Mon EMS announces Johnson as new captain Monongalia Emergency Medical Services (Mon EMS) announced that paramedic Brandon Johnson was promoted to captain.
Johnson fills the fourth and final vacancy of the team of four captains at Mon EMS.
“I am honored to assume the role of captain at Mon EMS” said Johnson. “I am excited to do my part to serve those EMS professionals at Mon EMS, making sure they have the resources they need and removing any roadblocks, while simultaneously resolving any issues to ensure our citizens get high quality, efficient health care will be my primary focus.”
A captain at Mon EMS is considered a shift commander who has the responsibility to oversee all EMS operations in Monongalia County, coordinate scarce resources, command complex or difficult scenes and support all Mon EMS staff in their duties performing patient care. They ensure operations for all 105,000+ residents and visitors, and make sure that care can be delivered to all 366+ square miles of Monongalia County around the clock.
“It is an awesome responsibility and much needed to ensure operations run smoothly regardless of the time of day or night.” said Roy Nakkula, director of operations “Brandon is an excellent fit to ensure that great care of the EMS providers at Mon EMS are utilized to the best extent in the county and that our citizens are served.”
Johnson started EMS in Virginia through a high school program in 2009. After working six years as an EMT, he attended the paramedic program at Pierpont Community & Technical College in 2016. He has worked in north-central West VIrginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, and participated in FEMA missions to California, North Carolina and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies in health promotion, human services and business administration.
He spent the last few months learning all aspects of operations, human resources, incident management, incident reporting, problem solving from the current cadre of captains and other leaders at Mon EMS. He has worked multiple weeks on all shifts, day and night, including dispatch, logistics’ and administration getting a “global” understanding of Mon EMS.
“So often in EMS, and public safety in general, we promote and then train,” said Forest Weyen, executive director. “We are fighting against those old methods and giving the folks more training and experience before they move into supervisory roles to ensure that the crews that they support and ultimately the patients we serve are getting the best possible product. We are excited to see the growth and development of Brandon and are excited to be able to promote from within to fill this vital role. Brandon will be an excellent servant for Mon EMS and our citizens.”
Johnson will transition to his new role Monday and will be primarily working night shift.
Monongalia EMS is a joint venture between Mon Health and WVU Medicine established in July 2019 in partnership with Monongalia County.
