EMS Safety Authors

The EMS Safety author team is responsible for developing the EMS Safety course materials for students and instructors, and providing advice and guidance to EMS Safety faculty. Read about the authors below:

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EMS Safety Authors

Garrett Hedeen, MHA, NRP

Garrett Hedeen is Manager of EMS for Indiana University Health Bloomington EMS. He previously served as EMS Safety Officer for Indianapolis EMS, as well as a field training officer and adjunct educator. As an Indiana certified primary instructor, Garrett has taught many different EMS disciplines, both clinical and operational.

He has been an EMS advocate in many forms and was awarded the 2017 NAEMT EMS Advocate of the Year Award. He served as EMS Union President for an IAFF local and has served on the Board of the Indiana EMS Association in numerous positions over the years. Currently, he is the board representative for hospital-based providers and previously served as secretary, regional director, and legislative chair.

Garrett's passion is EMS safety. He is a NAEMT EMS Safety instructor, serves on the NAEMT EMS Workforce committee, previously serving as chairman, and is the NAEMT representative on the NFPA Emergency Responder Occupational Health Technical Committee. Garrett is enrolled at Indiana State University in the Master of Science Occupational Health and Safety program. He is also an Eagle Scout.
Michael Kaduce, NRP, MPS

Michael Kaduce is the EMT Program Director at the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care where he leads a team of EMS Program Faculty in educating EMTs to provide competent, compassionate patient care. Michael and his team educate nearly 1,000 EMTs annually and provide refresher training for nearly 600 more. The program has a 96% first attempt pass rate on the NREMT cognitive exam and completion rates that exceed 80%. Michael believes great education drives future clinical practice and thus leads his team towards innovate thinking and progressive healthcare delivery.

Michael began his EMS career in Iowa where he received his EMT certificate from Mercy College of Health Sciences in 2006 and worked as a patient care technician at St. Luke's Hospital while obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Mount Mercy University. Michael completed his paramedic course work at Mercy College of Health Sciences and worked for the Urbandale Fire Department as a Firefighter/Paramedic for four years. He was then the EMT and paramedic coordinator for two years at the University of Iowa. Michael graduated from Pennsylvania State University where he completed his Master of Professional Studies in Homeland Security in 2016. Michael has been published in EMS World and has helped review and author EMT and paramedic curricula, establish NAEMT Training Centers, and conduct research on educational methods.
Justin Koper MS, CSP, MTSP-C, DICO-C, FP-C

Justin Koper is a process improvement and safety professional, data analyst, EMS educator, and college lecturer. He has passionately advocated for a culture of safety in EMS, improved patient safety in the pre-hospital environment, and data-driven decision making by EMS leaders. During his EMS career he has served as a federal disaster responder within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, flight paramedic, safety officer, and an ALS provider in multiple jurisdictions.

He holds a Masters Degree in Safety Management from West Virginia University and currently serves as the Continuous Improvement Manager for HealthNet Aeromedical Services based in Charleston, WV. He also serves as a member of the board of directors for the National Association for Public Safety Infection Control Officers (NAPSICO).
Douglas F. Kupas, MD, EMT-P, FAEMS, FACEP, Medical Director

Dr. Kupas is medical director for Geisinger EMS and co-director of Mobile Integrated Healthcare for Geisinger Health System, his professional home for the past 30 years. He is an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) physician, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Resuscitologist and the EMS Medical Director for the State of Pennsylvania for the past 20 years. A board-certified emergency physician subspecializing in EMS, Dr. Kupas is an avid researcher and passionate advocate for EMS practitioner and patient safety. His clinical interests include CPR, hypothermia, end-of-life care, EMS patient and practitioner safety and EMS airway management.

Dr. Kupas’s EMS career began 40 years ago when he joined Lower Kiski Ambulance Services in Leechburg, PA, on his 16^th birthday as a volunteer. He later became a paramedic and a physician. He earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and completed his residency in emergency medicine at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA. Dr. Kupas serves as the Director of the Resuscitation Program at Geisinger, He is a member of many local, state and national organizations and has numerous honors, awards and publications to his credit, including development of an anonymous patient safety event reporting system that became the EVENT reporting system. In 2020, Dr. Kupas received the Rocco V. Morando Lifetime Achievement Award from NAEMT and NREMT.
Ryan Ockey, BS, NRP

Ryan Ockey is the EMT Program Coordinator at the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care and began working for UCLA in 2017. Ryan works with EMS Program Faculty in educating EMTs, paramedics, and nurses to provide compassionate, competent patient care. Ryan helps provide initial education for nearly 1,000 EMTs annually and refresher education for nearly 600 additional EMTs. The UCLA EMT Program has a 96% first-attempt pass rate on the NREMT cognitive exam and completion rates exceeding 70%. In addition to initial EMT and continuing education, Ryan oversees the EMT Challenge course helping physicians and nurses obtain their EMT certification.

Ryan passionately promotes evidence-based education and simulation as the best foundation for clinical practice in the field. Ryan began his EMS career in South Carolina where he received his EMT certificate from PeeDee Regional EMS and worked with Horry County Fire Rescue as a volunteer EMT and firefighter. Ryan completed his course work for paramedic licensure from Horry County Technical College and worked as firefighter and paramedic for The Myrtle Beach Fire Department. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2015 Ryan worked for Capstone Fire managing fire safety and confined space rescue operations for state government utility and private utility contracts.
Jeff White, MS, CHSP, MTSP-C, FP-C, NRP

Jeff has served twenty-seven years in Emergency Medical Services and the Fire Service. He currently holds the position of Director of Safety for HealthNet Aeromedical Services, Inc. His career has spanned volunteer, career, rural, and urban. He currently works to increase safety awareness in EMS by assisting agencies build their own safety management systems.

He currently supports NAEMT as the West Virginia Education Coordinator. Aside from his full-time position at HealthNet he is still providing clinical care in the aeromedical and ground environment and serves as a volunteer firefighter. He is an instructor for WV Public Service Training, WVU Fire Service Extension, National Fire Academy, and Spec Rescue International.