The Speakers & Instructors
Dr. Brad Pickhardt, MD, FACS
Trauma Medical Director - St. Patrick Hospital
Dr. Pickhardt is the director of the Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Service at Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula. Providence St. Patrick Hospital is dual-designated/verified as a Level II American College of Surgeons and Montana State designated as the Regional Trauma Center for western Montana.
He completed his surgical training at the University of Colorado and has been involved in trauma care development at local, regional, state, and national levels for over twenty years. Dr. Pickhardt also serves on the Montana State Trauma Care Committee and the American College of Surgeons Regional Committee on Trauma. He is an ATLS course director and a member of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma and the Western Trauma Association.
Dr. Will Smith, MD, Paramedic, FAEMS
Founder - Wilderness and Emergency Medicine Consulting, LLC
Dr. Smith is an EMS and Emergency Medicine physician practicing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and is a Clinical Assistant Professor for the University of Washington School of Medicine. Locally, he serves as the Co-Medical Director and EMS Physician for Grand Teton National Park, Teton County Search & Rescue, Bridger Teton National Forest, and Jackson Hole Fire/EMS.
Dr. Smith also serves as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps. COL Smith has practiced medicine around the world on 6 continents, from the 'Baghdad ER' to Easter Island. His combat experience combined with his pre-hospital EMS experience as a Paramedic, and his technical Search and Rescue skills have led to numerous speaking engagements at Wilderness and EMS conferences/seminars around the world.
Dr. Smith has also been appointed to several national committees (American Heart Association), authored numerous book chapters and consensus guidelines on Wilderness and Rescue Medicine, and serves as a Subject Matter Expert for DARPA. He has founded and runs Wilderness and Emergency Medicine Consulting (WEMC), LLC. More information can be found at www.wildernessdoc.com.
Dr. Richard Myers, MD, FAAOS, FACS
Orthopedic Traumatologist - Missoula Bone & Joint + St. Patrick Hospital
Dr. Richard Myers brings a new type of expertise to Montana and to the team at Missoula Bone & Joint. He is a fellowship trained, board certified orthopedic trauma surgeon with experience treating the most complex injuries of the musculoskeletal system, including those of the upper extremities, lower extremities, and fractures of the pelvis/acetabulum and other joints.
He prides himself on the ability to work with many other surgical specialties to help the multiple injured patient (two or more severe injuries in at least two areas of the body) have the best outcome.
Cat Otway, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P
First Step Resource Center - St. Patrick Hospital
Cat has worked as a forensic nurse examiner and forensic interviewer with First Step at Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Montana for 14 years. First Step Resource Center provides medical evaluations, forensic interviews, and referrals for children and adult victims of physical trauma and sexual violence. She has been a registered nurse for over 34 years and a forensic nurse for 16 years. Prior to coming to Missoula, Cat was a forensic nurse at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas and has served in other nursing positions throughout her career.
A particular focus of Cat’s training has been on the topic of strangulation. Since 2010, Cat has conducted numerous presentations to nurses, physicians, law enforcement officers, judges, social workers, advocates, dentists, attorneys, and emergency medical/first responders throughout Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. Cat currently trains nationally as a certified instructor for the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention based in San Diego, CA. She has also been invited as a guest speaker to talk about date rape and sexual assault, a topic of particular interest on
university and high school campuses across the state. Cat is often called on as an expert witness to testify and educate jury members on the lethality of strangulation injuries.
Dr. Jason Hurd, MD, FACS
Vascular Surgeon - St. Patrick Hospital
Dr. Hurd was born in Billings and grew up in Missoula. After his undergraduate studies at Princeton, he completed medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a General Surgery residency and Vascular Surgery fellowship at the University of Washington. He is fully board certified in General and Vascular Surgery and has been practicing in Missoula since 2019. His practice covers the full breadth of vascular surgery, open and endovascular.
Dr. Hurd is also a surgeon in the United States Army Reserve. He was commissioned in medical school and has served on Forward Surgical Teams in Afghanistan and East Africa.
Nicholas Robbins, MSN, RN, CCRN, CNRN
ECLS Coordinator - St. Patrick Hospital
Nick is the coordinator of the St. Patrick Hospital Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) program. Born and raised in central Montana, he relocated to Missoula following a decade of trauma- and ECLS-based roles at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, OR. A critical care nurse educator and ECLS specialist, Nick managed care at the bedside and as part of Legacy’s interdisciplinary ECLS transport team.
Tasked with evaluation, cannulation, and relocation of patients experiencing cardiac and/or respiratory failure, his team provided regional support to patients from Northern California to Alaska. Nick is incredibly grateful for the collaborative work of St. Patrick Hospital's dedicated and multidisciplinary teams, contributing to the advancement of procedural and critical care access in the region.
Lee Roberts - Simulation in Motion MT (SIM-MT)
Lee Roberts has twenty years of experience in the fire and EMS services and recently retired from active service as a Battalion Chief and Operations Manager to join Simulation in Motion Montana, Inc.
Lee’s commitment to the service of his community and his employees is supported by his unwavering demonstration of moral character, accountability, compassion, and advocacy.
Ron Wenzel - Stop the Bleed Instructor
Ron is a decorated police officer with over 24 years of honorable service. He was an officer in New Jersey, where he had also served as a patrolman, Emergency Medical Technician, SAR Diver, SRT Medic and supervised the department’s Emergency Service Unit. Mr. Wenzel retired from the Lincoln Park Police Department in May 2014. His awards include multiple Life-Saving Medals, multiple Achievement and Honorable Service Medals, Chief's Award, and the 200-Club Award of Valor.
Mr. Wenzel's field experience and college education has evolved him into a very resourceful tool for law enforcement and military communities. He has excelled as an instructor and has taught countless courses to police, fire, EMS and military personnel. Since 2005, Mr. Wenzel has devoted much of his spare time instructing the military’s Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) guidelines, in an effort to decrease preventable deaths, to Specialized Tactical Units across the country.
In an answer to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Mr. Wenzel enlisted in the United States Coast Guard Reserve where he was assigned to a New York Harbor Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection unit. Serving as a team leader, trainer, boarding team member and tactical medic, he also headed a committee to implement a tactical medic program into the unit. He played an essential part in the Coast Guard's current Tactical Medic and Combat First Aid programs. Mr. Wenzel was also appointed as an instructor, to the Coast Guard’s Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) Combat First Aid Training Team and the Training Team East Predeployment Training Team located in Portsmouth, Virginia. He is a military veteran with service in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Kuwait and Afghanistan.
More recently, Ron served as a Senior Sales Account Manager for QuikClot (Z-Medica/Teleflex) products from 2014-2022 and currently is the Senior Product Sales Manager for Luna Labs' TrueClot Hemorrhage Control training products.