Goth earns EMS award
PRESQUE ISLE — When an emergency happens, staff at TAMC are well-equipped to handle the situation, thanks, in large part, to the tireless work of Peter Goth, MD, FACEP, medical director of TAMC’s emergency department and critical care transport. Maine Emergency Medical Services honored Goth’s decades of pioneering work with a prestigious Governor’s Award at a ceremony at the State House Hall of Flags May 18.
The 2015 Governor’s Award recognized Goth for “exceptional contribution to the EMS system at the state, national, or system-wide level; with contributions in multiple areas of EMS.” In fact, few people in the state have contributed as much to EMS as Goth, who entered the medical field at a time when emergency medical care was virtually nonexistent.
“When I started back in the early ’70s, not only was emergency medicine not a specialty, but EMS wasn’t around. The way you got to the hospital in an emergency was in a hearse,” said Goth. “Look at where we are today. Here we are, 40 years later, and they’re giving awards. You wouldn’t believe the amount of professional performance and competence in the room. It’s astounding. Compare that to a bunch of ambulance drivers driving hearses. Emergency medicine is now the most sought after residency out of med school.”
Not the least of Goth’s contributions has been his work establishing clinical guidelines for application in emergency medicine and EMS where previously none existed. His experience with — and development of — guidelines for management of cardiopulmonary arrest, joint dislocations, wound management, and spine injuries in emergency and rescue situations has been cutting edge. Beyond establishing these guidelines, which other state EMS programs have adopted, Goth has dedicated his time to teaching the next generation of emergency medical workers who are now taking his work and expanding on it.
“Many TAMC physicians are leaders in their field, and that is true of Dr. Goth, as well,” said Daryl Boucher, director of patient care services at TAMC. “Bringing this level of expertise to rural Maine is critical to assuring that our patients receive the best care possible — even cutting-edge care. So, not only has he brought a consistent approach of managing critical care patients to TAMC and Aroostook County, he, along with the critical care transport staff, have built a high quality, unique program.”
Boucher continued to laud the accomplishments of Goth as a teacher.
“He is an amazing teacher, is consistently positive, and is a great collaborator. Dr. Goth has been the champion of teaching people to manage difficult airways, one of the highest risk care areas in EMS. He tirelessly trains people using creative techniques and the latest research,” said Boucher. “He does this for people beyond TAMC, with the simple goal of improving patient care. He has traveled to every corner of the state to provide critical care training. Dr. Goth is a humble person, always giving others credit for their accomplishments, but rarely taking credit for his.”
At the awards ceremony, Goth was pleased to be surrounded by both the past and future of emergency medicine, as his mentors were present, as well as many of his former students who now hold leadership positions at the state level in EMS.
“Three generations of progress sitting in the room. It was kind of neat to see that. They were honoring a lot of different people for their performance, and these people are all spiffed up. They’re the Special Forces of emergency medicine. They get calls at all time of day or night and they don’t ask, or say they’re tired. They just do it. I’ve spent a lot of time working for the Special Forces equivalent of the emergency medical world, and I just love working with them because they don’t complain,” said Goth, paointing out important people who were in attendance. “I don’t have many mentors, but Dr. Larry Hopperstead, a trauma surgeon — one of the originals — has been so valuable to me over the years. And my Dad — he’s 94 and used to train pilots. He was my first model of how you teach people to do technical, scary things.”
In addition to being at the forefront of EMS for more than 40 years, Goth also has extensive experience in wilderness medicine. In 1984, he founded Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA), a training and consulting organization that specializes in emergency medicine and wilderness rescue. Clients included Outward Bound, the National Park Service, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), and similar organizations. Now the organization continues under the leadership of Goth’s former partner and is active in 16 countries worldwide.
He met his wife participating in the Outward Bound program and is the co-author of “The Outward Bound Wilderness First Aid Handbook” (Lyons and Burford, 1991). He has served on the Regional EMS Council for several years, and as a member of the state Medical Direction and Practices Board and as a regional EMS medical director for both Mid Coast EMS and Aroostook EMS. Goth has worked on numerous other boards and committees and is published multiple times over.
As if he is not busy enough, in his spare time, Goth raises North American Cashmere goats with his wife at their farm in Bremen.
