Richard Witkov, MD, E-AEC

Biography

Dr. Richard Witkov is board certified in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care. A proud Longhorn alumnus, he earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from The University of Texas at Austin. He obtained his Medical Degree and completed both his residency in Emergency Medicine and fellowship in Critical Care at the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, where he served as Chief Resident and received multiple honors, including the Best Senior Grand Rounds Award and the Outstanding Bedside Teaching GME Award.

As a faculty member, Dr. Witkov has continued to demonstrate his passion for teaching and clinical care, earning the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award and the Memorial Hermann Southwest Challenge Coin. His clinical interests focus on critical care management across the continuum, from prehospital care to the Emergency Department to the Intensive Care Unit. He has a particular devotion to improving the delivery of resuscitative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life-saving therapy for emergent cardiopulmonary bypass in patients experiencing cardiac arrest or near-arrest.

Dr. Witkov has lectured extensively to medical professionals at all levels and played a key role in developing the Emergency Department ECMO program at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center. Additionally, he helped establish the UTHealth Houston Mobile ECMO Unit, a pioneering collaboration with the Houston Fire Department and Memorial Hermann Hospital, designed to deliver ECMO in the field to patients in cardiac arrest. His team became the first ECMO unit in the United States to provide care at a large marathon, delivering life-saving treatment at the Houston Marathon.

Driven by a commitment to push the boundaries of critical care, Dr. Witkov is dedicated to improving the administration of care for the public. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and dog, cheering for Longhorn Football, exercising in his garage, and listening to a good audiobook.