Here are our staff members. Please feel free to contact them!
Raffaella Coler, MEd, RN, EMT-P
Director, Department of EMS Education
rcoler@harthosp.org
Raffaella or "Ralf" Coler is the Director of the Department of EMS Education. Ralf has over twenty-five years experience in the Emergency Department and in EMS. She is a Regional Faculty Member for ACLS, BLS and PALS and was the Chairperson of the American Heart Association's Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee. Ralf is also currently the President of the North Central EMS Council and she is the Chairperson of the State of Connecticut Education and Training Committee for EMS.
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Sara Knuth, MD, MSW
Medical Director Ground EMS
sknuth@harthosp.org
Sara Knuth is our department medical director for educational and for medical control purposes. Sara is an Attending Physician in the Hartford Hospital Emergency Department.
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Elaine Belanger Administrative Associate
Ebelanger@harthosp.org
Elaine Belanger has been the administrative associate for the Department of EMS Education since July 2012. Elaine is the backbone of our department and generally the first person that visitors have contact with. Elaine has been with Hartford Hospital for over 25 years.
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Eric Bennett NREMT-P, EMS-I
EMS Educator
Eric has been a nationally registered paramedic since 2004 and has been with EMS Education since 2002. He coordinates the ACLS and PALS programs for the Department in addition to teaching in several other programs. Prior to entering the EMS field, Eric was a teacher at Wethersfield High School and worked at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Waterford, CT. Eric has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Hartford.
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Greg Berryman, EMT-P
Greg Berryman is the Coordinator the Paramedic Program. Greg has lengthy experience in EMS and also has worked as a paramedic with Middlesex Hospital's Department of Emergency Services and American Medical Response.
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Matthew Braunshweiger
Matthew Braunshweiger is responsible for the operations of the American Heart Association's BLS Training Center at Hartford Hospital. Matthew is firefighter and paramedic with the East Hartford Fire Department.
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Keith Byrne, EMT-P
Keith has been with the EMS Education Department as an Educator for the last 10 years. Keith is responsible for the coordination the EMT Day program. He teaches in all programs for the Education Department, including the Paramedic program, ACLS, and PALS courses. He is a Lieutenant with the West Hartford Fire Department with 16 years of service. Keith has a B.S. Fire Science Administration, and is a certified Fire Service Instructor. He is a National Registered Paramedic, Licensed Paramedic, EMS-Instructor with over 18 years of EMS experience working in the Cities of Waterbury and West Hartford.
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Nick Cormier, EMT-I
Nick Cormier is a per-diem staff member who is one of our lead instructors for MRT and MRT to EMT-Bridge programs.
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Scott Kerry, EMT
Scott Kerry is a frequent instructor for Basic Life Support programs, which includes CPR, AED and First Aid. Scott is an EMT and a Firefighter at the Westover AFB in Massachusetts.
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Anthony Paquette, MPH, EMT-P
EMS Educator
apaquet@harthosp.org
Anthony ("Tony") Paquette has been a staff member with EMS Education for many years. Tony is also a paramedic with Middlesex Hospital's Paramedic Program. Tony is responsible for the Coordination of all Paramedic Training Programs. He was a key player in the development and teaching the Mark 1 Train-the-Trainer Program.
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David Samuels, JD, NREMT-P
EMS Educator
dsamuel@harthosp.org
David "Dave" Samuels has been with the department for the past 6 years. Dave has over 20 years of experience in EMS, including certification as a paramedic and as an EMS Instructor. He currently is the Coordinator of our Paramedic Training Programs that are offered in conjunction with Goodwin College. Dave has previously been the EMS Coordinator and the Lead Instructor for the EMT-I classes. Dave is also currently a practicing attorney.
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Christopher Stone, NREMT-P, EMS-I
Christopher Stone is the Coordinator of the EMT Basic Programs and has been teaching for EMS Education since 2002. Chris has been in the fire service for 16 years and currently works for the City of Bristol Fire Department. He is a licenced Paramedic and has been in EMS for 12 years. He also holds instructor certifications in many of the other programs taught at EMS Education and is a certified EMS Instructor.
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Michael Zacchera, NREMT-P
EMS Educator
Michael Zacchera has been with the department since 1999 and has held multiple positions. Mike has been in EMS since 1987. He presently is our EMS liason. Mike is also the American Heart Association ACLS, BLS and PALS Regional Faculty Member for Connecticut and serves as a member of the ECC Committee for the American Heart Association. Mike has a Bachelor's in EMS Management and is currently attending the Neag School of Education at UConn as a graduate student in Adult Learning.
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