In memoriam: David Persse, MD
David Persse, MD, associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston and a longtime leader in emergency medical services and public health in Houston, died Sept. 28. He was 67.
For nearly three decades, Persse helped shape emergency medical care in Houston while maintaining close ties to McGovern Medical School as a faculty member of the Emergency Medical Services Fellowship. Through those roles, he helped train and mentor generations of physicians and emergency medical professionals while advancing the delivery of prehospital care throughout the region.
Persse served for 29 years as EMS physician director for the Houston Fire Department before retiring earlier this year. He also served as the city of Houston’s public health authority and chief medical officer, becoming a familiar presence to Houstonians as the city responded to hurricanes, infectious disease outbreaks, the COVID pandemic, and other public health emergencies.
“We are tremendously grateful to Dr. Persse for his decades of service to Houston, to communities across the country, to the EMS profession, and especially to our department and trainees,” said Kevin Schulz, MD, associate professor and director of the EMS Fellowship in the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School. “His influence will continue through the systems he helped build, the physicians and first responders he mentored, and the countless lives touched by his work.”
Persse began his career in emergency medicine well before becoming a physician. He spent 10 years as a field paramedic and paramedic instructor in New York and New Jersey before completing his premedical education at Columbia University and earning his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and a resuscitation research fellowship at Ohio State University before completing fellowship training in emergency medical services and resuscitation at Baylor College of Medicine.
Following his fellowship, Persse became an assistant medical director for Houston EMS before returning to California, where he served as medical director of the Los Angeles County Paramedic Training Institute and assistant medical director of the Los Angeles County EMS Agency. He returned to Houston in 1996 to lead the city’s EMS system. In 2004, Houston City Council appointed him the city’s public health authority.
During his tenure, Persse helped advance programs that changed how emergency care could reach patients before they arrived at a hospital. He contributed to the development of Houston’s Mobile Stroke Unit, which brought advanced stroke diagnosis and treatment directly to patients in the field, and the Emergency Telehealth and Navigation program, known as ETHAN, which uses telemedicine to connect certain 911 patients with physicians and appropriate medical care.
His work with the Mobile Stroke Unit also reflected the collaboration among UTHealth Houston, Memorial Hermann, and Houston-area emergency responders. Launched in 2014, the program was the first of its kind in the nation and helped bring hospital-level stroke evaluation and treatment closer to patients during the critical early stages of a stroke.
Persse’s service extended beyond Houston EMS. He served as a tactical physician with the Houston Police Department SWAT team and held leadership roles with regional and national emergency medical organizations. He was a member of the board of directors and executive committee for the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council and previously chaired the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.
An accomplished scholar, Persse authored or co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles. His contributions to emergency medicine and EMS were recognized nationally, including the Keith Neely Outstanding Contribution to the National Association of EMS Physicians award for his leadership during the Hurricane Katrina response, the Michael K. Copass Award from the U.S. Metropolitan Municipalities EMS Medical Directors Consortium, and the American College of Emergency Physicians Outstanding Contribution in EMS Award. He also received an honorary Doctor of Humanities in Medicine degree from Baylor College of Medicine.
At McGovern Medical School, Persse shared decades of experience with fellows preparing for careers in prehospital and emergency medicine. His influence extended beyond the classroom and fellowship program to the EMS systems in which those physicians would eventually serve, carrying forward the lessons and practices he helped develop during his career.
Persse is survived by his wife, Beverly; daughters, Courtney and Carrie; and extended family.
Funeral arrangements will be shared when they become available.