The Georgia Emergency Medical Services Association (GEMSA) held its annual awards reception May 3 and announced a new award named for Northside interventional cardiologist Dr. J. Jeffrey Marshall. The annual event celebrates the invaluable contributions of EMS personnel.
The Dr. J. Jeffrey Marshall Excellence in Cardiac Care Award was established in 2020 to honor an individual or organization in the State of Georgia for their excellence in emergency cardiac care. In its inaugural year, GEMSA also voted to name this award after Dr. Marshall for his contributions to prehospital and cardiac care.
"In addition to being an incredibly gifted physician, I believe that Dr. Marshall’s greatest traits are his tremendous benevolence and love of humanity," said Dr. Prad Tummala, cardiology section chief, Northside Hospital.
"Dr. Marshall has shown all of us the importance and value of every single member of the health care delivery team, beautifully exemplified by creating systems of heart attack care that are emulated throughout the country," Dr. Tummala added. "He has trained generations of doctors, nurses, and EMS personnel, and I am extremely grateful to have been on many of his journeys."
Dr. Marshall is the chief of Northside Hospital Cardiovascular Institute. Early in his career, Dr. Marshall became an EMT in Florida. He attended medical school at The University of Florida and then completed his training in internal medicine, cardiology research, general cardiology and interventional cardiology at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Dr. Marshall is a member of the Georgia Composite State Medical Board, where he also served as chair in 2018, and he is the current president/governor of the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Cardiology. He is recognized as one of America’s top cardiologists.
Dr. Marshall developed and implemented one of the largest, organized STEMI Systems in the United States, due to his trust in EMS’s ability to diagnosis, communicate and initiate treatment before arriving to the cath lab. For many years, he had the vision to create designated levels of cardiac care to improve survival rates for the citizens of Georgia. In 2016, with the close coordination of EMS leaders and support of GEMSA, Dr. Marshall led the charge with Senator Butch Miller and Representative Lee Hawkins to get a law passed creating Emergency Cardiac Care designated hospitals.
At the May 3 reception, Dr. Marshall presented the award to the 2020 winners – Zane Pulliam and Doug Swift of Redmond EMS.
Dr. Marshall also recently was recognized by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) with their Helping Hearts Lifetime Service Award, which honors Fellows of the Society (FSCAI) who are nominated by their peers based upon long-standing substantive service to the Society. The award was presented at SCAI's 2021 Scientific Sessions virtual conference April 28.
Awardees, in the course of their service to SCAI, have provided a moral and ethical example for others, strived for excellence in patient care, and dedicated themselves to the highest professional standards.
"Dr. Marshall has worked tirelessly in the state of Georgia to ensure cardiac patients get the right care at the right place at the right time; his vision and leadership has helped many fulfill this mission," said Jason Grady, system manager, Emergency Cardiac Care, Northside Hospital. "The trust created between, EMS, emergency medicine, cardiac and critical care serves as a model demonstrating how emergency cardiac patients are treated best across an entire system of care.”
Photo caption: (l-r) GEMSA Executive Director Kim Littleton, Dr. J. Jeffrey Marshall, GEMSA Chairman Chad Black.
