Sedgwick County EMS hires permanent medical director to replace embattled ex-director
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Crisis at Sedgwick County EMS
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Dr. Kevin Brinker, a former Sedgwick County paramedic, has been chosen as medical director for Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services, county officials announced Monday afternoon.
Sedgwick County hired Brinker as interim EMS medical director to replace former director Dr. John Gallagher, who resigned last summer after a Wichita Eagle investigation into problems within the department, Gallagher’s handling of a patient’s death and rapidly deteriorating ambulance response times.
Gallagher was hired in 2019 as director of the department amid a consolidation of EMS ambulance operations and the office of the medical director, which traditionally handled protocols, medical decisions, training and credentialing within the organization.
Sedgwick County Manager Tom Stolz split EMS operations and the office of the medical director last summer after Gallagher resigned and named two interim directors — Kevin Lanterman over EMS and Brinker over the office of the medical director.
The county has not hired a permanent EMS director. After interviews with two finalists in December, Stolz opted to keep Lanterman in the interim role.
Brinker, a former Sedgwick County paramedic who left the department in 1999 to attend medical school, brings with him the “street-level experience” that EMS workers complained Gallagher lacked. Like Gallagher, Brinker will divide his time between the county and local emergency rooms. Brinker practices at Newton Medical Center and Newman Regional Health in Emporia.
“I’m pleased to have been appointed Director of the Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services System,” Brinker said in a news release from the county. “I am looking forward to working will [sic] all of our systems partners, including EMS and Fire.”
As medical director for the Emergency Medical Services System, Brinker will provide clinical direction for all pre-hospital medical providers in the county, including EMTs and paramedics with the Wichita Fire Department and Sedgwick County Fire District 1.
He was not immediately available for comment Monday afternoon.
This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 5:33 PM.
