Paramedics Ron Gentry and Jessica Withers responding to a school shooting training exercise.

HISTORY OF GREAT FALLS EMERGENCY SERVICES :

In 1994, Frank VanderSloot founded Great Falls Emergency Services and in 1998 he brought Dave Kuhn onboard to manage the company.  Together they continued to nurture the company and realize their long-range vision of paramedic ambulance service for the City of Great Falls and throughout Cascade County.  Since that time GFES has continued to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to on-time paramedic ambulance response. 

Despite staggering losses during the early years of operation, GFES owners established a sister company, Montana Community Ambulance (MCA) in 1998. MCA augmented Great Falls Emergency Service’s capabilities beyond paramedic level care by expanding the scope of paramedic practice to allow for a specially trained Critical Care Paramedic service offering.

In 2007 and 2008 Great Falls Emergency Services participated in a municipal EMS ordinance process that resulted in a formal contract for providing 9-1-1 ambulance services in the City of Great Falls. In that year, Montana Community Ambulance operations were also merged with Great Fall Emergency Services. Today, GFES continues to provide 9-1-1 ambulance service throughout Cascade County.

In addition to providing 9-1-1 emergency paramedic response, and paramedic non-emergency transport, Great Falls Emergency Service also provides Critical Care Transport, Disaster Response, Special Event Medical Standby and Basic Life Support service for long distance ambulance transport.

Recently GFES was requested by the State of Montana to manage one of seven disaster trailers placed strategically throughout the State. These trailers contain critical supplies in the event of a major disaster or mass casualty event.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Dave Kuhn – President, Great Falls Emergency Services

David Kuhn is co-owner of Great Falls Emergency Services (GFES) and Missoula Emergency Services, Incorporated (MESI). As such, Mr. Kuhn personally leads two of the largest privately held ambulance operations in the State of Montana. Both companies respond to patients living in urban, rural and frontier areas who require very sophisticated clinical services and sincere patient care advocacy. For his Montana operations, Mr. Kuhn must stay abreast of all local EMS system dynamics including responding to local issues, financial management, Federal reimbursement, local public affairs, community relations, clinical trends and local medical direction all as they impact the businesses and the end users of the companies� services.

David Kuhn started his career in Nashville, Tennessee where he worked at the corporate offices of HealthTrust, Inc. and later for the regional Health Trust, Inc. office in Salt Lake City, Utah. David became the HCA Payson, Utah Hospital�s assistant administrator in 1993 where, in addition to department responsibilities, he oversaw the new construction of the HCA Mount Timpanogos Hospital located in Orem, Utah. Subsequently, he accepted an offer of employment from East Texas Medical Center where he was hired to work as the Chief Operating Officer for the Crockett, Texas operation. Soon after, he was invited to be the Chief Executive Officer for the newly acquired hospital in Fairfield, Texas.

In 1998, David became president, and in 2002 he became co-owner, of Great Falls Emergency Services, Missoula Emergency Services, and Montana Emergency Healthcare Consultants. David has also owned and operated an assisted living Center from 2002-2004 in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Now living in Idaho Falls, Idaho, David is the father of seven children. He and his wife Monica are expecting their eighth child in late 2009. Mr. Kuhn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Brigham Young University and also holds a Masters in Health Services Administration from Arizona State University.

Justin Grohs– GFES Operations Manager
Justin Grohs began serving as General Manager of Great Falls Emergency Services in April 2008, overseeing a paramedic ambulance operation that responds to over 8000 EMS calls annually in the City of Great Falls, Cascade County, and the surrounding region. He brings 15 years of experience to the job both as a field provider and in EMS Operations and Management.
Previous to this, Justin worked as EMS Director for Teton County EMS in Choteau, Montana, and has worked with both rural and urban EMS systems in Wyoming, Vermont, Maine, and Arizona. He has been a senior instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates since 1997 and has taught courses in wilderness and remote medicine throughout the U.S. and internationally. He is also the founder of Extreme Medicine, a company specializing in providing medical support in unusual or difficult environments.
In 2007 Justin joined the Western EMS Network Board of Directors, and is currently serving as President of the Montana Emergency Medical Services Association. He was also recently appointed to represent Private Ambulance Operators on the Montana State Trauma Care Committee.
Justin holds a B.A. in Classical Studies from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont and earned his Paramedic Diploma from the Maine EMS Academy in 1993

Dr. John Stowers - GFES Medical Director
Dr. John Stowers, board certified in emergency medicine since 2000 and an experienced medical director for out-of-hospital emergency services (ambulance, tactical EMS and Search and Rescue) is a relatively new EMS medical director at Great Falls Emergency Services. Dr. Stowers also serves as an emergency department physician at Benefis hospital in Great Falls. With almost two decades of experience in the EMS field, Dr. Stowers guides and oversees the clinical practice of Great Falls’ paramedics and emergency medical technicians. His outstanding leadership capabilities also work to serve the provision of medical oversight for the organization.
Before he became Medical Director at Great Falls Emergency Services, John Stowers worked for Missoula Community Hospital and the Marcus Daily Hospital (2007-2009). Previous to 2000, Dr. Stowers worked as an emergency physician at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula, Montana in addition to directing the clinical response associated with the Sheriff’s Department Tactical EMS unit. Dr. Stowers served as Missoula County’s Search and Rescue Team’s medical director and as the County’s Emergency Operations Division medical director. For almost a decade, Dr. Stowers also served as medical director for Ingram County’s S.W.A.T. unit. John Stowers was also an academic faculty member of Genesys Hospital in Flint, Michigan.
John Stowers completed his Undergraduate Degree in Chemistry at Purdue University in Indiana (1989-1991). Continuing his studies in the field of Medicine, he finished Medical School at University of California, Davis, in 1995. He then pursued further education through an internship and residency program in emergency medicine in Lansing, Michigan at the University of Michigan, until 1998. During this time, he also worked a 3 year stint in Tactical Emergency Medicine.

Jeremy Virts - Training Officer
Jeremy Virts is the Training Officer for Great Falls Emergency Services. He oversees and coordinates all EMT and paramedic continuing education and monitors employees’ certification requirements.


Jeremy Virts started working with Great Falls Emergency Services in 1995 as an EMT-Basic, at the young age of twenty one. Learning from the knowledge and experience of seasoned medics, he was able to see the positive effects of their services day in and day out. This fueled an ambition within him to further his education and to increase his ranks as an Emergency Professional.

Mr. Virts obtained his EMT-Intermediate certification prior to his impressive service with the United States Army, where he spent six years in the Army Reserve and obtained combat field medic and AIT trainings.

Subsequently, he continued to demonstrate his allegiance to the Great Falls community by working for the Great Falls Police Department for a period of five years, while simultaneously working for Great Falls Emergency Services. Impressively, Virts finished the MSU-COT paramedic program with outstanding results while being employed full-time as a police officer.

Mr. Virts became a full-time Fire Fighter/Paramedic with the City of Great Falls before acquiring his current position as Training Officer for Great Falls Emergency Services. His devotion is to deliver the highest quality of care possible through comprehensive and skills based training.  Mr. Virts has been with the company for over thirteen years.

 "Great Falls Emergency Services has helped me grow as a person and as an EMS provider. Opportunities have allowed me to develop an aggressive style of practicing field medicine while maintaining a professional and safe demeanor.  Implementing the latest technological aspects of patient care mixed with good old fashion empathy and compassion is what drives me to exceed the standard. This in turn gives our patients at Great Falls Emergency Services the best care possible."The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second is listening, the third is memory, the fourth is practice and the fifth is teaching others" ( Solomon Ibn Gabriol)." 

Justin Eyring - Crew Chief