Frank Williams, Paramedic/RN & Chief, Butler County EMS
Frank’s hometown is El Dorado, Kan., and he has been in EMS for more than 38 years. He started as an EMT, then EMT-I, then paramedic for Butler County EMS. He always dreamed of being a flight paramedic, but had to become an RN to work for a flight service full-time. So, he took off to nursing school to obtain his BSN. After a few years of critical care nursing in the hospital, he was fortunate enough to go back to Air Medical EMS as a LifeWATCH crew member. After 23 years of EMS in the air, he was honored to come back home to Butler County as the Chief where he has spent the last five years serving his community.
Frank’s path to EMS comes from EMS providers who mentored him as a child. He explained, “My father was a WW-II veteran who was injured in battle, which created life-long health issues. These health issues included an untreatable heart condition at the time, called Wolf-Parkinson’s White Syndrome. He would frequently have uncontrolled, symptomatic, heart rhythms that would trigger a 911 call for EMS. The local EMS crews and I got to know each other and two of them took me under their wing when I was 11 years old. The caregiving, science, and technical part of EMS had me hooked. Under the mentoring of famous Kansas EMS providers such as Joe Megredy, Chris David, Joe Moreland, and Ken Keller, I embarked on my EMS career. It has exceeded my expectations, but it would not have been possible without my parents and strong Kansas EMS leaders encouraging and mentoring me.”
Frank joined the KEMSA Board in 2015 because of the mission, vision, and values of the organization. He wanted to be a voice for Kansas EMS and help implement EMS best practices on a state-wide level. He also wanted to learn from the great leaders of Kansas EMS! Frank became the vice president of KEMSA in August 2024.
Regarding why KEMSA is important to Frank and other EMS providers in Kansas, he said, “KEMSA is the leader in EMS for Kansas. To lead means to represent the profession as a whole, down to individual EMS providers and all the way up to the federal government. A strong association means a larger voice to provide stability and growth of our pre-hospital profession.”
Of all the KEMSA events, Frank enjoys the annual KEMSA conference the most. He said, “I love seeing our Kansas EMS family together, having fun, and growing.”
Frank’s three interesting facts that others might not know include:
- “I play the saxophone. Not well, but I dabble.
- My wife and I have been married for 30 years
- I like to sky dive. Although I haven’t had a jump in 15 years.”
