Wake County EMS
Raleigh, North Carolina
Dr. Cabañas serves as the Director and Medical Director for Wake County EMS System in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is an experienced, board-certified EMS and Emergency Medicine Physician Leader with particular expertise in patient-centered systems of care and population health. He is primarily responsible for providing vision, direction, operation, and medical oversight for an urban/suburban EMS system serving a population of 1 million residents. In this role, he works with community partners to build stronger connections between EMS and community stakeholders to promote clinical excellence and improve vulnerable patients' access to care.
Before returning to North Carolina, Dr. Cabañas served as Deputy Medical Director for Austin/Travis County EMS System in Austin, Texas. He completed his Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Puerto Rico. After residency, he completed his EMS Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also completed his Masters in Public Health. He has more than 20 years' experience in healthcare, including in-depth expertise in healthcare system delivery optimization, performance improvement, and healthcare operations.
Dr. Cabañas is also a researcher, educator, and national leader in EMS. He currently serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP). He holds an academic appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Dr. Cabañas regularly speaks at national meetings and publishes scientific articles on many prehospital care topics.
