Our friend and colleague Susan McHenry recently passed away with her family and friends by her side. As part of NHTSA, Susan was a longtime NAEMSP partner and the recipient of NAEMSP’s Keith Neely Outstanding Contribution to NAEMSP Award in 2018.
As a shepherd of the National EMS Information System (NEMSIS), Susan’s contributions to EMS data collection are immense. Without NEMSIS, we would not have the ability to quantify and specifically describe and compare the work (including cardiac arrest care and survival rates) that EMS agencies do across the nation. NEMSIS also facilitated ability to interface with hospital medical records, among many other things. She also served as the Director of the Commonwealth of Virginia Office of EMS for years before moving to NHTSA.
Susan will be remembered not only for the outsize impact she made in the EMS field, but also for the warmth and kindness that drove her to serve her community and field. Susan, thank you for all you’ve done – we will miss you greatly.