Accountability

Patrick Bancke has over twenty-five years of experience in rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) starting out in Search and Rescue to his current tenure as an EMT at a rural transporting Fire Department. He is as comfortable in a business setting as he is in the back of a moving ambulance. Patrick is the president of Oregon Real Estate Experts, a real estate company transacting millions of dollars of residential real estate sales per year across the state of Oregon. In 2017, Patrick was blessed with the opportunity to go to Nepal on a medical mission trip and while there he saw the huge need for emergency medical responders and gender equality. His thoughts kept returning to Nepal no matter how far away he traveled. He stayed in contact with the amazing friends he made in Nepal and over a year’s period of time, Nepal Medics was born. When Patrick is not working with his company or Nepal Medics he enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with his family.

Brad has been a local government attorney in Oregon for the past 23 years. He has worked in most facets of local government law. He has always represented the local health department. For the last twelve years, Brad has represented the regulatory agency for ambulance services for the second largest county in the State of Oregon.

Guennet Cook was born and raised in Ethiopia. Her family moved often, allowing her to become familiar with much of the country. She grew up in a society that had both strong Christian and Muslim cultures living together, and learned it is possible to keep your faith value system, and respect your neighbors no matter how different they are. She came to the U.S. to attend Linfield College. While in College a government change in her home country forced her to remain in Oregon. After College, she worked for 10 years in the Insurance industry before taking time off to raise her two children. She also spent 15 years working as a Literacy Coordinator, a job that gave her a unique understanding of the educational needs of emigrants and nationals with lower level literacy skills. Guennet currently works part time as a property manager for the family business, and enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Daniel Phillips is a retired gastroenterologist who late in life rediscovered a passion for emergency medicine and medicine in austere environments. He is a physician adviser for Lane County Search and Rescue, and a member of the disaster response teams for Project Hope, Medical Teams International, and the State of Oregon. He holds the Diploma in Mountain Medicine and is a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. He has been involved in teaching or direct service projects worldwide, most recently in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Cameroon. Dr. Phillis is one of the original members of Nepal’s Dhading District’s EMS training program.

Dr. Peter O’Meara is an internationally recognized expert on paramedicine models of care and education and was one of the first paramedics in the world to complete a doctoral qualification researching paramedicine. Dr. O’Meara is an Adjunct Professor at Monash University in the Department of Community Emergency Health & Paramedic Practice and a Director of the Global Higher Paramedic Education Council. Peter is available for consulting through Paramedicine Consulting. Dr O’Meara’s research has focused on the delivery of paramedic services in rural settings and the development of paramedic extended scope-of-practice roles. A specific focus in recent years has been in the evolution of community paramedicine, while he has also undertaken research projects related to volunteer ambulance systems. In essence, his research has contributed toward the emergence of paramedicine as a health profession in Australia and other parts of the world. Peter has published one book, ten book chapters, over 70 peer-reviewed papers and many other publications.

David has been involved in emergency medicine for over 25 years. He feels extremely lucky to have been able to quickly combine his medical training and passion for the outdoors with work in work mountain rescue and disaster response paramedicine in the Pacific Northwest Region of the US. In addition to being an active field-deployed medic, he is also a supervisor, field training officer and instructor of wilderness medicine, rope rescue, swiftwater rescue and alpine rescue. After honing his skills in the backcountry, he started working as a Remote Paramedic and Safety Officer at a multitude of projects both onshore and offshore worldwide. In 2017 David traveled to Nepal and taught a RMR course, which solidified his desire to share his wealth of experiences and knowledge to others all across the world.

Chris is the Deputy Chief of Strategic Services for Eugene/Springfield Fire. His career started with the U.S. Air Force in 1987. For 20 years he flew as a career enlisted aviator accumulating over 5,500 flight hours on fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Throughout his active duty career he participated in military, disaster and humanitarian operations worldwide specializing in strategic airlift, combat search and rescue and isolated personnel recovery. Chris retired as the Operations Superintendent of the 66th Rescue Squadron, Las Vegas in 2007. During his military career he found an interest in EMS and completed his education in the civilian setting. His EMS career paralleled his military duties as he worked as a paramedic in private, cooperate and hospital based EMS systems in Atlanta and Las Vegas prior to moving back to Oregon post retirement. Chris then began his second career in the fire service. He started with a combination department and during his first 10 years promoted through the ranks to Assistant Chief. He then was offered a Deputy Chief position with Eugene Springfield Fire where he oversees training, logistics, EMS, special teams and large event planning. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and holds the designation of Chief Emergency Medical Services Officer with the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Additionally, he is a member of the Oregon State Fire Marshalls Type 2 incident management teams. Chris is the recipient of the Oregon EMS and Trauma Systems Meritorious Service and Commitment to Quality Awards. Chris and his wife Laurie raise Christmas Trees on their small farm and active with the local volunteer fire department. Additionally, they also volunteer with international non-profit organizations who focus on the development of emergency response systems.

Patrick Bancke has over twenty years of experience in rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) starting out in Search and Rescue to his current tenure as an EMT at a rural transporting Fire Department. He is as comfortable in a business setting as he is in the back of a moving ambulance. Patrick is the president of Oregon Real Estate Experts, a real estate company transacting millions of dollars of residential real estate sales per year across the state of Oregon. In 2017, Patrick was blessed with the opportunity to go to Nepal on a medical mission trip and while there he saw the huge need for emergency medical responders and gender equality. His thoughts kept returning to Nepal no matter how far away he traveled. He stayed in contact with the amazing friends he made in Nepal and over a year’s period of time, Nepal Medics was born. When Patrick is not working with his company or Nepal Medics he enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with his family.

Brad has been a local government attorney in Oregon for the past 23 years. He has worked in most facets of local government law. He has always represented the local health department. For the last twelve years, Brad has represented the regulatory agency for ambulance services for the second largest county in the State of Oregon.

Guennet Cook was born and raised in Ethiopia. Her family moved often, allowing her to become familiar with much of the country. She grew up in a society that had both strong Christian and Muslim cultures living together, and learned it is possible to keep your faith value system, and respect your neighbors no matter how different they are. She came to the U.S. to attend Linfield College. While in College a government change in her home country forced her to remain in Oregon. After College, she worked for 10 years in the Insurance industry before taking time off to raise her two children. She also spent 15 years working as a Literacy Coordinator, a job that gave her a unique understanding of the educational needs of emigrants and nationals with lower level literacy skills. Guennet currently works part time as a property manager for the family business, and enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Sonya Jones has degrees in both Economics and Psychology from Willamette University. She also holds a graduate degree in Psychological Counseling from George Fox University. She is the President of Hope Counseling Services, LLC, a private counseling practice in Oregon serving individuals, couples and families. In addition to her counseling background, Sonya also brings a host of corporate experience as a Project Manager with a large national corporation prior to beginning her counseling career. Sonya has been involved in non-profit work through her church for over 30 years. Her non-profit experiences have included working with homeless communities in the US and Mexico as well as spending time in Haiti following the tragic earthquake and secondary cholera outbreaks in 2010. She has also worked in a supportive role with other non-profits to accomplish their missions. In addition to these activities, Sonya enjoys spending time with her family, including their corgi, as well as gardening and travel.

Received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the joint program at Oregon State/Washington State Veterinary school. Serving as veterinarian for over 23 years, Donna has a passion for medicine and helping people with their pets. Having managed several veterinary hospitals in Oregon, Donna has a diverse background in recruiting, coaching, and developing the strengths of many talented professionals. Her specialty includes preventive care medicine, soft tissue surgery and internal medicine. She is currently on the Board for the Washington County Veterinary Medical Association. Donna has a heart for travel which has opened opportunities in serving in various medical organizations overseas in Cambodia and Nicaragua.