Medical Director Dr. Ben Abo Brings Experience and Innovation to Escambia County Public Safety

From a young age, Dr. Ben Abo knew he wanted to help people.

He worked his first shift as an EMT the day after his 16^th birthday, became a paramedic in college, and worked as a medic for several years before ultimately deciding to go to medical school.

Dr. Abo’s career has taken him all over the world, from starting a nonprofit for motorcycle ambulance service in Africa, to working as a paramedic in Ireland, to hurricane deployments in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas – just to name a few.

Dr. Abo has made a name for himself as an internationally-renowned EMS physician for his practice and engagement in EMS medical direction, disaster response, toxinology, and emergency medicine.

Now, his career in medical service is continuing in Escambia County as the new Interim Medical Director for Escambia County Public Safety, overseeing emergency medical care for all of Public Safety including Escambia County EMS, Emergency Communications, Emergency Management, Escambia County Fire Rescue, Pensacola Beach Lifeguards, and the Pensacola Fire Department.

Dr. Abo has big ideas for the future of Escambia County Public Safety, and he is already working on new initiatives to take emergency medical care to the next level in Escambia County.

Within his first month on the job, Dr. Abo has taken more than 200 complex or high-risk medical phone consultations to assist EMTs and paramedics on emergency calls, added new lifesaving medications including cyanide antidote kits, and responded to several dozen major calls, including several cardiac arrests where he was able to restore the patient’s pulse.

Dr. Abo said he’s already impressed with the leadership and staff at Escambia County Public Safety, especially their willingness to make changes for the sake of doing good – not just for the sake of making changes.

“The reception has been almost overwhelmingly amazing,” Dr. Abo said. “It’s been such a welcome from everybody, from Fire Rescue and EMS to law enforcement and the lifeguards. The excitement is palpable. And I don’t think it’s they’re excited just for me – I think they’re excited for growth, for someone who trusts them, someone to want to help them grow and expand care.”

Dr. Abo’s overall goal is always to provide “top notch care anywhere,” whether it’s responding to an emergency call at someone’s home or treating a patient while suspended from the side of a building after a disaster.

“We used to always say we want to provide ICU-level care in the emergency department, and now we're bringing ICU-level and emergency department care out to the streets, to your home,” Dr. Abo said. “I don’t call it pre-hospital medicine, because if we can treat you and you don’t even have to go to the hospital – even better. For a lot of calls, we are providing the same level of care as the emergency department, right there on scene.”

One major change Dr. Abo is working on is making whole blood available to EMS crews, which can be the difference between life and death when a patient experiences significant blood loss. Currently, blood products like plasma and red blood cells are more commonly used, but some counties in Florida including Broward County and Palm Beach County have now made whole blood available for patients.

Dr. Abo said it can sometimes take agencies years to implement this change, but he is aiming high and hoping to have whole blood available for Escambia County EMS by the end of the year.

“Whether it’s a medical cause or traumatic injury, the biggest killer is lack of blood,” Dr. Abo said. “It’s been proven time and time again, if you can just give them what they’re missing, that is the best thing for the patient. We’re replacing what they’ve lost immediately and giving them a better chance to make it to the trauma center.”

With years of experience in disaster response and urban search and rescue, Dr. Abo is also passionate about improving community resiliency through prevention, education and outreach. As the coordinating Medical Team Manager for FEMA’s Florida Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue, Dr. Abo has responded to numerous major natural disasters worldwide since 2016, seeing firsthand the importance of community resiliency.

“There is so much that happens here in Escambia County and has the potential of happening here, that I truly feel that I’m going to be able to help strengthen our resiliency,” Dr. Abo said. “Education and prevention are very important. Things are going to happen, but education can help prevent a large number, and then the outcomes won’t be as bad. I look forward to working with our team and community partners to expand what we’re doing for community health and education.” 

Dr. Abo continues to remain active in the EMS community at a national and international level, including research, education, speaking engagements, consulting, committees and more, along with active field response.  He has also earned numerous awards throughout his career, including EMS Provider of the Year for Heroism and Valor from the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation, Touro University’s Inaugural Alumni Lamplighter Award, and multiple citations for various rescues and disaster deployments.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Abo's experience, passion, and wealth of knowledge here in Escambia County,” Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore said. “We have an amazing team of professionals who are passionate about providing the highest level of care to our residents, and I am confident that he will empower our team and help elevate our emergency medical care to the next level. Dr. Abo is already proving to be a valuable asset and forward-thinking leader for our team, and I am very excited to see what’s in store for the future of Escambia County Public Safety under his leadership.” 

Dr. Ben Abo, Interim Medical Director for Escambia County Public Safety

Dr. Abo on a deployment with the Urban Search & Rescue team Florida Task Force 1 on Pine Island during the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, along with one of his four legged teammates, Saturn.

Photo by Firefighter Rick Stephens: Dr. Abo overlooks rescue and recovery efforts at the Champlain Towers Building Collapse in Surfside, Florida in 2021. 

Dr. Abo working on scene medical command during an eight-hour complex medical rescue of a man entrapped 25-plus feet in the air in heavy machinery in Naples, Florida.