We are pleased to announce that Rick Hong, MD, FACEP, Head of the Division of Emergency Medical Services, Disaster Medicine and Transport Medicine at Cooper University Health Care, has been named President-Elect of the National Disaster Life Support Education Consortium (NDLSEC).
We congratulate Dr. Hong on his election to head a national organization that impacts the training of medical professionals across the country for national disasters. As the only Level 1 Trauma Center in South Jersey and state Medical Coordination Center in South Jersey, Cooper is the nexus of southern New Jersey’s network of emergency medical services and disaster management. Dr. Hong has provided strong leadership regionally over the years and his skills and knowledge will be an asset at the national level.
The mission of the NDLSEC is to achieve and promote excellence in education, training and research related to disaster medicine and public health preparedness for all health professionals based on sound educational principles, scientific evidence and best clinical and public health practices. It comprises the National Disaster Life Support Foundation, professional organizations and individuals with an interest in disaster medicine and public health preparedness.
Courses are conducted through 80 domestic and 12 international affiliated training centers. Cooper University Hospital has been a Regional Training Center since 2007 and more than 1,500 individuals have been certified through Cooper since that time.
In 2009, Dr. Hong was named Outstanding EMS Physician by the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, Office of EMS. In 2010, he received the EMS Award from the New Jersey Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians® (NJACEP). He was also part of the first group of physicians to obtain board certification in EMS from the American Board of Emergency Medicine in 2013.