Donald (Don) C. Heath, Jr. is a Master Deputy Sheriff employed by                                                                                the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) in Tavares, Florida. After retiring                                                                    at the rank of Sergeant (APR 2011) and meeting the Florida                                                                                            Retirement System (FRS) mandatory one-year separation requirement,                                                                      he returned to the LCSO in 2012 and is assigned to Homeland Security                                                                      and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). M/D Heath is the Tactical                                                                            Medical (TACMED) Coordinator and Training Coordinator for SWAT as                                                                        well as the Medical Coordinator (MEDCOR) for the LCSO Operational                                                                          Medicine Detachment (OMD) and is a certified Criminal Justice General                                                                      Instructor/High Liability Instructor. 

​   M/D Heath's 44-year distinguished public safety career, includes serving as an Operator/Medic with the           LCSO SWAT team, Tactical Flight Operator (TFO) with the LCSO Aviation Unit (EAGLE), Tactical Flight                   Operator/Flight Paramedic (TFO/FP) with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) Flight Operations

   (CHASE); Fire Fighter/Paramedic II/Rescue Technician with the Orange County Fire Rescue Department

   (OCFRD) and Fire Fighter First Class/EMT with the City of Raleigh Fire Department (RFD).

   M/D Heath's education includes:

• Criminal Justice, B.S., Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida;
• Fire Science Technology, A.S., Valencia Community College, Orlando, Florida;
  
• Emergency Medical Science, A.A.S., Wilson County Technical College, Wilson, North Carolina;
  
• Seventy-First Senior High School, Diploma, Fayetteville, North Carolina
  

   Additional current/past responsibilities, include being a Criminal Justice General Instructor, and High                 Liability Instructor certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Criminal Justice                     Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC). M/D Heath serves as a Member of the International Board for     Specialty Certifications (IBSC) Tactical Paramedic - Certified (TP-C) Job Analysis Working Group, TP-C Law           Enforcement Liaison Subcommittee, Wilderness Paramedic - Certified (WP-C) Job Analysis Working Group; a     Search and Rescue Technician II (SARTECH II) Instructor and Lead Evaluator; and Member of the Wilderness     Emergency Care (WEC) Committee for the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR); Tactical             Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) Editor and Peer Reviewer for the Journal of Special Operations                     Medicine (JSOM); Member of the Board of Directors for the National TEMS Council; Member of the TEMS           Committee for the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA); NTOA TEMS Instructor, and Civilian Vice-         President of the Board of Directors for the Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA) from MAY 2017-     MAY 2019.

   Specialty areas include:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Critical Care Flight Medicine
  
• Helicopter Search and Rescue
  
• Low-Angle Rope Rescue
  
• Tactical Medicine
  
• Wilderness Medicine (w/ emphasis on Prolonged Casualty Care)
  
• Wilderness Search and Rescue

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