David Boyd (surgeon)

Later in life, Boyd privately consulted with hospitals concerning trauma and EMS systems locally, domestically and internationally. He also returned to clinical medicine by joining the Indian Health Service as a surgeon for the Sioux and Blackfeet Tribes. Boyd has published over 150 articles and papers in his field of expertise and has written chapters in medical textbooks on EMS. Through Boyd's influence, terms such as "trauma registry", "trauma center," "EMS systems," and "first responder" became well known. In 2015, Boyd was invited to write a professional autobiography in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery about his role in shaping the trauma/EMS system nationally and globally, entitled "A trauma surgeon's journey."

In 1973, the Emergency Medical Services Act was passed in Congress, and Boyd was appointed by Ford to be the Director of the Division of EMS Systems. Boyd was tasked with developing state-wide programs for all 50 states and four territories. Boyd visited states and identified areas where it made social and geographic sense to develop trauma centers in a variety of sizes and uses. Boyd implemented his plan by requiring states to qualify for federal assistance in order to be granted federal funding for their systems. Boyd asserted that qualifying states must have plans that are sufficiently comprehensive by setting up a guideline with fifteen components, including access to care, critical care units, coordinated patient record keeping, and transportation. He hosted a White House conference to explain the national program to the states. Cardiology expert Mark Vasu has said about Boyd's EMS program: "Prior to Dave's program, there was virtually no training, no standards, no 'system' of emergency care in this country." The program was terminated by President Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s at the federal level, but Boyd's work is continued to this day at the local and state levels.

Boyd developed a "trauma unit" concept at Cook County Hospital, which used a combination of monitoring, resuscitation, and immediate surgery, helping to establish the modern emergency medical system. Under his oversight, Boyd's local program developed into the standard system in the State of Illinois, and eventually expanded into a national program. In 1972, Boyd was appointed by President Gerald Ford to be the Director of EMS Systems for the federal government, responsible for expanding the program to every state and four US territories.

Boyd developed a national EMS system by first creating a local trauma unit system in Cook County, Illinois, then expanding the system to the State of Illinois, and finally nationally through a series of plans for individual states. He also designated statewide specialty trauma centers for burns, spinal cord injuries, and pediatrics in Chicago. Boyd joined the Cook County Trauma Unit in 1968 as the Resident Director of Research and Operation. He noticed inconsistencies in the records, and developed plans such as an NIH computerized trauma registry to help collect and store data to streamline the trauma system. Governor Richard B. Ogilvie of Illinois reached out to Boyd and asked him to publish his data from the trauma unit for a state-wide plan, where Boyd was brought in to administer the implementation of the plan. Boyd developed a system of 40 new trauma centers and designated nine administrative regions in the state. Additionally, he created a three-tiered system that would expedite and standardize emergency services in Illinois. During his time at the state, Boyd testified before the United States Congress in support of a National EMS Plan.

David R. Boyd (born February 2, 1937) was an American surgeon and pioneer in emergency medicine. Boyd is considered to be one of the "fathers of EMS systems." His colleague John Otten noted that Boyd "had been responsible for saving thousands of lives - more than anyone in the medical profession."