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It is with great pleasure that the Office of the Medical Director announces the appointment of our new Medical Director for the City of Austin/Travis County EMS System.

Dr. Paul Hinchey began his career in EMS in 1986 as a volunteer EMT for his community ambulance service. Dr. Hinchey states, “I fell in love with the practice of prehospital medicine and decided to become a paramedic in 1989”. He also began teaching while he was still in his paramedic program and eventually became the Curriculum Chair for the same program in which he graduated from. He continued to teach and practice in the field until he went to medical school in 1997.

At the time managed care was a source of growing frustration for his physician friends as patient care decisions were increasingly being taken away from providers. As a result he enrolled in the combined MD/MBA program in an effort to be a better advocate for patients in what was rapidly becoming the business of medicine. While he explored other areas of medicine, he never found himself far from EMS and the emergency department.

Dr. Hinchey chose a residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina. Upon completion of his senior year as Chief Resident he stayed on as the EMS Fellow under mentors Drs Jane Brice and Brent Myers. His fellowship training completed, he continued as the Deputy Medical Director for Wake County EMS and became the Medical Director for WakeMed Health and Hospital’s land and air based critical care service. He currently serves in both capacities and will do so until his departure to our System. Dr. Hinchey also serves as the Medical Director for the National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) and is an active board member for the Commission on Accreditation of EMS Programs (CoAEMSP), the national accrediting agency for EMS Education Programs.

Mark Ackrell, M.D., F.A.C.E.P.
Associate Medical Director

Dr. Ackrell graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and physiology. Upon graduation he entered medical school at the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his medical education and did an internship in internal medicine at the University of Florida/Shands, Jacksonville. Upon completion of his internal medicine internship, Dr. Ackrell remained at the University of Florida Shands/Jacksonville to complete his residency requirements in emergency medicine and was appointed Chief Emergency Medicine Resident his final year. He has also maintained a clinical relationship with Shands/Jacksonville as a clinical instructor in their emergency medicine residency program. Currently, Dr. Ackrell serves as the Director of Emergency Medicine at South Austin Hospital. In addition to his full-time status with South Austin Hospital, his part-time status as an associate Medical Director, he serves as a Team Physician with Florida’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), Team Physician with the State of Florida’s Emergency Response Team and is an NASA Shuttle Launch physician.

Dr. Kempema graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI with B.A. in Physical education / Exercise Science. Upon completing his undergraduate degree he attended University of Arizona to obtain a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology / Sports Medicine and worked for two years in Cardiac Rehabilitation in Tucson, AZ. He then went on to attend University of Arizona College of Medicine where he completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Arizona Health Sciences Center, serving as Chief Resident his senior year.

In 1999 he moved to Austin and began working as an Emergency Physician at University Medical Center at Brackenridge Emergency Department and Dell Children's Emergency Department (formerly Children's Hospital of Austin). He currently serves as the assistant director of the Emergency Department at UMC-Brackenridge. Dr. Kempema was also the former regional medical director for Critical Air Medicine and Air Evac Lifeteam. In August 2007 he became an Associate Medical Director with OMD and full-time Medical Director for Travis County’s STAR Flight Helicopter Program.

Dr. Kimbrough graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and began his medical career in the United States Army. He was initially trained as a general surgeon and completed his surgical residency at both North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill and Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington. Upon completion of his surgical residency he was assigned to Landstuhl Army Medical Center as the Surgery Service Chief and Staff Surgeon where he worked as a surgeon, mobilization officer in support of field deployment and clinical coordinator for Special Forces senior medics training. He completed his term at Landstuhl and was transferred to Silas B. Hays, Army Community Hospital in Fort Ord, Ca. He served as assistant service chief providing clinical support in the hospital, while coordinating the educational program for residents, interns and medical students. Dr. Kimbrough was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his service at Silas B. Hays. Dr. Kimbrough completed his term as active duty and became an active Army Reservist at 5501 US Army Hospital in San Antonio. He served as Chief of the Department of Surgery until his retirement from the US Army as a Colonel. In civilian service Dr. Kimbrough obtained his Board certification as an Emergency Physician and worked as an emergency department physician at Brackenridge Hospital until moving to South Austin Hospital, where he is currently employed full-time. Dr. Kimbrough is also active in the EMS Education field, serving as the medical director and part-time faculty for the Emergency Medical Services Professions Program at Austin Community College.