A VCU Health team member was one of a dozen medical providers to receive the Governor’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Award this year. The recognition from the commonwealth of Virginia, presented on behalf of Governor Glenn Youngkin, recognizes providers’ hard work and dedication to providing emergency care.

Michel Aboutanos, M.D., is the 2022 recipient to the Governor’s EMS Award for Physician with Outstanding Contribution to EMS, known as the Frank M. Yeiser Trophy. Aboutanos serves in several important roles to provide emergency care in the VCU Health System. He’s currently the chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgical Services at VCU, the medical director of VCU Medical Center’s Level I Trauma Center and Trauma System Network, and the director of the VCU Injury and Violence Prevention Program.

As a member of the Virginia EMS Advisory Board, Aboutanos spearheaded the development of the Virginia Trauma System Plan, an integrated plan with the Virginia EMS system to optimize the statewide care of trauma patients during the preinjury/ preventive phase, prehospital phase, acute hospital phase, and post acute (rehabilitation) phase. He was also the first Trauma System coordinator on the EMS executive committee and served as the inaugural chair of the Trauma Systems Administrative and Governance Committee. Currently he serves as the State Chair of the American College of Surgeon Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT) for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Last month, Aboutanos was recognized regionally by the Old Dominion Emergency Medical Services Alliance (ODEMSA) for his important role in partnering with the EMS system to improve patient outcomes.