District of Columbia Office of the Chief Technology Officer

06/03/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/04/2025 01:43

OCTO and DC Fire and EMS Team Winner of 22nd Annual Cafritz Team Innovation Award

Today, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) and the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS) was awarded the prestigious Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation 22nd Annual Cafritz Team Award. The award was made in partnership with the George Washington University's Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (GW CEPL) and the DC Department of Human Resources (DCHR).

The Cafritz Innovation Team Award is being presented to the Low Titer O Whole Blood Program. The Whole Blood Program was designed to support and train paramedics in performing pre-hospital blood transfusions in partnership with the American Red Cross. These transfusions can increase survival rates and clinical outcomes for patients suffering from traumatic injuries, hemorrhagic shock, or severe bleeding by decreasing the amount of time it takes to replace lost blood. This Cafritz Innovation Team Award celebrates the exceptional dedication, innovation and impact of the OCTO employee and DC Fire and EMS employees who have gone above and beyond to serve the residents, workers and visitors of Washington, DC.

The OCTO and FEMS team include:

  • Ryan Elborne, Deputy Chief of Fire and EMS
  • Holly O'Byrne, Paramedic/Lieutenant and Whole Blood Coordinator
  • David Vitberg, Medical Director
  • Gabriel Gan, EMS Quality Improvement Analyst
  • Jeffrey Lenard, Firefighter
  • Timothy Hutchinson, Public Safety GIS Analyst

Learn more about the Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation awards at https://www.cafritzawards.org.


Contact:
Laura-Celine Patrick (OCTO) - (202) 913-3525; [email protected]
Noah Gray (FEMS) - (202) 673-3394; [email protected]

District of Columbia Office of the Chief Technology Officer published this content on June 03, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 04, 2025 at 07:43 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at support@pubt.io