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2025 Florida Ambulance Association Star of Life
Kelsey Cotton, Transport Coordinator 
American Ambulance Response – Orlando 

Kelsey Cotton started her career in EMS in 2012 at Albuquerque Ambulance Service in New Mexico as an EMD certified-dispatcher. During her 9 years at this location, she worked her way up to shift captain before relocating joining AMR as a dispatcher for the Orlando operation in 2021. Her considerable experience and knowledge were a significant asset to the communications center. In November of 2023, Kelsey transferred to the transport coordinator position in support of the Orlando Health contract. Starting as the in-house transport coordinator, Kelsey was instrumental in creating the processes and procedures for this position as she was the first to fill this newly created role. She was a key collaborator in identifying what this role needed and how it could best support the customer and the operation. She then moved to the in-hospital role where she immediately began creating meaningful relationships with the hospital staff and our crews. She tirelessly moves around the hospital she is assigned to, updating nurses with ETAs, confirming all paperwork is completed and that the patient is ready to go. When crews arrive, she is there to greet them and then escort them to their patient’s room, providing updates about the patient or the trip along the way. Upon arrival, she coordinates the handoff between the nurse and the crew. Her customer service and people skills have strengthened our relationships with both our customers and employees. Her contributions to the team are immeasurable, and we are grateful she has chosen AMR Orlando as her workplace.

2025 Florida Ambulance Association Star of Life
Carlos Costa, Critical Care Paramedic 
Century Ambulance Service 

Carlos Costa’s career in Emergency Medical Services spans nearly five decades, beginning in 1977 as an Emergency Medical Technician. His dedication to the field led him to become a paramedic in 1990 after attending the Daniel Freeman Paramedic Program at UCLA. Over the years, Carlos has continuously expanded his expertise, serving as an ACLS, PALS, and BLS instructor, as well as a preceptor to new paramedics. He has made a significant impact as a flight medic and search-and-rescue specialist for the sheriff’s department, and for 15 years, he was a paramedic rescue diver. Carlos also served as a SWAT paramedic, gaining invaluable experience in high-stakes, high-pressure environments.

Carlos has been deeply involved in the 911 emergency system throughout his career, primarily working in Southern California with AMR. In 2010, he was deployed as a rescue paramedic to Haiti following the devastating earthquake, providing critical care in the midst of chaos. After relocating to Florida in 2012, Carlos continued his work in inter-facility transport, primarily in the Fort Myers area, before joining Century Ambulance Service in January 2024 as a Critical Care Paramedic. 

On June 25^th, 2024, Carlos was paged out to a 935 lb. patient that was experiencing extreme shortness of breath, possible pulmonary edema. Upon arrival, the patient was on a ventilator with multiple drips running. Carlos was able to assess the scene, contact dispatch and the supervisor, and request the manpower needed to complete the call safely. This patient needed a CT scan and unfortunately, the hospital has a weight restriction of 600 lbs. for CT scanners. Due to the size of the patient and the severity of the situation, the hospital was able to find a CT scanner at an Equine facility in Ocala. Arrangements began to be made to get transfer/lift help lined up for this patient. Upon arrival our crew and Marion County fire worked together to safely unload the patient from our unit to the CT scanner. Carlos and the team worked with a Veterinarian Technician to ensure the patient was properly placed with no inference to vital signs. The patient was then transported safely back to the hospital. Amazing teamwork, collaboration and compassion by all involved.

Since joining Century, Carlos has proven to be an invaluable asset to the company, consistently going above and beyond to deliver exceptional patient care. His dedication was recognized with the BMCS LOTUS Award for his outstanding care of a patient. With a career built on skill, compassion, and a commitment to excellence, Carlos Costa continues to make a lasting impact on the EMS community.

2025 Florida Ambulance Association Star of Life
Heather Burke, Critical Care Paramedic 
Trident EMS

Heather Burke began her career in EMS at Volusia County EMS in 1998. During her time at Volusia she was honored with several awards including Signature Retrieval and Paramedic of the Year. She was also bestowed an award by the Weather Channel and Brighthouse Network following the 2004 hurricanes. She volunteered for multiple hurricane deployments both in Florida and other states, including the response to Hurricane Katrina. She also played a key role in coordinating the EMS response to mass casualty incidents and, for five years, was actively involved in the school safety program. As part of this program, she visited kindergarten classes to teach safety lessons on topics such as stranger danger, fire safety, drugs, walking safety, and gun safety.

Heather later joined Lake / Sumter County EMS in 2007 where she became an AHA instructor, where she was awarded the True North Award for always going above and beyond. She was also awarded the first ever Lake County EMS Medal of Honor for rescuing a woman from a local lake. In addition, she was a member of the Muddy Angels, which is a group that cycles from Maine to D.C. to raise money for the National EMS Memorial.

Since joining Trident EMS, Heather has transported several high acuity CCT calls inducing a balloon pump transfer. While working at the Bay County location she saved numerous lives during high rip currents caused by a tropical storm offshore. During COVID she dedicated herself to transporting hundreds of critically ill patients to experimental treatments. Heather has been an outstanding addition to every service she has worked for and is extremely deserving of the 2025 Florida Star of Life award.

2025 Florida Ambulance Association Star of Life
Kevin Barker, Paramedic
American Medical Response – Orlando

Kevin began his career in the EMS field in 2013 with AMR Orlando as an EMT. It was clear from the start that he had ambitions to grow, so he quickly enrolled in a paramedic program. Kevin committed to working the only shift available that would accommodate his paramedic course work, which was a 5-day a week shift that began at 4:00 a.m. on a critical care transport unit. Still new to the field, he wasn’t sure if he could handle such a high-pressure role. However, his doubts were soon dispelled as he demonstrated his clinical prowess, adaptability, and genuine desire to learn as much as possible about emergency medicine. Kevin quickly made a name for himself within the organization and soon had paramedics arguing over who was going to get to work with Kevin that day. In 2015, Kevin achieved his goal of becoming a paramedic, and soon after became a BLS, ACLS, and PALS instructor through the AHA. Kevin also became an EMT and paramedic instructor at one of the local colleges where he routinely would go above and beyond for his students, all while being a devoted husband and father.

What continues to set Kevin apart is his unwavering dedication to service. Kevin currently works as a paramedic on the primary 911 transport unit assigned to Orlando International Airport. Kevin is routinely commended for his patient care, bedside manner, and the sense of calm that he brings to each emergency scene. One example of this occurred when an elderly patient fell inside the lobby of the hotel airport. The patient immediately felt a significant amount of pain and was unable to stand. Upon assessment the patient was found to have an open ankle fracture with exposed tendons, absent distal pulses, and a large amount of blood pooling. Kevin began rapid treatment which included hemorrhage control, and splinting of the affected ankle prior to transport. Once the patient was able to be moved, Kevin quickly initiated a trauma alert and began transport to the local trauma center which was approximately 20 minutes away. During this time, Kevin was able to calm the patient and reassure him that he would be receiving the best trauma care that Central Florida could provide. This also calmed the patient’s wife who was present in the ambulance. While Kevin was assessing his patient during the transport, the patient quickly began to decompensate and become hypotensive from the significant amount of blood loss. Kevin quickly intervened and provided appropriate care to the patient and updated the trauma center of their incoming patient. Due to Kevin’s quick actions, calm demeanor, and appropriate patient care, the patient was able to be treated at the trauma center and is expected to make a full recovery.

For those who were not able to make our FAA Board and Membership meeting earlier today, please find the link to the GMR's OEM Presentation linked here.  

Global Medical Response's OEM is partnering with the Florida Ambulance Association to manage the FAA's response to disasters impacting the state of Florida. This presentation provides additional details and information about the OEM's capabilities for this partnership with the FAA and the state. 

View Presentation Here

Our next FAA Board and Membership meeting will take place on Thursday, January 9th at 1:00pm Eastern in conjunction with the state meetings. 

For those attending the state meetings in Orlando, please join us in room S330-D. If you are planning to join the meeting virtually, the link to join will be sent via calendar invite soon! 

Thank you,
FAA Board of Directors 

Florida has expanded the first responder mental health line to all 67 counties. Read more at:

https://floridadaily.com/florida-ag-announces-expansion-of-help-line-for-first-responders-with-ptsd/

https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-expands-first-responder-mental-health-line-all-67-counties-suicides-persist

Registration for the 2025 Florida Ambulance Association Stars of Life Event is now open! Join us on February 18th and 19th to celebrate the EMTs, Paramedics, and other EMS professionals who have gone above and beyond in service to their communities. We are looking forward to a great event this year where we will have a fun evening banquet to honor our award recipients followed by a day of legislative meeting with their representatives at the state Capitol. 

Registration is free for FAA members, register today at https://faa.wildapricot.org/event-5927706  

On June 27, 2024, the American Ambulance Association submitted its comments regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed Emergency Response Standard. View the AAA’s comment submission here. The public comment period on the proposed standard concluded on July 22, 2024.

OSHA announced that it will hold an informal virtual public hearing on the proposed standard in November and is now accepting written requests to testify. The hearing will begin on November 12, 2024, and continue from 9:30 am until 4:30 pm ET on subsequent weekdays for as long as needed to hear the testimonies and question witnesses.

Written requests to testify are due by September 27, 2024. Individuals or groups who request more than 10 minutes to present their oral testimony at the hearing or who will submit documentary evidence at the hearing must submit the full text of their testimony and all documentary evidence no later than October 18, 2024.

AAA President, Randy Strozyk has submitted to testify on behalf of the AAA and encourages all members of EMS agencies or other interest groups to do the same. More information on the public hearing can be found here. Additionally, you can submit your request to testify here. If you have any questions about the proposed rule, please contact the AAA at hello@ambulance.org.