Anthony Connelly Elected Chair of the Board of Directors
Anthony Connelly, EMT-P, BHSc, PGCEd., was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) on November 17. The election was decided by the Board of Directors members at their meeting in Las Vegas in conjunction with ITLS’ International Trauma Conference.
Connelly has served on the ITLS Board of Directors since 1995. He has served many roles within the ITLS organization, chairing a number of committees over the years and serving as Vice Chair prior to his election as Chair. He has conducted international courses and site visits in numerous countries worldwide and has been instrumental in the growth and development of the ITLS European Regional Forum. He is the co-editor of the recently released ITLS Duty to Respond program.
Connelly remains active at the local level of ITLS as well, maintaining his position as Co-Chapter Coordinator of the Alberta Chapter. As an affiliate faculty member, he continues to teach courses and serve as an advocate for ITLS and trauma education within the regional Alberta health care system.
Connelly has more than 30 years of experience in the health services industry as a paramedic and clinical educator. As the President and Owner of Connelly Emergency Education Services, he manages the development and delivery of a wide range of prehospital and in-hospital health care education programs and specializes in curriculum design.
Previously, Connelly was highly respected as the recent Director of Resuscitation Education & Science for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSF). In this role, he was responsible for national operational oversight of the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Resuscitation programs, including science basis, theory, curriculum and delivery. This background gave him first-hand knowledge of the educational design and delivery of ACLS, PALS, BLS and First Aid.
Before his tenure at HSF, Connelly held a position as Head of Staff Education and Development for one of the largest ambulance services in England. He was responsible for over 1,000 ambulance personnel. He also served as Resuscitation Services Manager for two large acute hospitals in northeast England, where he was responsible for the resuscitation education of 6,000 medical personnel from diverse backgrounds.
International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) is a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing death and disability from trauma through education and emergency trauma care. The Board of Directors is responsible for the supervision, control and direction of the affairs of the Chapter. Board members determine and revise policies and actively pursue its purposes as well as organize and implement various committees and educational programs.