Dana Shultz

Critical Care Paramedic & Field Training Officer
Sunstar Paramedics

Originally from Zanesville, Ohio, Dana Shultz brings more than four decades of dedication to patient care and medical service. While Dana officially entered emergency medical services in 2016, his journey in medicine began much earlier. In 1982, he earned First Aid and CPR certification as a lifeguard before serving as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman. While assigned alongside the United States Marine Corps with the 2nd Medical Battalion and 2nd Force Service Support Group, Dana was trained as a battlefield medic, establishing a lifelong foundation of discipline, compassion, and service.

Inspired by the iconic EMS figures Johnny and Roy from Emergency! and by parents who helped form a volunteer fire department and pursued EMT training themselves, Dana felt a calling to emergency medicine early in life. While working in a local hospital and pursuing a nursing degree, he observed the autonomy, leadership, and impact of Paramedics in the emergency department—an experience that ultimately redirected his path toward paramedic training and led him to join Sunstar Paramedics.

Throughout his EMS career, Dana has served in numerous roles, including EMT, Paramedic, Critical Care Paramedic, Field Training Officer II, Honor Guard member, and Continuing Medical Education instructor. He is an instructor for American Heart Association Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, American Red Cross ACLS, and serves as a county CME educator. In these roles, Dana plays a vital part in onboarding new employees, delivering protocol education, and teaching specialized courses such as Emergency Pediatric Care and Prehospital Trauma Life Support.

One of Dana’s most significant contributions to Sunstar has been his leadership within the EMR-to-EMT program. Through education, mentorship, and encouragement, he has helped guide Emergency Medical Responders into EMT roles, strengthening clinical competency, building confidence, and supporting long-term workforce development and succession planning.

Dana has been recognized for excellence by the Osteopathic Medical Society, honored as an HCA Allstar on multiple occasions, and received special recognition for strike team service during Hurricane Michael. Despite these accolades, Dana considers his greatest professional achievement to be helping clinicians—new and experienced alike—understand the “why” behind patient care, connecting protocols to purpose and medicine to compassion.

Known for leading with empathy, Dana instills the belief that every patient deserves dignity, respect, and understanding. Deeply passionate about education, mentorship, and wellness in EMS, he is committed to supporting colleagues through both professional challenges and personal moments of stress or self-doubt. In addition to his work at Sunstar, Dana serves on the Pinellas County Emergency Medical Corps, continuing a lifelong commitment to service.

Sunstar Paramedics is proud to recognize Dana Shultz as a Star of Life.