• About LLU Medical Center
• About the staff

About Loma Linda University Medical Center

Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) is strategically located in the center of Southern California and serves as the only tertiary care center, children's hospital and Level I Trauma Center for:

• A vast geographic area--25 percent of the State of California--an area larger in mass than Massachusetts and three other New England states combined.
• One of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.
• A population of over 3.3 million, which is increasing at a rate of nearly 100,000 residents per year.
• A geographically diverse region including some of the largest urban, rural, and wilderness areas in the country and the highest (Mount Whitney (14,492')) and lowest points (Death Valley National Park (-282')) in the continental United States.

Within this vast geographic area served by Loma Linda, there is no other organization that has the full range of emergency medical services care, training, education, and research available. The combination of a nationally recognized health-care center and an academic Department of Emergency Medicine, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, serving a diverse prehospital population and geographic area, is ideal for establishing a center for prehospital care.

Establishing the Center for Prehospital Care, Education and Research brings together the educational and research resources of Loma Linda University and the educational and clinical resources of Loma Linda University Medical Center. This combination benefits the emergency medical services (EMS) community by translating research into quality patient care via up-to-date education and addressing the dynamics of industry with regard to resource management, technology, and economic viability. This relationship also allows us to build the body of knowledge that guides EMS practice and to analyze that information to assure evidence based practice and focus in the further development of EMS systems. Our partnerships with local EMS agencies allow these benefits to be translated into up-to-date quality patient care.

LLUMC Department of Emergency Medicine

back to top

About the staff

Jeff T. Grange, MD, FACEP
Director, Emergency Medical Services
Dr. Jeff Grange is emergency medical services director for LLUMC. He received his training in emergency medicine at LLUMC and became a faculty member in 1997. Throughout his career, Dr. Grange has been active in all aspects of pre-hospital care. He has gained invaluable experience with San Bernardino County Sheriff's Air Rescue as a reserve deputy, volunteer air medic, and serves as their medical director as well. He is also medical director for Loma Linda University emergency medical bachelor's degree program, California Speedway, Symons Emergency Specialties, San Bernardino Marshall's Office AED Program, and SCORE International. Dr. Grange has also devoted much time to doing research, and as a resident, received LLUMC's Emergency Medicine Resident Research Excellence Award. His research interests encompass all venues of prehospital care including Motorsports Medicine and Mass Gathering Medicine.

Stephen W. Corbett, MD, PhD, MS, FACEP
Medical Director, Vice Chair, Director of Research
Department of Emergency Medicine

Jeff Bender, PHN, EMT-P
Consultant, Center for Prehospital Care, Education and Research

Brett McPherson, RN, BSN, MICN
Manager, Center for Prehospital Care and DISCOVERIES project
Brett is the manager of the Center and the DISCOVERIES project. He has been a part of the LLUMC family for 11 years, with 9 years specifically in the Emergency Department. Brett has capably filled a variety of positions for Loma Linda including the leadership roles of Charge Nurse, Paramedic Liaison Nurse, Assistant Nurse Manager, and Nurse Manager of the Adult and Pediatric ED. He will be working with Jeff Bender and Dr. Jeff Grange in continuing the efforts of DISCOVERIES and its many projects as well as managing the Center for Prehospital Care and it's staff.

Karla Lavin-Santamaria, MPH, DrPH(c)
Manager, CURE Center Project
Karla Lavin-Santamaria is the manager for the CURE Center project. Karla's public health background spans over 10 years and includes the specialties of sports medicine/allied health, health administration, and health promotion/education where she has skillfully held a variety of administrative positions. She holds appointments in both the Departments of Health Administration and Health Promotion and Education in the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University. Karla's most recent experience was as the Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer of C.A.R.E., a not-for-profit research and health education company. In addition, Karla conducts various public health education seminars both locally and internationally. Karla looks forward to contributing to the field of mass casualty research with the CURE Center project and believes that the developments in the project will lead to subsequent advancements that can benefit local, state, and federal agencies.

Ron Holk, RN, BSN, MICN, EMT
Operations Coordinator
Ron is the Operations Coordinator with the Center for Prehospital Care, Education and Research and the Program Director for prehospital continuing education at LLUMC. He began his medical career as an emergency medical technician in the early 90s and later as a Registered Nurse (RN). He has worked in the design and integration of the radio and telecommunication devices used by the LLUMC base station and in the implementation of prehospital data collection solutions. Ron volunteers as a Registered Nurse with the Disaster Medical Assistance Team and was a past National Association of Search and Rescue Evaluator and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service Chief Radio Officer with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Todd L. Williams, CSNE, CNET
Technology Project Manager
Todd joined the Center for Pre-Hospital Care Education and Research during the development of the Discoveries MTV Project. Over the past 10 years Todd has been involved in technology systems integration and engineering focused primarily on video and voice systems for SBC, PACBell, Ameritech and mobile communication applications for broadcasters and EMS agencies. Most recently Todd was CTO of a technology integration company with operations in North and South American. For over 8 years Todd has traveled in the United States and Canada as a Certified National Education Coordinator and Trainer for various satellite communication organizations.

Ehren B. Ngo
Program Director, Emergency Medical Care
Associate Professor
Ehren Ngo is the program director of the emergency medical care program and an assistant professor for the School of Allied Health Professions at Loma Linda University (LLU). Ehren began his career at LLU in 1999 after earning his master of science degree in emergency health services from the University of Maryland. He also received a bachelor of science in emergency medical care from LLU and an EMT-P certificate from George Washington University. Ehren is an experienced educator and leader who specializes in prehospital systems and care. His areas of expertise include EMS systems and theories, disaster/emergency management, and public health response to disasters. He also holds a number of professional licenses and certifications and is a team member on the San Gorgonio Search and Rescue Team.

Ronald J. Walls, EMT-P
Director, BTLS
Ronald Walls has been the program director of the Advanced BTLS course for LLUMC since the early 1990s. He has been in the field of EMS for over 20 years and a paramedic since 1988. Ronald is a full-time professional fire captain/paramedic for the S.B. County Fire Department serving in the City of Fontana. He has a diverse background in field medicine including the U.S. Army, LifeFlight - Southern California, Mercy Air, S.B. Sheriff's Air Rescue, and the California Speedway. He holds two baccalaureate of science degrees, business administration and business management, and is working on a master's degree in leadership and management from the University of La Verne.

Lyne Jones
BTLS Coordinator
Lyne Jones has been with LLUMC for the past 20 years. She has worked in various positions in the emergency department and is currently working as an administrative assistant in the emergency medicine office along with coordinating the BTLS courses.

Cynthia Greber
APLS Coordinator
Cynthia Greber joined LLUMC's emergency department in May 2004. Along with being the coordinator for APLS, she is also an administrative assistant and residency coordinator for the department of pediatric emergency medicine. Cynthia has worked in health-care administration for more than 10 years and looks forward to the new challenges set before her in pediatric emergency medicine.

Stacey Price, RN, MICN, BS, EMT-P
EMS Liaison
Stacey is the Emergency Medical Services Liaison for the Center for Prehospital Care, Education & Research. She began her medical career as an emergency medical technician in the 90’s and later became a paramedic. Stacey has continued her medical career by becoming an RN. Before coming to the Center, Stacey worked in the emergency department at Loma Linda University Medical Center for 4 years. She is currently is an instructor at Crafton Hills College for the MICN program. Stacey volunteers as a Registered Nurse / Paramedic for the San Bernardino County Sherriff, Air Rescue Division.

[Top]