Testimonials about
Dr. Robert Holman
John A. Donnelly, Sr.
DC Fire and EMS Chief
“Dr. Holman is a remarkable individual who came to the Fire Department not knowing anything about it and left an impact that will last long beyond his time here. He has fundamentally changed the way that we do business. Dr. Holman has expanded the care that we deliver as an agency from being trauma-oriented, EMS-oriented to making
sure that all the care that our patients are receiving is the Right Care, Right Now. He really is the epitome of that and through him we have added things like the Nurse Triage Line, the Stabilization Center, Whole Blood, and Buprenorphine (treatment for Opioid Use Disorder). He really has done an amazing job of helping us to grow to meet the needs of our community. We’re going to miss Dr. Holman. His particular style, his particular line of questioning, and his particular background
aren’t something that we have so we’re going to replace those voids by ourselves. He was one of the few doctors around who didn’t know our struggles when he took the job. So he came to us as sort of a blank slate and as a result of that we had a really successful time.”
Gregory M. Dean
Retired DC Fire and EMS Chief
"Dr. Holman arrived at our Department during a tremendous period of transition in how DC provided Emergency Medical Services. He recognized that the current model did not address what he called ‘medical deserts’ that existed in certain parts of the District and proceeded to introduce programs to address patient care, reduce overcrowding in emergency rooms, and integrate the hospitals and the Department into a more united entity to improve patient care and outcomes. Dr. Holman put together a program called "Right Care, Right Now," which included the use of a nurse triage line (NTL) in evaluating low acuity patients and their need to be transported to emergency rooms. He introduced quarterly paramedic rounds to improve patient outcomes. And he worked to introduce a Stabilization Center for those suffering from alcohol and drug abuse as an alternative to being sent to the emergency room. Dr. Holman’s years of experience and ability to adjust to medical unknowns was no better visible than his impact on our members and the public during the COVID crisis. He has demonstrated his ability to learn, listen and leverage outcomes that improve organizations and the communities that they serve."
Kevin Donahue
City Administrator
"Dr. Robert Holman’s leadership as Medical Director of the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department transformed the District’s approach to emergency medicine, and importantly, pre-emergency medical care. He created novel approaches to long-standing challenges in the city’s EMS system, that required him to be equal parts subject matter expert, collaborator, external spokesperson and internal champion. Dr. Holman not only initiated the reforms, he remained committed to staying through the long process of implementation and impact."
Barbara J. Bazron, PhD
Director, Department of Behavioral Health
"Dr. Holman is an outstanding clinician, coach and leader. His depth of knowledge regarding medical emergency services is exemplary. I worked closely with Dr. Holman for several years to establish the DC Stabilization Center which opened in October 2023. I could not have asked for a better partner! We met weekly over a two-year period to develop this cutting-edge harm reduction service for individuals with substance use addiction. He developed the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the Stabilization Center by modifying the published literature and remained a crucial partner long post-launch. As a result of our collaborative efforts, our teams established a vital partnership that still supports the effort and is crucial to the DCSC's success."
