UF Health Jacksonville trauma surgeon J. Bracken Burns, Jr., DO, has been presented the prestigious Raymond H. Alexander, MD, EMS Medical Director of the Year Award by the Florida Department of Health for his work with the UF Health TraumaOne flight program.

The award honors a physician who serves as a medical director for a Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support or Air Service. The winner must demonstrate excellence in the areas of quality assurance/improvement and medical control, in addition to the promotion and use of new medical trends and technologies.

Burns is the medical director for TraumaOne Flight Services at UF Health Jacksonville, a position he has held since joining the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville in 2007. Burns is an associate professor of surgery in the division of acute care surgery, and is board-certified in surgery and trauma critical care. In addition, he serves as associate program director for the college’s General Surgery Residency Program.

His impact as a medical director reaches far beyond the helicopters in the TraumaOne system. Providing education to local and regional EMS agencies is a great passion of his. He is currently the medical director for both Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) and Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness (DMEP) courses.

In addition, Burns plays an important role in community events. For example, during Jacksonville’s Gate River Run, held annually in March, Burns not only helps to set up the medical treatment tents but also provides direct care alongside other experts. In his spare time, Burns provides medical support to the Duval County Special Olympics, which he has done since 2008.

Established in 1983, UF Health TraumaOne was the first trauma program in Florida and the award’s namesake, Raymond Alexander, MD, was the program’s founding medical director and chief of surgery at UF Health Jacksonville’s predecessor, University Hospital. With Burns as medical director, TraumaOne’s Flight Services has continued to maintain the high standards set by Alexander.