Mr. Jody Meads is a cofounder of Acute Medical Services and currently serves as the Executive Chairman. He started his EMD career in dispatch and moved his way through the ranks from responding on the ambulance as an EMT, to now leading one of the most progressive private EMS systems in our state. He brings over 25 years of EMS clinical and administrative experience to the organization and founded the company in 2009 making critical care the core foundation of all services. In addition to being a founding member, Mr. Meads is a Licensed Paramedic with over twenty-seven years of experience in the public and private emergency medical service industry. He has had the good fortune to experience both rural and urban emergency medical services as well as clinical emergency medicine and industrial safety programs. Jody’s management experience spans more than twenty years, of which he proudly dedicated to public service twelve years leading one of the largest and most populated Emergency Service Districts in Texas. Jody has contributed to writing legislation for EMS, has served on numerous EMS committees and helped progress and pioneer EMS for the many changes in the industry today.

Bringing a methodical entrepreneurial spirit with a proven track record of success, Jody has led diverse organizations through team building and loyalty cultivation. He is an out of the box thinker who believes patients are always the benefactors when everyone remembers patient care is what unites us.

Exemplifying his passion for EMS, Jody can still be found providing pre-hospital care to his patients. Jody has his degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and is longtime resident of Atascocita, TX and enjoys fishing and spending time with his family. He may be reached at jmeads@acutemedical.com.

Dr. Setul Patel is an experienced healthcare and business executive bringing over twenty years of experience to AMS. Setul bridges experiences of field EMS, emergency medicine, and business leadership in a purpose driven and vision focused environment. He joined AMS in 2015 as medical director, and in 2018 was brought on board to serve as its new President. Prior to joining AMS, Setul served as President & CEO at Neighbors Health for over eight years. In 2014, Setul founded Girish Capital to assist with capital and venture needs of young entrepreneurs and startup companies, leveraging his ability to successfully scale businesses.

Setul attended the University of Virginia for both undergraduate and graduate studies. After obtaining a degree in biochemistry, he started his career as an emergency room physician graduating from the University of Virginia Medical School and completing specialty training at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Delaware, where he was also Chief Resident. In 2008, Setul obtained his MBA from the University of Tennessee graduating Phi Kappa Phi and started his administrative career. Throughout his career, Setul has brought transformational change to the organizations he has led, and believes true success comes from empowering the culture of an organization to drive best practices and innovation. In 2015, Setul was award the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Gulf Coast region and went on to be a national finalist. In 2016, he was a finalist for the Houston Business Journal’s CEO of the year award. Numerous other company recognitions have been awarded to the organizations he has led, including Top Workplaces and Top Culture through Entrepreneur Magazine.

Together with his wife Sejal and their two sons, they call Houston home since 2006. Setul enjoys spending time with his family, travel, photography, and a good single malt. He is also a YPO Gulf States member. He may be reached at spatel@acutemedical.com.

Mr. Brandon Jarvis is an experienced healthcare professional bringing more then seventeen years in healthcare and management experience to AMS. Brandon started his EMS career in 2001 working as a fire fighter EMT, and hazmat technician for Globi-Tech, a semiconductor plant in Sherman, Texas. In 2002 he moved to a private ambulance service in Dallas, Texas. As an EMT, Jarvis escalated the organization quickly after getting his emergency dispatcher certification and held positions as a dispatcher and insurance verification specialist. He quickly became a regional communications manager running the dispatch center for Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, as well as the operations supervisor for the Dallas operation.

Jarvis joined AMS in May of 2015 when he launched operations of North Texas division where in less then three years has become the premier leader for Ambulance Transports in the Texoma Region. Brandon was born and raised in the community he now serves and is proud he can give back to the region that has shaped his entire life.

Brandon, along with his wife Carrie and their three boys, enjoy spending time together playing games, planning family dinners and watching movies. Jarvis enjoys fishing and playing golf, as well as a cold beer with good friends. He may be reached at bjarvis@acutemedical.com.

Mr. Bryan Taylor joined the Acute Medical Services team in November 2017 as the West Texas regional operations manager. Mr. Taylor is a DSHS certified paramedic and advanced coordinator with over thirty-eight years EMS experience in municipal EMS and education programs. Mr. Taylor’s management experience includes eighteen years as director at City of Seminole EMS and twenty-five years as program director for Seminole EMS training program.

Mr. Taylor is passionate about providing a high level of care to those needing care. Mr. Taylor has dedicated many years serving as a board member of South Plains EMS, Trauma Service Area B RAC and the EMS Committee of the Governor’s EMS and Trauma Council.

As a native West Texan, Mr. Taylor is active in forging relationships between the dedicated organization of Acute Medical Services and the people of the South Plains and Permian Basin of Texas. You may reach Bryan at btaylor@acutemedical.com.

Mr. Kevin Matlock is a cofounder of Acute Medical Services and currently serves as the Vice President of the Air Medical Division. Kevin has more than ten years of experience in emergency medical and fire services, specializing in OSHA standards and hazardous materials related safety. Mr. Matlock’s management experience includes six years of public service to Harris County at the Harris County Emergency Services District 1 where he received tactical medical training and was responsible for community and public relations and the HCESD1 PHI air medical division.

In addition to his responsibility liaising with the community Kevin was directly responsible for designing and ensuring the efficient delivery of the ESD special operations division including all event medical protection. Mr. Matlock lends his entrepreneurial experience to the leadership team having proven his success through multiple start-up organizations, which have grown to successful small businesses.

Kevin is a longtime resident of Huffman, a north east suburb of Houston, and enjoys spending time with his two children, sports and the performance automotive industry. He may be reached at kmatlock@acutemedical.com.

John Cossum is an experienced attorney, litigator and corporate counsel who brings over thirty-five years of legal experience to AMS. John has served as general counsel to AMS since its inception in 2009. In this role, John has overseen negotiating contracts with various municipalities, hospitals and health care facilities to provide both emergency and non-emergency medical transport services. John has also represented and promoted AMS’s interests before various municipal, state and federal agencies and utilized his experience as a litigator to protect AMS’s proprietary interests in Court. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the oldest and most respected attorney peer review network in the United States, meaning he has been given the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards by fellow attorneys and judges.

John obtained his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where he studied History and Political Science, graduating with honors in 1978. He then attended the University of Texas School of Law, obtaining his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1981. After graduating, John served as an organized crime prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and later as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. Since entering private practice in 1988, John has worked as outside counsel for the Resolution Trust Corporation during the Savings and Loan crisis of the early 1990’s and has also represented various business entities as their corporate counsel over the past twenty years.

John is a native Houstonian and a lifelong resident of the Houston area. When not practicing law, John enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf and traveling the world. He may be reached at jcossum@acutemedical.com.

De’Anna Salas brings her extensive accounting background to AMS and currently serves as the company financial controller. She has over five years of experience managing multi-company financial accounts, tax planning and preparation, commercial banking and cash management.

Ms. Salas’ ten years retail management experience has been an instrumental benefit to our company leadership team. Her customer first focus from the retail industry is emblazoned on each interaction she has with every member of our team and each customer interaction. She plays a vital role in the financial health of our organization, our staff and our vendor partners. Her risk mitigation strategies advocate crisis avoidance vs. crisis management and has served as a model for the entire company to follow. De’Anna strongly believes in team cohesiveness and helps define the culture of AMS today.

De’Anna has called Houston home since 1998. She enjoys gardening, reading and travel. She may be reached at dsalas@acutemedical.com

Jeremy Kizer has been involved in many different areas of the EMS industry for nearly 20 years. After successfully working with the AMS team as a consultant, Jeremy formally joined the organization in 2015 as the QA/QI manager, and his roles were quickly expanded to include compliance officer and privacy officer. Jeremy combines his history of EMS field work, emergency management, medical billing, ePCR/EHR development and regulatory compliance/investigative experience to support all areas of operations. Jeremy is a member of numerous EMS associations and is currently EMS certified by the Texas Department of State Health Services and CACO certified by the National Association of Ambulance Compliance.

Originally from Alaska, Jeremy is now a long-time resident of Houston, Texas, where he lives with his partner Richard and their service animal Schmoo. After 20 years, he still misses snow. A trained vocalist and string-instrument player, Jeremy is also very actively involved with several local non-profit organizations. He may be reached at jkizer@acutemedical.com.

Mrs. Turrentine is a retired Fire Chief with 38 years of fire and EMS Training experience. Maureen joined Westfield Fire Department in 1978 and escalated the ranks becoming captain, training officer and ultimately Chief in 2003. Maureen was also a liaison with her dispatch center as well as on several fire chief committees and training committees within Harris County. Further, she volunteered her time at the Harris County Emergency Services District several time a month. She has extensive knowledge and experience in the fire safety industry and currently serves as the AMS company safety officer, encouraging best practice safety processes throughout our organization.

She received most of her Fire and EMS Training from Texas A&M Fire School and North Harris County College, as well as the National Fire Training Academy. Maureen was born in San Antonio, TX and raised on the Northeast side of Houston, Texas. Together with her husband Scott, Maureen has lived in the greater Houston area for over 40 years. She enjoys gardening and spending time with her family. She may be reached at mturrentine@acutemedical.com.

Mr. James Jelinek is a two-decade technology veteran with a core focus in development, security, and systems engineering. He joined AMS in 2012 as information technology manager, and later in 2016 was brought on as Director of Information Services. James currently leads the progressive technical initiatives that support the organization. He embraces the value of team unification, good stewardship, inclusion, user empathy, and above all enjoys implementing technology that helps operations run smoothly and ultimately contributes to superlative patient care.

In the last twenty years he has been instrumental in progressing companies of all industries and sizes to new heights through creative and sustainable technical solutions. He is the sole author and developer of LogicCAD, a full-cycle EMS suite which powers AMS’ daily operations.

Together with his wife Jessica, they call Houston home. James enjoys spending time with his family, programming, contributing to Open Source Software, blogging, and considers himself an amateur chef in training. He may be reached at jjelinek@acutemedical.com.

Mr. Chris Shankle currently serves as the Director of Business Development at AMS. Prior to his administrative career, he obtained his Initial EMS certification in 1988 in Beaumont, Texas. Chris entered his EMS studies at Lamar Tech in Beaumont and finished his paramedic certification in 1989. He started his patient care encounters in the private EMS industry and soon thereafter moved into the 911 arena with the City of Beaumont EMS. In late 1989 Chris moved to Houston and began working for Physicians and Surgeons Ambulance as a Paramedic and soon gained an opportunity to transition to the Houston Fire Department in 1990 where he served for a decade of his career. The experience gained from the early years of his career gave him the opportunity to operate his own EMS service (Life Star EMS) which grew to be the largest minority owned private EMS in Houston at the time. After selling his business, Chris gained valuable experience with American Medical Response and Acadian Ambulance where is served in high level administrative roles.

Chris returned to school and obtained his Associates in Applied Science degree in Nursing in 2013, and then joined AMS in 2015 as a paramedic and business development specialist. He has subsequently rose to be the director of the entire team. With his extensive operations and business development experience, Chris is an extremely valuable member of the team. He currently resides in Houston where he professionally plays the piano and organ. Chris may be reached at cshankle@acutemedical.com.

Rhonda Land has over twenty-five years of healthcare experience spanning emergency medicine, pediatrics, and OB/Gyn. Rhonda has been a practicing paramedic for twenty-one years as well as an EMS educator for the last four. Rhonda joined AMS in 2011 and has served in various high-level positions during her tenure. She currently serves as Education Manager, where she teaches continuing education to AMS staff and our business partners.

Rhonda is a certified paramedic, State of Texas EMS instructor, American Heart Association instructor, National Association of EMS Educators Level II, Adjunct faculty for Emergency Management Resources of Dallas, Certified Infection Control Officer, and OSHA 10 certified. She also serves on the program advisory committee for Fortis College’s EMT program.

Rhonda is a single mother of two sons. She enjoys spending time with family, hunting, fishing and a good Texas Country music concert. She resides in Montgomery County where she is an active member of Montgomery County Fair Association’s Safety Committee. She can be reached at rland@acutemedical.com.

Jessica Kopesky is an experienced healthcare provider having over 10 years of emergency medical services experience. Jessica has experience in both 911 and non-emergency transports. She started with Acute Medical Services in 2016 as a field medic in the Houston division, and was later promoted to FTO, Beaumont Captain, and ultimately operations supervisor for the South Texas division.

Jessica Obtained her EMT certification through Shertz EMS in San Antonio Texas. After working as an EMT for a few years Jessica attended NEMSA UTSA and achieved her nationally registered EMT paramedic certification.

Jessica is a native of the greater Houston area, and has been married to her husband Chris with two wonderful children. Her hobbies include hunting, fishing, and boating. She may be reached at jkopesky@acutemedical.com.

Rusty Zipprian joined Acute Medical Services 2012 and has been a dedicated member of the operations team and currently serves as operations supervisor. He started his emergency services sector career in 2006, transitioning from the fire service. Through these experiences, he discovered his true passion of helping others—he now dedicates his career to this passion. He received his Texas commission on fire protection basic in 2010 and later went on to obtain his EMT-B in 2011.

After becoming a nationally registered paramedic through Lone Star College, he left his secondary field of industrial refrigeration and focused on being an integral member of the Acute Medical Services’ Critical Care Team. Rusty now overseeing our fleet, logistics, and certain areas of federal and state compliance. He is also a proactive member of AMS flight team and has become a dedicated member to the operations and success of AMS.

During his off time Rusty enjoys long range marksmanship, high performance vehicles and traveling. Serving is his passion and he strives to find new and innovative ways to deliver healthcare to his patients. You can reach him at rzipprian@acutemedical.com.

Jeremy Hawthorne is an experienced EMT/Manager in his nineteenth year in the EMS field. Jeremy is a company driven operations supervisor who believes in bringing out the best in his staff and they will do great things for the organization. Jeremy joined AMS in 2016 as an EMT and was quickly moved into the position of operations supervisor. Prior to joining AMS, Jeremy was operations manager for two other large private ambulance companies and worked for a city fire department. Jeremy also has experience working for a large utility construction company providing comprehensive management of their entire fleet, fuel program, and telematics analysis.

Jeremy is a 1995 Graduate of Pottsboro High School and attended Grayson County College where he obtained his EMT certification in 1999. He also attended Haz-Co Fire Academy in 1999 where he received his firefighter certification. Jeremy and his wife Mindy have been married since 2002 and they have two daughters who keep them busy with sports and showing animals through FFA. Jeremy enjoys living the small country life, spending time with his family, and raising show pigs for his daughters to show. Jeremy also serves as the President of the Pottsboro FFA Booster Club. He may be reached at jhawthorne@acutemedical.com.

Sametra “Sam” Dixon is currently a dispatch supervisor for AMS. Sam began her career volunteering with Cy-Fair volunteer fire department where she holds a membership with the Texas Association of Fire fighters. From there, Sam gained experience as an EMT with Cy-Fair Volunteer fire department. From there, she was moved to an industrial EMT and transport EMT position. After joining the AMS team, Sam’s skills and knowledge quickly gained her the roll of the lead dispatcher. Sam now has over 15 years of medical office experience and certification that includes NAACA billing and coding, Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), scheduling, and of course dispatching where you can hear her personality over the air waves.

In her spare time, Sam enjoys spending quality time with her Grandchildren. On any given weekend, you can catch Sam at a youth football game, basketball game, track meet, or even in the stands supporting her fiancé in several competitive softball leagues. You may reach Sam at sdixon@acutemedical.com.