Todd Stout

Having worked in positions ranging from stock boy to chief operating officer for a major metropolitan EMS authority to senior manager with a public safety communications software company, Todd Stout had a vision when he started FirstWatch 20 years ago. Computer-aided dispatch systems were growing increasingly more sophisticated, meaning more detailed 911 data was being captured. At the same time, expectations for what public safety, fire, and EMS should deliver were growing. Todd — with his experience as an EMS practitioner and manager, and his expertise in data mining and public safety computer systems — saw the potential for a new firm that would harness information technology to help customers in public safety make better and more efficient use of their resources to improve emergency care and safety.

In 1998, Todd founded Stout Solutions, which became FirstWatch in 2002. From its first customers — MAST in Kansas City, Mo. (now Kansas City Fire Department) and Richmond (Va.) Ambulance Authority — FirstWatch has grown to a company that serves more than 400 agencies throughout North America. Initially focusing on the real-time biosurveillance of weapons of mass destruction or outbreaks of SARS, H1N1, and other potential pandemics, FirstWatch has transformed itself into an organization that finds ways to improve operational performance and efficiency — from reducing hospital drop times to identifying crime trends — and many other issues facing public safety and EMS.