2026 National EMS Awards of Excellence Recipients Announced
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2026 National EMS Awards of Excellence Recipients Announced
Ridgeland, Miss. — NAEMT and EMS World are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 National EMS Awards of Excellence. The awards will be presented during NAEMT’s General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, September 30, and at the Opening Ceremony of EMS World Expo in Orlando, Florida. We congratulate the following recipients and recognize their outstanding contributions to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) profession and the patients they serve:
Andrew Perry, EMT, Marked Tree, Arkansas
2026 NAEMT EMT of the Year Award, sponsored by Demers-Braun-Crestline-Medix
Oscar Monterrosa, Paramedic, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2026 NAEMT Paramedic of the Year Award, sponsored by Velico
Andrew Kindle, Paramedic, Niceville, Florida
2026 NAEMT Community Paramedic of the Year Award, sponsored by Zoll
Ginger Locke-Floyd, BA, NRP, Austin, Texas
2026 NAEMT EMS Educator of the Year Award, sponsored by Jones & Bartlett Learning Public Safety Group
Timothy G. Price, MD, Fisherville, Kentucky
2026 NAEMT EMS Medical Director of the Year Award, sponsored by Bound Tree
Capt. Bailey Hartley, AAS, NRP, Virginia Beach, Virginia
2026 NAEMT-AAP Pediatric EMS Award, sponsored by Handtevy
Technical Sergeant Justin J. Sharp, IDMT, NRP, HMT, FP-C, TP-C, WP-C, Milton, Florida
2026 NAEMT Military Medic of the Year Award, sponsored by North American Rescue
Prisma Health Ambulance Service, Greenville, South Carolina
2026 Dick Ferneau Career EMS Service of the Year, sponsored by Ferno
Sherman Volunteer Fire Department EMS, Sherman, Connecticut
2026 Volunteer Service of the Year Award, sponsored by Digitech
Lt. Sarah Studley, Orlando, Florida
2026 First Responder Caring Award, sponsored by Dynarex
Richard J. Heffernan Jr., B.S., EMT, CFEI, CVFI, ECT, D-ABMDI (ret.), Camden, New Jersey
2026 NAEMT-ACEP Safety in EMS Award, sponsored by Technimount EMS
St. Charles County Ambulance District, St. Charles, Missouri
2026 Wellness & Resiliency Award, sponsored by FirstNet, Built with AT&T
Andrew Perry, EMT
Andrew Perry, EMT, is Public Relations Director for Riverside Ambulance and a dedicated advocate for the EMS profession. He serves as the Arkansas Advocacy Coordinator for NAEMT, where he works to advance EMS through legislative engagement, professional advocacy, and public awareness, focusing on strengthening relationships between EMS agencies, elected officials, and the communities they serve. Andrew is a published EMS writer whose work has appeared in industry publications and regional media, and a frequent speaker on EMS leadership, advocacy, and the future of prehospital care. He is also a podcaster and storyteller with a passion for making complex ideas accessible and inspiring curiosity. Whether serving patients, supporting colleagues, or advocating for the profession, he is committed to helping others understand the vital role EMS plays in every community.
Oscar Monterrosa, Paramedic
Oscar Monterrosa, Paramedic, enlisted in the Army at 17 as a combat medic, deploying to Iraq and receiving the Combat Medic Badge for providing care under enemy fire. He later used the GI Bill to pursue college and medical school while continuing to work full time in EMS, advancing from EMT to paramedic. In October 2017, while working an overtime shift, Oscar responded to the Las Vegas mass shooting, serving as the highest level of medical care in the medical tent, drawing on his combat medic training to coordinate care under extreme conditions. He has since matched into an Emergency Medicine–Internal Medicine dual residency at Hennepin County Medical Center, where he also teaches in the paramedic program, and continues to work in EMS across rural Minnesota.
Andrew Kindle, Paramedic
Andrew Kindle, Paramedic, is a father, husband, Marine, SWAT Medic, and Firefighter with more than 17 years of experience as a first responder. He began his career in the Marine Corps, deploying with the Hurricane Katrina Task Force before entering the fire service, where he became a certified HazMat specialist and worked across North Dakota, Tennessee, and Antarctica’s McMurdo Station. He now serves Okaloosa County EMS as a Critical Care, SWAT, and Community Paramedic, where he has helped build and lead the Community Paramedicine Team for the past 18 months. His work has earned him recognition including the Emerald Coast United Way’s 40 Under 40 Award and Okaloosa County’s Humanitarian Efforts Award. Andrew is passionate about caring for those often overlooked in his community, sharing that commitment through frequent training presentations for his department.
Ginger Locke-Floyd, BA, NRP
Ginger Locke-Floyd, BA, NRP, is an Associate Professor of EMS Professions at Austin Community College, where she has taught EMT and paramedic students for more than 20 years. She is the creator and host of the Medic Mindset podcast, in production since 2016, through which she explores her passion for human performance, clinical reasoning, and best practices in adult education. She has also collaborated with Prodigy EMS to develop innovative online continuing education for EMS professionals. Among her greatest professional joys is mentoring ACC graduates who have gone on to become EMS educators themselves, extending her impact across future generations of the profession.
Timothy G. Price, MD
Timothy G. Price, MD, is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and EMS who has spent 30 years on faculty at the University of Louisville following five years of active duty as an Army physician and flight surgeon, where his interest in EMS began while serving as medical director for Fort Knox EMS and the 431st Medical Detachment. He was among the first physicians in the country board certified in the EMS subspecialty in 2013, and serves as the university’s first chief of the division of EMS and fellowship director for the state’s only EMS fellowship. Dr. Price has been medical director for Anchorage Middletown Fire and EMS since 1996, has served the Kentucky Board of EMS as state medical advisor and appointed board member under two governors, and has chaired the NAEMSP annual meeting program committee.
Capt. Bailey Hartley, AAS, NRP
Capt. Bailey Hartley, AAS, NRP, began her EMS career with Norfolk Fire-Rescue in 2018 as a Firefighter Recruit. After completing fire academy, she worked as a Firefighter AEMT while attending paramedic school at Tidewater Community College, earning her paramedic certification and an associate’s degree in EMS before becoming a Firefighter Paramedic. In 2024, she joined Virginia Beach EMS as a Paramedic and was promoted to EMS Captain in 2025. As a mother to her son Colt, who has special needs, Bailey recognized the need for resources to help patients and first responders navigate care where communication and overstimulation can be a barrier, motivating her to create the C.O.L.T Kit Initiative, now deployed within Virginia Beach EMS.
Technical Sergeant Justin J. Sharp, IDMT, NRP, HMT, FP-C, TP-C, WP-C
Technical Sergeant Justin J. Sharp, IDMT, NRP, HMT, FP-C, TP-C, WP-C, is a Special Operations Independent Duty Medical Technician at a Special Tactics unit on Hurlburt Field, FL, where he provides medical care as the sole enlisted provider for 223 special operations personnel and coordinates medical coverage for more than 2,000 hours of high-risk training annually. He serves as his unit’s Defense Health Agency TCCC program coordinator, teaches TCCC to Air Force reserve units, other special operations units, and federal agencies, and instructs live patient model training for special operations personnel and surgical teams. Justin has served in the Air Force for 12 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Prisma Health Ambulance Service
Prisma Health Ambulance Service is one of South Carolina’s largest and most clinically advanced EMS systems, employing more than 350 professionals and operating 35 ambulances, 30 wheelchair vans, and six blood-equipped quick-response vehicles. The service manages approximately 75,000 EMS calls and 52,000 ambulance transports annually, alongside specialty and critical care transport, event medicine, and hazardous and infectious disease transport. In 2020, Prisma Health launched South Carolina’s first prehospital blood administration program, which has since treated more than 500 patients, and its critical care program includes specialized PANDA teams for pediatric and neonatal transport. Its community paramedicine program, staffed by 19 full-time, board-certified community paramedics, completes more than 10,000 visits annually, and its Treat-in-Place initiative has achieved a 92% emergency-department avoidance rate in participating nursing facilities. The system holds CAAS, CAMTS, and APCO accreditations and is one of only 14 Resuscitation Academy Beacon Communities nationwide.
Sherman Volunteer Fire Department EMS
Sherman Volunteer Fire Department EMS provides all-volunteer emergency medical response and transport to approximately 3,600 residents in a rural Fairfield County community near the New York border. Its roughly 35 EMTs and emergency medical responders answer about 500 combined emergency calls annually, including 250 to 275 EMS incidents, serving one of Connecticut’s oldest populations with frequent responses for falls, medical alarms, and cardiac emergencies. Because the nearest receiving facilities are about 35 minutes away, volunteer crews sustain patient care throughout extended rural transports, supplementing advanced life support through a regional paramedic intercept program when needed. The department recently upgraded its frontline ambulance with a mechanical chest-compression device and modern monitor/defibrillator, and has invested in new protective gear and a high-fidelity training manikin. Department-funded initial and continuing education, paired with ongoing CPR and AED outreach and volunteer recruitment, helps this small workforce maintain a high level of clinical readiness.
Lt. Sarah Studley
Lieutenant Sarah Studley, a firefighter/paramedic with Orange County Fire Rescue, has advanced inclusive, patient-centered emergency response for residents with functional, access, sensory, and communication needs across a department that operates 45 stations and responds to more than 124,000 calls annually. She created the department’s Functional Needs Registry, a voluntary program that allows residents to securely document medical conditions, mobility limitations, and communication preferences before an emergency, giving responding crews patient-specific information before arriving on scene. In 2025, Studley expanded support for patients with sensory needs by placing sensory bags on all Orange County Fire Rescue transport units, equipping crews with tools to reduce sensory overload, promote comfort, and improve communication during care and transport. She also leads autism and sensory-awareness training through the department’s Preceptor Academy, helping responders recognize sensory triggers and apply de-escalation strategies. Studley organized Orange County Fire Rescue’s first Sensory-Friendly Open House during Autism Awareness Month, partnering with the University of Central Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities and Crayola Experience Orlando to give neurodiverse residents and their families a welcoming, low-stimulation opportunity to interact with first responders. Her initiatives have strengthened trust between EMS personnel and vulnerable populations throughout the county.
Richard J. Heffernan Jr., B.S., EMT, CFEI, CVFI, ECT, D-ABMDI (ret.)
Richard J. Heffernan Jr., B.S., EMT, CFEI, CVFI, ECT, D-ABMDI (ret.) serves with Cooper University Health Care’s Section of Military, Diplomatic and Field Surgical Affairs, where he develops high-fidelity medical-readiness training for EMS, fire, law enforcement, and federal partners. He brings more than 30 years of experience in fire service, EMS, emergency communications, emergency management, and incident safety. During Operation Allies Welcome, Heffernan was selected to establish and lead a mobile Field Medical-Surgical Unit at the Holt Logistics Terminal, providing continuous care to Afghan evacuees under austere conditions, and he later contributed to developing Cooper’s Rapid Response Emergency Surgical Team, a physician-led resuscitation team for complex incidents across New Jersey. As lead planner of the Mid-Atlantic Severe Situation Exercise, he coordinates multi-state, multidisciplinary training using cadaver-based simulation to prepare responders to transition immediately from tactical operations to lifesaving care. In 2024, Cooper University Health Care recognized Heffernan with its Allied Health Professional Excellence Award for his contributions to teamwork, innovation, and operational safety.
St. Charles County Ambulance District
St. Charles County Ambulance District provides EMS coverage across 592 square miles with 304 paramedics and professional staff and roughly 100 ambulances and specialty vehicles, responding to more than 56,000 requests for service in 2025 on a $68 million annual budget. Its wellness and resiliency strategy integrates physical health, mental health support, fatigue management, and post-injury recovery into daily operations. The district provides comprehensive annual physical examinations, including mental-health assessments, and gives every station access to fitness equipment, including a 2,500-square-foot headquarters gym available to employees’ families. A systemwide fatigue-prevention program monitors overnight workload during extended shifts and can trigger a morning recovery period, while employees recovering from injury can enter modified-duty assignments that keep them engaged in district operations. A 14-member Peer Support Team, trained in Critical Incident Stress Management, automatically responds to defined high-stress incidents such as pediatric deaths and mass-casualty events, supported by EMDR therapy coverage, a district chaplain, and a therapy-dog partnership.
About NAEMT – Formed in 1975 and more than 110,000 members strong, NAEMT is the only national association representing the professional interests of all emergency and mobile healthcare clinicians. NAEMT members work in all sectors of EMS, including government agencies, fire departments, hospital-based ambulance services, private companies, industrial and special operations settings, and in the military.
About EMS World – EMS World serves the full spectrum of emergency medical services providers: EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers, physicians, nurses, educators, researchers and administrators. Through a website, podcasts, webinars and the world’s largest EMS-dedicated annual conference, EMS World Expo, EMS World is the leading authority on providing expert-guided clinical, management and regulatory content to a discerning and dedicated audience on the front lines of out-of-hospital care.
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