OUR TEAM

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Mr. Ritter joined Medical Sports Group during the summer of 2003. His experience began in 1981 providing medical care as a front line responder at the University of Notre Dame. John has experience with the Fire Service and extensive history with private ground and air ambulance operational logistics, disaster planning and incident command systems. Previous major event/venue experience includes; The Seventh International Special Olympic Summer Games, South Bend, Indiana, The 2001 International Senior Games, Baton Rouge, LA. Mr. Ritter also managed stadium and arena medical operations for Louisiana State University from 1993-2004.

Dr. Isakov is Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed his residency training in emergency medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. He subsequently completed a two-year prehospital/emergency medical services fellowship at Boston EMS. His Master of Public Health degree is in international health from Boston University. His areas of expertise include clinical emergency medicine and prehospital and disaster medicine. His professional experience includes service as an officer in the United States Navy, consulting for the CDC, deploying with the National Disaster Medical System, and providing leadership in EMS and disaster response throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Dr. Isakov is the founding director of the Emory Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR), which reports to the University president and serves as the center for Emory enterprise-wide planning for and coordinated response to catastrophic events. CEPAR partners with the community to address all hazards, including natural disasters, human-caused catastrophic events and public health emergencies. Dr. Isakov also co-founded and directs Emory’s Section of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, whose team of EMS fellowship trained emergency medicine physicians provide medical oversight for the 911 emergency ground and air ambulance responders in the metropolitan Atlanta area. He concurrently serves as the medical director for Air Life Georgia and Sandy Springs Fire Rescue, and is associate medical director for Grady EMS where he founded and directs its Bio-Safety Transport Program, which supports Emory University, the CDC, and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for the transport of individuals who pose a serious communicable disease risk.

He has served on the faculty of the Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support program and has provided direct medical support for federal law enforcement special operations. Dr. Isakov is often invited to chair and participate in programs regionally, nationally and internationally. He serves on the Georgia Pandemic Flu Coordinating Committee, the Georgia Altered Standards of Care Work Group, and the Georgia EMS Medical Director’s Advisory Committee.

He leads the Academic-Community Partnership for Sustainable Preparedness and Response Systems project of the Emory Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center. He led the team that developed SORT, the Strategy for Off-site Rapid Triage, designed to triage patients during flu pandemics that was featured on interactive websites hosted by the Microsoft Corporation and the US Department of Health and Human Services during the 2009 flu pandemic. He has provided consultation for the CDC, the WHO, USAID and the IOM on projects related to emergency response. Dr. Isakov practices clinically in the emergency departments of Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta’s primary safety net hospital and level I trauma center and Emory University Hospital.

Ed Klima is a certified emergency manager with over 25 years of public safety and event management experience. He currently serves as an Emergency Preparedness Consultant for MSG.
 

As an emergency preparedness consultant specializing in special events he has worked on numerous major sporting and entertainment events, including the Philadelphia Eagles, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, NFL Pro Bowl and Super Bowl where he has been a lead coordinator in the emergency planning process for the past fifteen years.  As the Senior Director of Public Safety and Track Operations for Dover Motorsports and Dover Downs Hotel and Casino he oversaw emergency preparedness planning and operations at several motorsports facilities across the U.S. as well as a comprehensive safety and security program for a multi-faceted sporting and entertainment complex in Delaware.  In addition, he specializes in emergency preparedness and capabilities assessments and the development of comprehensive public/private partnerships in emergency preparedness and response for large scale mass gathering events. 
 

As a public safety professional, he has over 30 years of experience as a fire fighter, hazardous material technician, EMT and fire inspector.  Mr. Klima has served as the External Affairs Director for the Congressional Fire Services Institute.  He is an original member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 610 Committee, Safety at Motorsports Venues and the NASCAR Security Council.  He has also served as Vice Chair for the IAVM Academy for Venue Safety and Security. A member of various state and local committees, Mr. Klima currently serves on the Governor’s Homeland Security Advisory Council for Delaware.
 

Mr. Klima holds two Bachelor degrees from the University of Delaware as well as a Masters degree in Public Safety Management from Saint Joseph’s University.

Eric Ossmann is practicing emergency physician with over 19 years’ leadership experience in prehospital and disaster medicine. Dr. Ossmann has been involved in emergency medical services at the local, state and national level throughout his career. His background includes all aspects of out-of-hospital care and disaster medicine with a focus on the integration of emergency medical services into a community-based health care delivery system. Education & Training • DePauw University, B.A. • Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) • Methodist Hospital, Indiana University, Emergency Medicine Residency (Chief Resident) • Carolinas Medical Center, Emergency Medical Services Fellowship Past & Current Appointments • Emory University • Duke University • Government or Military Experience • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) • Federal Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) Areas of Focus • International Trauma System Assessment and Design • Medical Oversight of Emergency Medical Services • Medical Contingency Planning for Bombing and Blast Events • Medical Oversight for Professional Sporting Events • Facility Emergency Medical Response Planning Publications • Western Journal of Emergency Medicine • Journal of Emergencies • Trauma and Shock • Circulation (AHA) • Prehospital Emergency Care • Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America • USA Today (Quoted) • Atlanta Journal Constitution (Quoted)

Matt Bitner is a practicing emergency physician with a background in clinical operations, emergency medical response planning, prehospital operations, mass gathering/event medicine and global trauma systems design. Additional focus areas include adult learning strategies, instructional system design and utilization of technology in education. His strategic planning and operations experience ranges from providing medical oversight for professional world-class cycling events and internationally recognized marathons to supervising EMS services for public and private sector entities. Education & Training • Hampden-Sydney College, B.S. (Phi Beta Kappa) • University of Miami School Of Medicine, M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) • Emory University, Emergency Medicine Residency (Chief Resident) • Emory University, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Fellowship • University of Cincinnati College of Education, M.Ed. Past & Current Appointments • Emory University • Duke University Areas of Focus • Designing/Implementing Emergency Response Training Programs • Global Emergency Medicine System Analysis and Design • Medical Oversight for Professional Sporting Events • Facility Emergency Medical Response Planning Publications • New England Journal of Medicine • Annals of Emergency Medicine • Prehospital Emergency Care • Prehospital and Disaster Medicine