Braithwaite has been a leader in state, national, and international EMS organizations, including ACEP, the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP), Emergency Medical Service Provider (EMSP), International Trauma Life Support (ITLS), and the Committee on Accreditation for EMS Providers (COAEMSP). She has led several patient-safety related initiatives, co-authored multiple national position statements and peer-reviewed articles and participated on numerous national panels and projects.
Her greatest satisfaction has been the ability to pay forward the mentorship she received from so many prior ACEP EMS award honorees. Several of her providers, trainees and mentees continue to achieve as they help build EMS as a profession.
Dr. Braithwaite received a Master of Public Health Practice from the University of South Florida and received her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in 1991. She completed her emergency medicine residency at Eastern Virginia University in Norfolk.
About This Award
The Award for Outstanding Contribution in EMS is presented to an ACEP member who has made an outstanding contribution in EMS of national significance or application.
