When it comes to providing sage medical advice, the doctor is in — and he is an Owl, too. Three Rice University alumni who are now medical doctors comprise the clinical leaders for Rice Emergency Medical Services (REMS), the university’s student-led team of emergency medical technicians. Dr. Cameron Decker ’07 has served as the medical director for eight years, and Dr. Hashim Q. Zaidi ’11 has served as associate medical director for three years. This summer, Dr. Louis Fornage ’12 joined the team as associate medical director, completing the trifecta of guidance.
“The medical director team collectively is the clinical leadership for REMS, providing guidance and keeping REMS focused on clinical excellence,” said Lisa Basgall, REMS director. “Leading a drill on a Thursday night, offering a monthly lecture on head injuries, offering advice on better wording on patient charts — all of these are routine tasks for the physicians on this team. Stepping up to be a clinical leader by offering details about their own clinical practice in emergency medicine and prehospital care helps show the way for the REMS undergraduates. Most importantly is a willingness to engage with anyone on the REMS team to learn more, to be able to respond to patients in the best ways possible and to learn how to balance daily demanding workloads with time for families and friends. They truly show the way for the REMS team with a focus on patient excellence through a pursuit of personal excellence.”
During their time at Rice, Decker and Zaidi both served as REMS captains. Fornage was a clinical leader and highly engaged duty crew member. All of them served as clinical instructors and preceptors after they graduated from Rice and attended medical school.
This is a full-circle achievement for all three medical professionals who value what REMS taught them and are looking to extend that same experience to the current student volunteers.
Decker is the medical director of Harris County Emergency Corps, numerous Houston area fire departments and the Emergency Medical Task Force - 6, the state’s regional response network for large-scale medical incidents. He serves as medical team manager for Texas A&M Task Force 1, a FEMA and TDEM US&R team and is a clinical associate professor at Texas A&M School of Medicine. In addition, he is the operational medical director for the Baghdad Embassy Security Force in Iraq with GardaWorld Federal Services. He is an honorably retired master peace officer, sergeant and tactical physician from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team where he served for more than 15 years.
He recounted the call to enhance REMS’ capabilities, even after his time as a student.
“Like many REMS alumni, I stayed connected to the organization after graduation,” Decker said. “From early on, I had the goal of returning as medical director once I earned my doctor of medicine degree. REMS is such a unique EMS environment that it truly benefits from having physicians who previously worked within the organization. That firsthand experience helps ensure continuity and a deep understanding of the service’s culture and operations.”
aidi is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and is board certified in emergency medicine and EMS. He also works as the medical director for Harris Health System EMS and Harris Health System Transfer Center.
He recalled his REMS mentors’ impact on his journey into medicine.
“I found mentorship that has made a huge impact on me and lasted the better part of a lifetime,” Zaidi said. “Those are the kind of mentors that I strive to be today and give back to the Rice EMS students who are currently there the same way they were there for me.”
Fornage is an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine and works clinically in the emergency room at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Ben Taub Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital.
Fornage said he returned to Rice out of “a sense of respect for the work of the original founders of Rice EMS to create such a great campus organization that is recognized nationally. I have started to accumulate life and professional experiences that I want to share with those who are in similar situations as I was. Additionally, a sense of responsibility to give back to the community that molded me into the provider I am is essential to me.”
Basgall has known all three doctors for more than a decade and attested to the value they provide to the service and the student first responders.
“REMS is able to succeed because of this team of people who are willing to step up around the clock, throughout the academic year and in the summers to serve in these ways,” Basgall said.
