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Frank Giampetro Honored for 50 Years of Dedicated Service to the EMS Community

Frank Giampetro Image June 29, 2009

On Wednesday, May 27th, 2009, Frank Giampetro was awarded the “Tom Long Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA). This award was established three years ago, upon Tom Long’s retirement from Miami Valley Hospital, to recognize someone who has dedicated him/herself to “lifetime educational efforts, demonstrated service to others, and by helping within their community,” which Tom Long said, “Frank is the epitome of all these things”!

Frank was nominated, among other EMS personnel, and upon GDAHA committee review was chosen to receive this distinguished award. He was nominated by Tom Long, RN, EMT-P; Dave Evans, RN, EMT-P & EMS Coordinator for MVH CareFlight; and Capt. Dave Torsell, City of Urbana Fire Division.

Quoting from the nomination letter by Dave Evans, RN, EMT-P:
I recommend Frank Giampetro for the Tom Long Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication and continued support of EMS in the Miami Valley area. Frank has always given his own time and has been an advocate for EMS throughout his professional career. He displays a never-ending commitment to teaching ACLS, ITLS, PALS, and Geriatrics, he never says NO, and he is always willing to share his extensive experience and abilities. Frank has spent a lifetime and beyond teaching and supporting EMS and it is a great honor to recommend him.

The following is an excerpt from the nomination letter submitted by Capt. Dave Torsell:
Frank leaves a piece of himself with everyone he meets, and without even knowing it at the time, you are a better person for it. I cannot write a letter eloquent enough to describe the many ways Frank deserves this award. I have spent a great deal of my life working around Frank, and I can tell you that he has made a difference in communities across the country and in the lives of countless people. His legacy will be the contributions he has made to the field of Emergency Medicine and to the thousands of individuals he trained to save lives, to give comfort in time of need, or simply to take the time to say “I’m here if you need me.”

In my opinion, his greatest contribution has been his relentless compassion for the care of children and the elderly. Who better to be recognized for a lifetime of achievement than a man who has been a father-like figure to so many and an advocate for better care for those who cannot stand and speak for themselves. If we could all design our lives to be remembered by example of achievement, Frank Giampetro would be a perfect pattern.

Frank Giampetro Image Frank is a gracious, humble man who always takes any public recognition for his work or achievements in stride. When asked how he felt about receiving this award from his long-time friend, Tom Long, he said, “I was very moved and appreciative of the award, and I am honored to have my name associated with Tom Long.”

Frank Giampetro has been involved in the EMS community for 50 years! He first started in the EMS system on June 1, 1959. He began as Chief of Box 13, a volunteer organization for EMTs. Frank’s background is Music Education. He taught as a band director for almost 30 years between Triad High School in Champaign County, Ohio then Greenon High School in Clark County, Ohio. While teaching all those years, he also spent his summers, nights, and weekends working for the Urbana Fire Department, and later he became the EMS Coordinator at Mercy Memorial Hospital, in Urbana, OH.

Frank said, after being in the position for some time, the hospital came to him and said, “We can’t give you a raise, so we’ll give you a title,” and that’s how he became the EMS Coordinator. This is also where he met Dr.’s Paul & Joan Kolodzik, and Dr. Dave Romano, while working in the ED at Mercy Memorial Hospital. Upon his “multiple” retirements as Band Director, Urbana Fire EMT-P, and EMS Coordinator from Mercy Memorial Hospital, in March of 1996 he joined the Education Division of Premier Health Care Services, Inc., an emergency medicine physician group headquartered in Dayton, OH, training clinicians and EMS personnel in ACLS & PALS. Frank lives in Urbana, and has been a resident there for 51 years. He lives with his wife Rosa of 52 years, and they have five grown daughters. He also currently volunteers his time at the City of Urbana Fire Division, and still remains active within the EMS community.

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