NAEMSP Remembers Ronald D. Stewart, M.D., FAEMS

October 22, 2024

NAEMSP is profoundly affected by the news of Dr. Ron Stewart’s death last evening after a prolonged illness. Ron was legendary in emergency medicine and a founding member of NAEMSP, serving as its very first president after its inception in 1984. Throughout his storied career, Ron was a guiding light for the organization, and even after passing his innumerable contributions to emergency medicine will continue to inspire and inform the work of the organization and the advancement of EMS as a whole.

There will be a celebration of life and reception in Halifax on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 in the McInnes Room of Dalhousie’s Student Union Building (6136 University Avenue, Halifax) between 6 and 9 pm. We hope you can join us to celebrate Ron’s remarkable life. The time and place for an event in Cape Breton will be announced soon.

NAEMSP President Dr. José Cabañas said the following of Ron and his legacy:

“Let us honor and remember Ron Stewart, a remarkable pioneer in the field of Emergency Medicine and EMS, whose visionary spirit and unwavering dedication laid the foundation for a specialty that has grown to be the largest subspecialty in emergency medicine, with many EMS Physicians revolutionizing healthcare delivery for their patients across numerous communities. His profound influence extended beyond his work as a clinician, as he inspired countless individuals with his teaching, leadership, and compassion, leaving a permanent mark on all who knew him. Ron’s public service extended beyond his transformational work in Emergency Medicine and EMS; he also served as Minister of Health for Nova Scotia and as an elected official. His legacy as the founding President of NAEMSP will always be cherished and remembered, continuing to shape current and future for generations to come.”

Ron’s career in EMS began in his home of Nova Scotia, where he graduated from Dalhousie University with his medical degree and took up a rural practice following his graduation. Shortly thereafter, Ron moved across the continent to Los Angeles County, beginning a residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Southern California. He remained in Los Angeles for six years, serving as the first medical director of the paramedic program in LA before being recruited to join the University of Pittsburgh in 1978.

At Pitt’s School of Medicine, Ron led the establishment of academic emergency medicine. He began as Medical Director of the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety Bureau of EMS, and with the support of the University founded the Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania to advance emergency care, research and training. As the first program of its kind, the department would quickly receive national prominence under Ron’s tutelage.

Less than a decade after moving across the United States to Pennsylvania, Ron would find himself in a room with national EMS leaders with whom he founded what is today the National Association of EMS Physicians. Even among these leaders, Ron was regarded with particular prestige — in 2022, he recalled an eventful trip to the washroom that day: “I went into the bathroom, came out and had been elected the inaugural President of the National Association of EMS Physicians.” With that, the organization was born with Ron as its leader.

In the nearly four decades since that day, Ron continued to radically transform and develop emergency medicine into what it is today. Earlier this year, Ron was recognized with the Companion of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest honor, awarded for exceptional achievement and service to Canada or humanity. Only 500 Canadians have had this honor bestowed upon them.

Without his intelligence and stewardship, it is hard to imagine what the subspecialty would look like in the modern day, integral as he is to its inception and continued evolution. The legacy Dr. Ron Stewart leaves behind would be difficult to encapsulate in a textbook, let alone a few paragraphs. NAEMSP will remember Ron with gratitude and reverence.

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