The Virginia Department of Health has hired an EMS and fire professional from Oregon to lead the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services, or OEMS.
Maria Beermann-Foat was chosen after a nationwide search with nearly 150 applicants.
Beermann-Foat will assume the role at OEMS on Jan. 25.
She assumes the position on the heels of an investigation that led to the former director, Adam Lamar Harrell, pleading guilty to embezzling $4.3 million from VDH. Harrell was recently sentenced to six years in prison for a financial scheme uncovered by an audit that showed significant financial irregularities.
“The past year has been challenging for Virginia’s EMS system, including the staff in the Office of EMS, a team that has been incredibly resilient and steadfast in continuing the good work that they have always done. We are now at a turning point, where we will shift our focus forward to building an EMS system that is even more comprehensive of the needs of today’s providers,” said R. Christopher Lindsay, Chief Operating Officer of VDH. “Dr. Beermann-Foat brings the background and the skill set to unite EMS stakeholders around that common goal. As an EMS provider myself, I am excited to see where her leadership takes the EMS system in Virginia.”
Interview panels included representatives from key stakeholder groups including the state EMS advisory board, Virginia’s Regional EMS Councils, the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association and VDH leadership.
Virginia State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton acknowledged the issues faced by the department but said she believes that “Dr. Beermann-Foat will lead Virginia’s path forward to a well-supported EMS system.”
Beermann-Foat has more than 25 years of prehospital emergency care experience in privately-owned, hospital-based, county government-based and fire-based emergency services.
She most recently served as the EMS training coordinator for the Eugene Springfield Fire Department in Oregon. Since first joining MED-ACT in 1999 as a paramedic, she moved up the ranks in the roles of community education officer/public information officer, captain/field training officer, battalion chief of training and division chief of quality management.
Beermann-Foat holds a Ph.D. in organization management from Capella University, a Master of Business Administration from MidAmerica Nazarene University and a city and county management graduate certificate from the University of Kansas.
For more information about the Virginia Office of EMS, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov/emergency-medical-services/.
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Crystal Graham
