The work of three heroes of Toledo’s emergency medicine field will be recognized in a ceremony to dedicate the Emergency Medicine Wall of Honor on Health Science Campus.
Three northwest Ohio emergency medical practitioners of the past will be inducted as the first honorees at the dedication of the wall Tuesday, July 26. A ceremony will be held at noon in the Dana Center Lucas Auditorium.
“Over the course of time, there were major changes in how patients were treated,” said Dr. Paul Rega, UT assistant professor of public health and preventive medicine and emergency medicine. “Those were brought about by individuals who saw a need and built it up to the sophisticated emergency medical system we have now.”
The individuals who will be inducted will be Dr. Frank Foss, Dorothy Hussain and Timothy Shiltz.
Foss was a surgeon and the director of the Emergency Department at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center in Toledo. He not only was the driving force behind the establishment of an emergency medicine residency program, but also the founder of Life Flight.
“He thought emergency medicine was important and saw a need for pre-hospital care to be brought to a higher level, which led to improvements in education and research,” Rega said.
Hussain was an educator and nurse in the Medical College of Ohio Emergency Department. She was the wife of Dr. S. Amjad Hussain, UT professor emeritus of surgery, who is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees.
“Dottie was known for her clinical skills and being a great educator,” Rega said. “She also received the Nursing Excellence Award two times, which really shows how she was respected.”
Shiltz was a paramedic who was part of the emergency medical system with Toledo Fire and Rescue.
“He always gave the patients the best care and the best attention,” Rega said. “He was an educator and taught a variety of medical topics associated with pre-hospital care. The old-time paramedics who still remember him feel he is a model for other paramedics.”
Each honoree will have his or her own plaque on the wall, which is located at the side of the Emergency Department at UT Medical Center where the ambulances come in.
More plaques will be selected over time by an independent committee to hang on the Emergency Medicine Wall of Honor.
“Many of those who got us to where we are now are not remembered,” Rega said. “We’re trying to show that we are standing on the shoulders of the giants who founded our work, that they are imitated and appreciated.”
