Medical Direction

Medical Direction for the Service is provided, on a contractual basis, by Dr. James H. Creel, Jr. M.D.  He is responsible for the daily provision of service by each of the pre-hospital personnel, as well as the oversight of all medical care provided through the First Response programs.  Dr. Creel is well known in pre-hospital circles, having been involved in the early concepts of Basic Trauma Life Support and numerous other national programs.  He serves on the Clinical Issues Committee of State E.M.S.  He plays an active role in the Service, spending many hours each month either in a response mode or involved in the C.Q.I. process. 

Dr. Creel personally evaluates all protocols, standing orders, and advanced care procedures and drugs, prior to implementation in the street.  He was instrumental in the additional training and extended skills provided to our “turbo medics”.  He is a part of the response of E.M.M.R.T., the Emergency Medical Rapid Response Team.  This team is made up of trauma surgeons, emergency physicians, and trauma nurse specialists and responds to scenes with extended rescue times, involved entrapments, or where special surgical skills are required.  This team either responds in an assigned Hamilton County E.M.S. ambulance or as part of an air medical response.

Dr. Creel relocated to Tennessee several years ago, having graduated from the University of Texas in 1964.  He received his M.D. from The University Autonoma of Guadalajara, Mexico, and served his internship at St. Mary’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada.  He is certified as a Diplomat, American Board of Emergency Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians.  His hospital emergency department covers from Montana, through Georgia, to Tennessee.  He is married, has five children, and enjoys hunting and other outdoor sports.