Medical Directors

Paul R. Hinchey, Medical Director

Jose G. Cabanas, Deputy Medical Director

Mark Ackrell, Associate Medical Director

James Kempema, Associate Medical Director

Duke Kimbrough, Associate Medical Director

Paul R. Hinchey, MD, MBA, EMT-P

Medical Director

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.  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.  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.

Dr. Jose G. Cabanas, MD, FACEP 

 Deputy Medical Director

Dr. Jose G. Cabanas is a board-certified emergency medicine physician with a special focus on EMS and resuscitation. He is a native of Puerto Rico, where he served nearly a decade in EMS in a wide variety of positions including EMS Communications Specialist, General Operations Supervisor for Puerto Rico 911 Emergency Services, Aeromedical Flight Coordinator and as a field provider with First Response EMS (FREMS).

Dr. Cabanas received his Doctor of Medicine with High Honors at Ross University School of Medicine and completed his Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Puerto Rico, where he served as Chief Resident. In 2008, he completed an Internship in Health Policy at George Washington University in Washington, DC and was awarded the Jean Hollister EMS National Award, given annually to one member of the Emergency Medicine Resident's Association for sustained contributions to the field of EMS through teaching, scholarship and service.

During his final year in residency, he was selected as the EMS Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill under the mentorship of Dr. Jane H. Brice and Dr. Brent Myers. As part of this program, he was awarded the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine's Physio Control Research Grant, for the purpose of furthering prehospital hypothermia studies. During his fellowship training, he served as the Assistant Medical Director for Wake County EMS and Orange County EMS.

In addition to his interest in the practice of prehospital medicine, Dr. Cabanas has an interest in clinical research and has published scientific articles on a variety of topics in EMS and Emergency Medicine. He has also been a primary author or co-author on several EMS and clinical textbooks. After finishing his fellowship, he stayed as Deputy Medical Director for Wake County EMS and the Special Operations Medical Director for WakeMed Health and Hospitals, both in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Mark Ackrell, MD, FACEP

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 and 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 a NASA Shuttle Launch physician.

James Kempema, MD, FAAEM

Associate Medical Director

Dr. Kempema graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI with a 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.  He curretly 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.

B. Duke Kimbrough, MD, FACS, FACEP

Associate Medical Director

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 Ford 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.